I have already mentioned (p. 10) that some of the genera included in the order Ranunculaceæ have only a coloured calyx and no corolla; and the Anemone is an example of this peculiarity of construction. The pasque-flower (_Anemone pulsatilla_) is divided into six dark purple sepals, which are covered on the outside with long silky hairs. The leaves are so much cut as almost to resemble those of parsley; and at a short distance below the flowers there are three small floral leaves, or bracts, which grow round the stem, and form what is called an involucre. The carpels are small, oblong bodies, pressed close together, and each is furnished with a long, feathery point, called an awn. The carpels, though lying so close together, are perfectly distinct, and part readily at the slightest touch; and each contains only one seed. It will be seen from this hasty sketch, that the principal point of resemblance between the genera Anemone and Ranunculus, in a botanical point of view, lies in the carpels, which are close together, and are yet so distinct as to part at the slightest touch. There is, however, a general resemblance in some of the flowers, from their five sepals, and numerous stamens, that renders it difficult for a beginner to distinguish an Anemone from a Ranunculus. In many of the British species, also, the carpels are not awned, but slightly curved, very like those of a buttercup. I remember being once very much puzzled with a beautiful little bright yellow flower, that I found in a wood. At first I thought it was a Ranunculus, but the petals were pointed and not roundish; and it could not be a Ficaria, because it had only five petals. At last I looked to see what kind of calyx it had, and found none, that is, no green calyx; and then, observing the involucre of three leaves growing in a whorl round the stem, at some distance below the flower, I knew it was an Anemone; and on comparing it with the plates in Sowerby’s English Botany, on my return home, I ascertained that it was _Anemone ranunculoides._