18 INTRODUCTION. 



valuable and more lasting, than the monuments of ftal- 

 ian and Grecian art, which victory enabled her armies 

 to transfer to Paris. 



But plants cannot be successfully cultivated without 

 a knowledge of their natural habitation and wants, and 

 therefore we find that gardening, the most elegant, and 

 agriculture the most useful of all arts, are improved on- 

 ly in those countries in which botany is made subservi- 

 ent to their advancement. And when a knowledge of 

 this science is more generally diffused throughout our 

 own country, we may expect to see it more frequently 

 enriched with fields, and adorned with gardens, which 

 while they bestow honor on their possessors, shall 

 prove a pleasant recreation to the old, and a useful 

 study to the young, exerting their salutary influence on 

 both. Nor should its influence on the moral charac- 

 ter be entirely disregarded. The late President 

 Dwight was an eminent champion of the virtue which 

 lie practised. Often did he direct the attention of his 

 pupils to Sweden, to point out the influence of natural 

 history on the moral character of man. In that coun- 

 try botany is taught in the schools, and the habitation 

 of her excellent children presents a heart cheering pic- 

 ture of domestic felicity, combining the piety of her 

 divines with the patriotism of her undaunted heroes. 

 Their piety and their patriotism both flow from the 

 -ame source, for while they examine the productions 

 of their country, they become attached to its soil, and 

 while they contemplate the works of their Maker, they 

 inspire the glowing spirit of devotion. 



Botany deserves our highest regard as the source of 

 mental improvement. Nothing so powerfully attracts 

 the notice of the young observer, as the various, the 

 gay, though fleeting beauty of flowers : yet these inter- 



