BOTANY FOR BEGINNERS. f Oh. VL 



CHAPTER VI. 



Best method of learning Technical terms Organized and 

 of inorganized Beings The Root. 



106. WHEN you began to analyze plants, you were made ac- 

 quainted with the first ten classes, because these are the most 

 simple and easy to learn. But as you have now learned all the 

 classes and orders, it is necessary that you should understand 

 that the best method of analyzing a plant, i-s to begin by com- 

 paring it with the description of the last class, and if it does not 

 belong there, to go on to the lower classes. 



107. As you proceed in your Botanical studies, you will find 

 it necessary to look out many words in the vocabulary, which 

 is attached to the book you are now studying. In fact, the lan- 

 guage of Botany is new to you,, and you must make use of a 

 dictionary, as if you were studying a new language. 



108. It used to be considered necessary for a pupil in the first 

 place to learn to repeat the hard words, or what are called the 

 technical terms,; but this was tedious and discouraging, and 

 therefore Botany was thought to be a dry and difficult study. 



109. But you can much better learn the technical terms by 

 looking out their definitions as you have occasion to under- 

 stand them ; for instance, when "y u are examining some one 

 plant, you find in the description of the species which belong 

 to the g'enus to which you have traced it, one which is said to 

 have leaves radical; by turning to the vocabulary, you find 

 that this means growing from the root ;* if your plant has its 

 leaves growing from the stalk, you will perceive that they 

 were not radical. If the leaves were said to be serrate, by 

 turning to the vocabulary, you find that this means having 

 notches upon the edge, like the teeth of a saw (from serra, a 

 saw ;) if your plant has its leaves without such notches, you 

 would see that they were not serrate. If the term glabrous 

 were used, you would find it meant smooth; if the leaves of 

 your plant were rough, you would see that this word would not 

 apply to them. If another species was described as having 



* The root in Latin is radix, genitive radicis, from whence comes 

 radical. 



106. What is the best method of analyzing plants 1 



107. Why must you use a vocabulary in studying Botany 1 



108. Why was Botany formerly considered a dry study'? 



109. What is the best way of learning technical terms'' 



