Introductory 



the smallest of the flowers that grows be- 

 neath them. 



If we do not happen ourselves to be 

 blessed with a natural turn for observa- 

 tion, a little companionship with one of 

 these more fortunate beings will persuade 

 us, I think, that the habit is one which it 

 would be both possible and desirable to 

 cultivate. It had never occurred to me, 

 for example, that it would be worth while 

 to look for wild flowers on Fifth Avenue, 

 until a certain morning when a keen- 

 eyed botanical companion stooped and 

 plucked from an earth-filled chink in its 

 pavement, a little blossom which had 

 found its way hither from some country 

 lane. Since then I have tried to keep my 

 wits about me even on that highway of 

 the Philistines. 



We are prone, most of us, to be inac- 

 curate as well as unobservant ; and I 

 know of no better antidote to inaccuracy 

 than a faithful study of plants. It is 



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