254 



THE GUIDE TO NATURE. 



ness of structure and parts ; to regular- 

 ity of form or to its apparent 

 whimsicalities; * to the shape and the 

 surface aspect of leaves ; to the laugh- 

 able resemblance, it may be, of seed 

 vessels to some familiar domestic uten- 

 sil or object, like those of the common 

 wild cucumber, which, when once seen 

 can never be thought of without a 

 smile, nor without a feeling of aston- 

 ishment at such a freak of nature; all 

 these and more are waiting.' 



Xo season limits the botanical stu- 

 dent. Professor Bessey's correspond- 

 ent began his investigations in a Ne- 

 braska winter, when blizzards are ever 

 ready to jump up and do things. He 

 was "'successful, too, but for only one 

 reason. He wanted to know. With 

 that want unsupplied, a student is suc- 

 cessful from the start. Enthusiasm 

 and a little mentality are pre-requi- 

 sites. 



But Professor Bessey is not quite 

 explicit enough, I think, to be entirely 

 helpful to the beginner that desires to 

 begin, and is alone. What little bot- 

 any I know, and I confess that while it 

 is not much, I should not be willing 

 to part with it for much money, but 

 that modicum I have taught myself 

 by the use of a single book; the best 

 book on the subject ever written for 

 the teacher of self, although to the ad- 

 vanced or to the professional botanist, 

 it is, I have been told, open to criticism, 

 because it is not strictly "scientific." 

 Strictly scientific or not, it is, I repeat, 

 the best book ever written for the pur- 

 pose now in view. In this admirable 

 work, ignorant absolutely of the sub- 

 ject, I read "Part First, Structural 

 Botany; or, Organogranhv." I read it 

 in the "early spring, when the earth was 

 frozen hard as iron, but that "Part 

 First" seemed to be a door opening 

 into a region, warm, alluring, beauti- 

 ful. When spring came down this 

 way, I made acquaintance with the 

 "Analysis of the Natural Orders, 

 founded upon the most obvious 

 or artificial characters, designed as 

 a Key for the ready determination 

 of any plant, native, naturalized 

 or cultivated growing, within the 

 limits of his Flora," those limits being 



the entire country east of the Missis- 

 sippi River, with the exception of the 

 southern portion of Florida, where, 

 in the Everglades, I imagine that self- 

 taught students of botany are scarce. 



The first plant that I tried to 

 "analize" was the little "Whitlow 

 grass," (Drabo verna), and I thought, 

 if all flowering plants should be as 

 difficult as that, and make me work 

 so hard, that I had a rough road in 

 front of me. My mistake was in se- 

 lecting so small a flower. It was all I 

 could get. I found the name, and 

 had it correctly, too, and without hu- 

 man aid. The snow was still lying 

 in the corners of the fences, and beside 

 the shaded banks, but the little Draba 

 had struggled up, and had been cap- 

 tured by an ignorant youth with plenty 

 of enthusiastic curiosity, and a desire 

 to know. Do you suppose that I ever 

 see that delicate white blossom, almost 

 invisible in its minuteness, without 

 looking at it with a feeling of affection, 

 without having a mental vision of the 

 youth, the library, the patches of snow 

 abroad on the landscape, the scattered 

 plants ; without remembering the joy 

 with which I recognized that I was 

 right, and that Draba verna was the 

 name of my new friend? "If you be- 

 lieve that, you will believe anything." 

 The admirable book to which I am 

 referring, is Alphonso Wood's "Class- 

 Book of Botany," and my edition is 

 dated 1864. There is no better book, 

 I again repeat, there can be no better 

 book for this purpose. It is simple, 

 direct, interesting, helpful, and alto- 

 gether delightful. The Keys are the 

 best and simplest that I have ever 

 seen, and I have seen many. They 

 lead the student to the object by the 

 shortest, smoothest, most direct path. 

 They are said to be unscientific. I 

 suppose they are. I don't care tup- 

 pence about that. They do what they 

 set out to do, and they do it readily 

 and well. What more do you want? 

 You are teaching yourself, and Wood's 

 Class-Book will smooth many a rough 

 place over which you would otherwise 

 stumble and bruise your feet. Gray's 

 "Lessons in Botany and Vegetable 

 Physiology" is a model. It is scienti- 



