36 JOURNAL OF THE 



scientific name must be eventually learned, but the unavoidable 

 difficulty involved in learning and memorizing the name will be 

 less discouraging when the need of knowing the name is urgently 

 felt. Our barbarous Latin nomenclature, which well might make 

 Virgil or Tully turn in their graves, is the least admirable })art 

 of the science and ought not to be obtrusively thrust before 

 beginners! The average beginner is dismayed when, upon open- 

 ing for the first time his botanical text- book, he finds the initial 

 chapters headed by such unpromising words as Phylotoxis, Esti- 

 vation, Morphology, etc., etc. This verbal quagmire placed by 

 pedantry before the entrance to the ^'fairy-land of science'' has 

 swallowed up more budding scientific; enthusiasm than has of 

 war-like zeal 



" ■«■ * * that Serbonian bog 



'Tvvixt Damiata and Mount Cassiiis old, 



Where armies whole have sunk." 



Where the services of a competent teacher can be had the best 

 way to begin the study of plants is to go into the field and study 

 them upon their native soil. Where no such a teacher can be 

 found — such teachers are scarce — recourse to books for guidance 

 is inevital)le. For young pupils, and older ones who are unfa- 

 miliar with Latin, the best book to begin with is Miss Youman's 

 First Book in Botany. This will lead up to Gray's School and 

 Field Book, but persons not likely to be discouraged by Latin 

 words may begin with the latter book. 



Much more useful than any book is the student's field outfit. 

 This should include a good pocket magnifier having two lenses, 

 a pocket-knife with a thin and sharp blade for slicing soft stems 

 and ovaries, a couple of steel crochet needles for picking out 

 small seeds, a garden trowel or a stout knife ibr digging u}> 

 roots, and an air-tight tin box for preserving su(;h specimens as 

 may be wanted for further study at home. 



It is not best to bother with drying })lants for the formation 

 of a herbarium until after the student has become well acquainted 

 with all the sj)ecies common to his locality. When that time 

 comes he will want to procure new species for study, and these 



