4-8 THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. 



another "collection" to those already in the house, I saw 

 a little editorial note in The American Botanist that 

 cr\^stalized my intention. 



So I began with little interest at first and still with 

 the notion Iw^as most likeh' adding another burden to an 

 over full life ; but before long I began making discoveries. 

 Every plant has different seeds, while they keep some sort 

 of familj^ likeness. All of them are prett}- and man3^ of 

 them are wonderfully beautiful, seen with a lens. Then 

 the variety of seed vessels and the cunning arrangement of 

 seeds in such infinitely various wa^'s. 



I had no idea how much of the beauty of flowers went 

 deeper than the surface. Ever3'bod3' admires them, the 

 artist sees also beauty in the color, grace and pose of the 

 whole plant. But the botanist is going to find more than 

 these; he finds the wonderful structure of the plant inside, 

 and many things hidden from all the world but him. 



Then it did not take long to fill me with amazement 

 and chagrin to find how many things I do not know 

 about the commonest and most familiar plants. For in- 

 stance, the mustard. We have two species here — ^which 

 you can't make an\d3ody believe — and only a botanist 

 knows. They look alike in ever}- respect to an ordinar3' 

 observer and I am sure I cannot see an^' difference in their 

 flowers; but I know that Brassica campestris has some 

 clasping upper leaves, and that in B. nigra they all have 

 petioles. 



I also kno\v that campestris comes earlier and that 

 nigra grows larger. In fact, I thought I knew all about 

 mustard, for it grows ever\'where in all vacant places and 

 sometimes we drive through groves of it on country- roads. 

 But imagine what I thought of m3^self when I came to 

 gather the seeds and found that B. nigra has along rachis 

 w^ith seeds pods not more than three-fourths of an inch 

 long and a line or two wide, lying close — quite parallel — 

 while campestrishas seed vessels two or three inches long, 

 inflated, and standing at right angles to the stem quite 

 like the garden radish. 



