as a Study for young People, 133 



virons of London, some admirable collections, that will afford 

 him a fund of information and delight, in the study of exotics. 

 There I leave him ; bashfulness, I presume, will not impede 

 his progress. Not so our female students ; I must venture 

 to say a word in their behalf, to the proprietors of these 

 imported gardens. Gentlemen are, perhaps, less liable to 

 the disappointment of which I am about to speak ; I can 

 readily suppose that there are comparatively few male visitors 

 who are not more or less acquainted with botany, and, there- 

 fore, they would be likely to fare better than ladies, of whom 

 the great majority go merely as to an exhibition of beautiful 

 plants, without knowing one from another, or caring to know 

 them, unless, it may be, the coffee tree, sind one or two others 

 of popular note. The consequence is, that those ladies who 

 go with a view to further enquiry are liable to disappoint- 

 ment. A lady derives little information, and, therefore, 

 comparatively little pleasure, from a visit to the best col- 

 lection of exotics, however rare, however beautiful, however 

 interesting, from the hasty manner in which she is conducted, 

 through them. She is not only led hastily onwards, without 

 time to pay one hundredth part of the attention they deserve, 

 to the plants exhibited, but is generally attended by some ig- 

 norant lad, who is incompetent to reply to any question put 

 to him, as to the plants, their names, countries, habits, ,&c. ; 

 and though she may see a variety of interesting plants, all un- 

 known to her, she will be very fortunate if she learn even the 

 name of one or two of them. Might not this objection be 

 obviated, by labelling the plants with their botanical names, 

 and permitting the visitor to examine them alone, and at 

 leisure ; or attended only by a boy, whom a sixpence might 

 compensate for his trouble, however long detained? The 

 most interesting exotics would thus become familiar both to 

 the mind and to the eye. It is not to be expected, but that 

 the time of a person well qualified to give the desired in- 

 formation to the botanical visitor of an exotic collection, 

 should be too precious to be lingered away in such 

 attendance; but were the plants labelled, and the visitor 

 allowed sufficient leisure, all persons might derive pleasure 

 and knowledge, in proportion as they should be qualified to 

 seek it. 



I remember more than once to have experienced the evils 

 of which I speak. On some occasions, after asking several 

 questions of the youth who attended our party, and finding 

 that he could not answer them ; that even the answers he 

 did give were not correct ; I desisted altogether from seeking 



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