PREFACE. 



IT would be a thankless service indeed if this con- 

 tribution to the history of errors were nothing 

 more than a mere exhibition of certain mistakes 

 and delusions. However prone any of us may be 

 to observe and criticise the errors of others no right 

 minded person can seriously contemplate imperfec- 

 tion of any kind with any degree of pleasure; the 

 search for errors has in it none of the satisfaction 

 which rewards the seeker after truth ; except, there- 

 fore, as a basis for juster views of plant life, and as 

 a lesson of caution against accepting beliefs not 

 founded in reason, this little work has no excuse 

 for its existence. But if it shall, to some extent, 

 enable those for whom it was prepared to see more 

 clearly some of the principles which underlie the 

 operations of the farm and garden, and lead them 

 to rely with greater confidence on their own ability 

 to understand these natural laws it will have ful- 

 filled the leading purposes for which it was writ- 

 ten. 



Next to acquiring knowledge, one should desire 

 to know where reliable information may be ob- 

 tained. Ignorance is chiefly disastrous when united 



(5) 



