FRANCE. P. LET us go to FRANCE, to trade with the south of Willie. Europe, Africa, and Asia. You see also that France is W. I am quite willing. Begin P. Then get the map of divided from Germany by the France out of my study. What noble river Rhine. Thus the countries in Europe have we French can communicate with talked about already? that country and with SwitzerIon. We have visited Spain land. But let us also notice and Portugal, Italy, and Turkey the principal rivers. and Greece-these countries with the largest. are the three southern pen- Ion. Here is one that seems insulas of Europe. We have larger than the others. It rises also heard of Malta, and of in the Cevennes mountains, Switzerland. and flows through the centre P. And here comes Willie of the country, into the Bay of with the map. Let us make a Biscay. It is called the Loire short lesson on that country. We will begin with the position of France. How is it bounded on the north? W. On the N.W. is the English channel; on the N.E. is Belgium. (pronounced Lioar). P. That is the longest, but not the largest river. The finest is the Rhone, which you may easily find on the map. L. Yes; here it is. But it does not begin in France. It rises in the Alps, and flows into P. Now notice the countries Lake Geneva. on the east. Ion. There are three countries on the east. The most northern is Germany; below it Switzerland, and below Switzerland, Italy. L. The western boundary is the Bay of Biscay, and on the south are the Pyrenees, which separate France from Spain, and the Mediterranean Sea. W. Where does it flow out of the lake again? L. Here. It issues from the western end of the lake, at the town of Geneva. It then proceeds westward to the town of Lyons. There it meets with a tributary, called the Saône, and it turns round southward. P. That is correct. You would like to visit Lyons, and see the confluence of the two rivers. P. These boundaries are of great importance to France. She thus has many fine ports Ion. What is the confluence? for shipping. The ports in P. The place where any two the English Channel are con- rivers meet is called a convenient for her trade with fluence (from con, together, England, Sweden, and other and fluere, to flow). The northern countries. Those in Rhone is one of the most rapid the Mediterannean enable her rivers in Europe, and it rushes down its steep course with the Bay of Biscay. The canal astonishing violence. The is called, The Canal of LangueSaône, on the other hand, is a doc. slow, quiet river, and moves so gently that you can hardly W. Here is another important river, for the capital, PARIS, perceive which way it flows. is situated upon it. It flows With such a contrast in their into the English channel, and characters the effect produced is called the Seine. by the confluence of these P. The Seine is like the rivers is curious. Even though Loire and the Garonne in they are united, a distinct line having a slow current. This is seen for some distance in the is because its course is winding, centre of the new river, show- and through level ground. ing the different motions of You may remember this river the two waters; this at length too, because its valley is very disappears, and the waters of beautiful. The scenery near the Saone are persuaded by Rouen cannot be excelled by their companions into the same that of any other river-valley activity. The force of the in Europe. coast Rhone is such that it washes down toward the sea a great deal of earth; it is said that, in consequence, the of France near its mouth extends 9 miles further south than it was in the year 1800. Ion. Here is a river that rises in the Pyrenees. It has tributaries too, flowing from the Cevennes. It is called the Garonne. P. You may remember this river, because some parts of it are very dangerous. It is like the Loire, because it flows into the Bay of Biscay. L. And I see, papa, that a canal has been cut to join the Garonne to the Mediterranean sea. P. Yes. Thus the river connects the Mediterranean and We have now noticed the four principal rivers of France the LOIRE, the RHONE, the GARONNE, and the SEINE. W. I think we will look at the lakes next. Where are they? P. You will scarcely find any. Near the Bay of Biscay and the Mediterannean there are certain shallow salt-water ponds, called Lagoons-they are separated from the sea by only a thin strip of land. There are also etangs (or ponds), which are highly pestilential. L. Now will you describe the soil of France? P. We will leave that subject until next week. Then we will talk of the soil and its produce, and the people, and their manufactures. WE'LL humbly take what God bestows, Look up in sunshine with a smile, A JOURNAL OF INSTRUCTION FOR THE FAMILY AND THE SCHOOL. 19th Week. MONDAY. THE JUSSIEUAN SYSTEM. THALAMIFLORALS. Order 4. THE POPPIES. (Papaveraceæ.) W. I HAVE had such a run, Lucy! Papa sent me to the corn-fields for a certain plant, and here it is! (1.) The Common Red Poppy; with bud and seed vessel. (2.) The capsule or ovary. L. It's a poppy. I suppose, then, that it belongs to Order 4. P. Yes; it's an interesting plant. It is the farmer's plague, and he calls it a rank weed. Nevertheless, poppies are useful, because of their narcotic Botany. quality. When the ovary of the white poppy is unripe, a pulp or jelly is procured from it, which is called opium. This opium is highly narcotic, and when properly used, is a most valuable medicine." But it is also most improperly used, as you read in "Uncle Richard's Travels" (vol. iv. page 111); it has thus been the curse of millions. Some of the medicines prepared from the poppy are morphia, laudanum, paregoric elixir, and syrup of poppies. A great many patent medicines for babies, which are called cordials, also contain poppy juice, such as Godfrey's Cordial, &c. They are given because of the soothing effect of the opium, but many are very dangerous; some have even caused death. L. I have heard of Godfrey's Cordial, papa. P. The ovaries of the white poppy (or, you may say, the capsules, which you will soon see is a better name) are also picked when ripe. They are sold by the chemists to boil and use as a "fomentation." W. Yes. Don't you remember that mamma had some boiled poppy-heads applied to her face, when she had the face-ache? P. Oil is also procured from the seeds of the poppy; but we have said enough of the uses of the plant. Examine its parts. We will begin with the centre of the flower this time. Here is a capsule, or poppy-head, as you call it. It is certainly a distinctly marked ovary, but the pistil is not very distinct. W. No; where is it, papa? P. These ridges which form a star shape on the crown of the ovary are all you have of the pistil (No. 2); they are the stigmas. The styles are wanting. Now let us cut open the capsule. There! Tell me whether or not it is divided into many carpels, like the ovary of the WaterLily. Section of Capsule; Parietal Placentæ. Ion. Yes, it seems to be. L. No; I think it is not, because you see, Ion, the divisions do not meet in the centre and make complete cells. P. You are right, Lucy; so we say that the ovary has only one cell. W. Then what do you call these little partitions springing from the side, which the seeds are sticking to? P. Each division is called a placenta. The placenta is the part to which the ovules are always joined. When the placentæ spring from the walls of an ovary, as these do, they are said to be parietal. You had better notice that word, as there are other kinds of placenta. The Heartsease has parietal placente; if you will pick a seed-vessel, you will see the placentæ joined to the sides, and the seeds attached to them. Ion. The poppy has a great many seeds, but I cannot think how they get out. See what a hard tough box this poppy-head is; it will not burst, I suppose. P. No; but if you will turn it upside down Ion. I will. Ah, see Lucy, how the seeds are running away! P. That is because there is a particular contrivance. There are a number of doors (or valves) for the seeds to pass through. These valves are open; you may observe them underneath the lid of the capsule (see No. 2 in the cut at the commencement of the lesson); they are in the spaces between the stigmas. But we must quickly notice the other parts of the flower. Will you look at this poppybud? The calyx has, you see, only two sepals, which completely enclose all the red petals; these fall off when the flower opens. L. So they are called "deciduous." P. The corolla has four petals which are much crumpled. W. Yes; and they are very large and thin. No wonder, when they have no calyx to keep them steady, that they flaunt about so when the wind blows them; but some poppies have more than four petals. P. Yes. The great double Marseilles Poppy which grew in our garden last year had a great many petals. Generally the petals are either four or some multiple of that number. The stamens are, you may see, very numerous; and are of course "hypogynous." The juice, which we have noticed before, is the last distinction. In all the tribe the juice is white and milky; the Crowfoot tribe, on the other hand, have always a clear juice. L. Now will you tell us the varieties of poppy? joined that they cannot separate; it therefore will not open, and the bud inside would be imprisoned, if it were not that the calyx is joined very weakly to the receptacle. The bud therefore expands with all its might, breaks away the calyx from the receptacle, and pushes it off at the top. The useless calyx then drops to the ground, like an empty extinguisher. Order 4. THE POPPIES. (Parts.) The FLOWER has an Ovary consisting of a large capP. No, they are too many sule, which is one-celled, with to be enumerated. There are parietal placenta, and is manyin the order some flowers which seeded (Polyspermous); the pistil has no style, the stigmas are stelappear very different from the late (radiated), and lie upon the poppy. The Major Celandine flat apex of the ovary; has two has small yellow flowers which large sepals, deciduous; petals, grow in "umbels" (vol. iv. four, or some multiple of four; page 229); its capsule is long stamens, hypogynous and nuand pod-shaped, like that of merous. mustard-seed or a pea; all its parts yield an orange-coloured juice; it grows in waste places round about towns and villages. Again, the Horned Poppy has only two carpels, which grow together and look like long slender horns; it grows chiefly on the sea-shore. There is one curious example of the poppy tribe which we have in our garden. It is a foreigner, and is called the Eschscholtzia. It has a curious calyx, which covers the whole bud like a night-cap. The two sepals of this calyx are The plants are herbaceous, or shrubs, and have a milky juice. (Varieties.) The Common Red Poppy, Black, White, Oriental, Marseilles, &c., the Horned Poppy, Major Celandine, Eschscholtzia. (Uses.) Its narcotic and soothing qualities are much used in medicine, and abused in the form of opium. (Note. These plants are distinguished from Order 1. Ranunculacea, by not having distinct carpels, but a single ovary; they differ from Order 3, Nymphaeacea, in their parietal placenta and deciduous calyx; their juice is more "milky" than that of the third order, which is only rather white, while that of Order 1 is quite So clear.) WHOSE hand the varied leaf designed, |