Part 37

=Boer=, n. D. boer, a farmer; a peasant; the name of the Dutch colonists of South Africa. They are principally farmers and cattle raisers. They have had many difficulties with the English settlers, in some of which blood has been shed.

=Bract=, n. L. bractea, a thin plate of metal; gold-leaf. Used of small, usually thin, leaf-like parts, and often found near a flower or flower cluster.

=Bulb=, n. L. bulbus, a bulbous root; an onion; the name of the underground, scale-covered part of hyacinths, etc.

=Cactus=, n. From a Greek word meaning “a prickly plant”; a group of plants which usually grow in dry places and have prickles or thorns instead of leaves. The prickly pear grows wild in northern latitudes, and others, such as the night-blooming cereus, are often seen in hothouses.

=Callous=, a. L. callosus, hard-skinned, thickened and hardened. Applied to a hard place on the skin, usually the result of friction.

=Calyx=, n. From a Greek word meaning “to cover”; the outer set of envelopes which form the perianth of a flower. If the perianth has but one set of envelopes it is called the calyx.

=Capillary attraction=, n. The force which causes liquids to disperse through fabrics or tissues. If one end of a towel be placed in a bowl of water, the whole towel will be wet in course of time.

=Carbon=, n. L. carbo, a coal; a substance very widely distributed and existing under various forms. Coal is one form of carbon, graphite another, the diamond a third. One atom of carbon combined with two of oxygen form carbon dioxide.

=Carbon dioxide=, n. A heavy gas, found as an impurity in the air. It is breathed out by animals and plants, and absorbed and used as a food by plants.

=Castor oil=, n. The oil obtained from the seeds of the castor-oil plant. Used as a medicine and also in dyeing cotton certain colors.

=Cell=, n. L. cella, a small room; a case or cup in which something is held, as anther cell, ovary cell, honeycomb cell; also the protoplasmic particles of which plants and animals are built up.

=Candelabrum=, n. L. candela, a candle; a candle stick; any branched candlestick. A candelabrum rests on a post, while a chandelier is suspended. Candelabra is the plural.

=Chasm=, n. From a Greek word meaning “a yawning hollow”; a wide, deep cleft.

=Chlorophyll=, n. From two Greek words meaning “light green” and “leaf,” leaf-green; the green coloring matter of vegetation.

=Columbine=, n. L. columba, a dove; a flowering plant which gets its name from the fancied resemblance of its petals and sepals to the heads of doves round a dish.

=Complexity=, n. L. com, together, plectere, to weave; formed by a combination of simple things.

=Convolvulaceæ=, n. The name of a family of plants to which belong the morning-glory and bindweed.

=Cornucopia=, n. L. cornu, horn, copia, plenty; horn of plenty.

=Corolla=, n. L. corolla, a little crown; a garland; the floral envelope within the calyx, very often bright colored.

=Cotton-seed oil=, n. An oil expressed from the seeds of the cotton plant and, when purified, used instead of olive oil.

=Crete=, n. An island to the south of Greece.

=Crocus=, n. An early spring flower.

=Cross-fertilization=, n. The fertilization of the ovules of one flower by the pollen of another.

=Cross-fertilized=, a. Fertilized by the pollen from another plant.

=Dew=, n. The moisture of the air when condensed on any cold surface. Dew does not fall; it is formed wherever moisture in the air comes in contact with a substance colder than the air. Hence there may be dew on the under as well as the upper side of a leaf.

=Dissolve=, v. L. dis, apart, solvere, loose; to separate the solid particles of a body in a liquid; to melt. Sugar dissolves in water.

=Double flowers=, n. All those whose petals are numerous. Sometimes the stamens are changed into petals, as in double roses, and sometimes even the pistils have become petals.

=Evaporation=, n. The conversion of a solid or liquid by heat into vapor. Most often used in reference to the conversion of water into vapor. The warm air of summer causes a rapid evaporation of water from the leaves of plants.