the gates of Constantinople, famous for having stood from the time of Constantine to that of Pope Eugene IV., a period of eleven hundred years, were of cypress. The cedar of Lebanon is, perhaps, the most celebrated tree of the whole family, yet it is now scarce on Mount Lib'ănus, whose forests seem never to have recovered from the havoc made by Solomon's four score thousand hewers. The seeds of the stone pine, which are as sweet as almonds, are eaten throughout Italy. 4. As ornamental lawn-trees, the larch, the spruce, the firs, the cypress, are unequaled; and the hemlockspruce and arbor vitæ are great favorites for hedges. Well-grown belts of evergreens, which "in conic forms arise, And with a pointed spear divide the skies," La'rix pen'dula, afford a fine protection for gardens in in his eighth Eclogue: 5. The poet Hood has, with characteristic humor, described a group of pines, with interlacing branches, writhing in the storm like Laocoon2 in the folds of the serpents, and weeping gummy tears. 6. Of the associations connected with this family, it may be remarked that the cypress especially, on account of the gloomy hue of its leaves, was esteemed by the ancients a suitable ornament of their burial-places, and that it is often alluded to in poetry as the emblem of mourning. Peace to the dust that in silence reposes Beneath the dark shades of cypress and yew; And heaven wash their leaves with its holiest dew.-PIERPONT. Dark tree! still sad when others' grief is fled, 1 GYM'-NO-SPERMS are plants that have na- 2 LÄ-0-CÖÖN'. It will be seen that the poet here departs from the classical pronunciation, which is Lä-oe'-o-ON. See p. 70 and 72. RA-MOUS, branched; full of branches. LESSON XVIII.-TO A PINE-TREE. 1. FAR up on Katahdin thou towerest, Purple-blue with the distance, and vast; 2. Spite of winter thou keeps't thy green glory, 3. Thou alone know'st the splendor of winter, 4. Thou alone know'st the glory of summer, JAMES RUSSELL LOWELL. THE PINE-APPLE. [ENDOGENOUS: see next page.] Bromelia ana'nas, the Pineapple, vi. 1, pu., 4 f., J.-D., S. America. This fruit,' says Loudon, "may, without hesitation, be pronounced the first in the world, though it has not been known in Europe above two centuries, and has only been cultivated about a century as a fruit plant in Britain." First discovered in Brazil, it passed thence to the East Indies, where it has long been successfully cultivated. Many varieties of the pine-apple have been produced by cultivation. In the West Indies and South America, one species is used for fencing pasture-lands on account of its prickly leaves. SECOND DIVISION OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM. ENDOGENS. [The four most important physiological peculiarities of this great natural division are, 1st. The structure is endogenous (for which see Fourth Reader, p. 187). 2d. The leaves are straight or parallel-veined. 3d. The flowers are ternary; that is, have three sepals, petals, and stamens, or some power of that number. 4th. The embryo has but one cotyledon; that is, the plants are monocotyledonous. Other peculiarities will be noticed under the different families which compose the division.] LESSON XIX. THE IRIS, LILY, AND PALM FAMILIES. [ENDOGENOUS or MONOCOTYLEDONOUS; Aglumaceous.]1 Lily Family. Iris Family. 1. I'ris versi'color, Blue flag, iii. 1, b., 2 f., My.-Jn., N. Am. 2. I'ris te'nax, California iris, iii. 1, pu., 18 in., A.-My., California. 3. I'ris sambuci'na, Flower-de-luce, iii. 1, b., 3 f., Jn., S. Europe. 4. Tigridia pavo'nia, Tiger flower, xv. 3, o. and r., 2 f., Jl.-S., Mexico. 5. Cro'cus ver'nus, Spring crocus, iii. 1, y., 6 in., M., Eng. 6. Cro'cus sati'vus, Autumn crocus, iii. 1, y., 10 in., S., Eng. 7. Lil'ium Japon'icum, Japan lily, vi. 1., w., 2 f., Jl.-Au., China. 8. Lil'ium Philadelphicum, Red lily, vi. 1, r. and y., 5 f., Jl.-Aug., N. Am. 9. Lil'ium Canaden'se, Nodding lily, vi. 1, r. and y., 4 f., Jl.-Au., N. Am. 10. Tu'lipa sylvestris, Wild tulip, vi. 1, y., 18 in., A.-My., Eng. 11. Fritilla'ria imperialis, Crown imperial, vi. 1, r. and y., 4 f., My., Persia. 1. CONSPICUOUS among the ENDOGENOUS plants, which constitute the second great division of the vegetable kingdom, are the Iris, Lily, and Palm families, the palm being taken as typical of the endogenous structure. Endogens probably contain more plants contributing to the food of man, and fewer poisonous species in proportion to their whole number, than Exogens; as the grasses, which include all the cereals, are found here, to which may be added the numerous palms yielding fruit, wine, sugar, sago, the pine-apple, bananas, the arrow-roots, and the gingers. 2. The large and showy tiger flower, the blue flag, flowerde-luce, gladiolus, and the crocus, are good examples of the richly-tinted Iris family. The name itself implies that the flowers are rainbow-colored. Among the Greeks, Iris was the winged messenger of the gods, and is thus alluded to by Virgil: "Iris, on saffron wings array'd with dew Of various colors, through the sunbeams flew." According to Plutarch, the word iris signified, in the ancient Egyptian language, "the eye of heaven," and was appropriated to this flower because no other name was so expressive of its serene lustre. A modern poet has attributed the naming of the beauty to her sister flowerets. Her jewels wore So gracefully. Her robe all o'er Was radiant, yet deep blue, like twilight sky, And softly shaded, as when clouds do lie Upon the deep expanse. 'Twas strange, none knew A name for this fair form, so bright and blue: But sister flowerets fancifully said, As they to note her beauty had been led By its enhancement in the rainbow shower, They e'en would call her IRIS from that hour.--TWAMLEY. 4. "The beautiful creations," says Lindley," which constitute the order of Lilies, would seem to be well known to all the world, for what have been so long admired and universally cultivated as they ?" The lily is often alluded to as being, among flowers, the emblem of majesty. In heathen mythology it was a great favorite with Juno, and was consecrated to her by heathen nations. The Jews imitated its form in their first magnificent temple, and the Savior described it as more splendid than King Solomon in his most gorgeous apparel. 5. Observe the rising lily's snowy grace'; Observe the various vegetable race'; They neither toil nor spin, but careless grow; Yet, see how warm they blush'! how bright they glow! What regal vestments can with them compare`? What king so shining', or what queen so fair?—THOMSON. 6. Among the flowers of the Lily family, the crown imperial, or fritillaria, is noted for its drooping but brilliant tulip shaped corollas, which have the appearance of so many gay bells, or crowns. Its golden stigma is very appropriately described as "The dazzling gem That beams in fritillaria's diadem." The tulip, another member of the Lily family, is especially noted for a sort of mania among the florists of the seventeenth century, who bought and sold single bulbs at prices amounting to five hundred pounds sterling and upward-in those days an immense sum. Although the taste for tulips has greatly declined since that period, the tulip is still considered by many as "the king of florist's flowers." How highly the poet Montgomery prized it may be gathered from the following lines: 7. "Not one of Flora's brilliant race A form more perfect can display: Art could not feign more simple grace, Nor nature take a line away. Yet, rich as morn, of many a hue, When flushing clouds through darkness strike, All beautiful, but none alike." 8. Highest in the division of Endogens stands the Palm family, embracing the stately palm-trees of the tropics, and the palmettos of the Southern States. "The race of plants to which the name of Palms has been assigned," says Lindley, "is, no doubt, the most interesting in the vegetable kingdom, if we consider the majestic aspect of their towering stems, crowned by a still more gigantic foliage; the character, of grandeur which they impress upon the landscape of the countries they inhabit; their immense value to mankind, as affording food, and raiment, and numerous objects of economical importance; or, finally, the prodigious development of those organs by which their race is to be propagated. A single spathe or flower-stem of the date palm contains about twelve thousand flowers, and another species has been computed to have six hundred thousand upon a single individual; while every bunch of the seje palm of the Orinoco bears eight thousand fruits." 9. The variety of forms which they exhibit is briefly but well described in the following language of the celebrated traveler Humboldt. "While some have trunks as slender as the graceful reed, or longer than the longest cable, others are three and even five feet thick; while some grow collected in groups, others singly dart their slender trunks into the air; while some have a low stem, others tower to the height of nearly two hundred feet; and while one part flourishes in the |