THE AMKRICAN BOTANIST 19 



all\ (.hoosc tlic more rapid metlKHl ni transportation. (3ne 

 can ha\e a rattling good time in the cheapest of automobiles! 

 It is. however, diflicult to stop when one once gets started. 

 l'.\en at ()rdinar\- speeds, the flowers trail [)a.st as mere hloh^ 

 of color in the landscape and one hesitates to check the drixer 

 in his flight lest the other members of the party be annoyed. 

 The only [)racticable way to stud\- plants is on foot, though 

 the auto need not be disdained as a means of reaching the spot 

 where the real journey is to begin. There is much to be said, 

 however, in favor of entire journeys afoot and I am grat- 

 ified to note that the number who agree with this opinion 

 seems to be increasing. 



There is a special delight in making short cuts across 

 fields, following the brooks, or sauntering along country by- 

 ways where the automobile cannot go. One .sees so many 

 things that are hidden from those who must keep to the high- 

 ways. It is difficidt, I confess, to get the average automobile 

 driver to appreciate this point of view. That anybody should 

 actually prefer to walk when he can ride is incomprehensi- 

 ble to him. It is one of the commonest, experiences of the bot- 

 anizer to be offered a lift to the nearest town by well-inten- 

 tioned autoists, but the wise student knows very well that one 

 cannot successfully pursue plants with any combination of 

 iron, rubber and gasoline. "All travelling," says Ruskin, "is 

 dull in exact proportion to its rapidity" and this observation 

 has special application in the case of botanical rambles. 



Many things combine to make the study of plants en- 

 joyable. Every excursion afield is a voyage of discovery in 

 which one makes new acquaintances, accumulates unex- 

 pected treasures, and steadily adds to his stock of mental 

 pictures which it is ever a joy to recall. The botanizer en- 

 ters a new world from his verv doorstep. Poking about the 



