Vii. 
small grapnel with a string attached to it, may save the necessity 
of wading. The specimen, when gathered, should be put at once 
into a tin “ vasculum,” or sandwich-box, and, if the bottom of 
this is previously covered with a piece of wet blotting paper, even 
delicate flowers will remain unchanged for many hours. 
In examining the specimen with the following Key it is only 
rarely that any kind of dissection is necessary, but a small, fine- 
pointed pair of dressing-forceps, such as most chemists supply, is 
a very handy instrument for poking about with, especially if a 
flower obstinately shuts itself, or some small structure has to be 
pulled aside for a clearer view. An even more important adjunct 
is a magnifying glass, without which the details of small flowers, 
or the hairs on the surface of leaves, etc., cannot be satisfactorily 
seen. It should be remembered that, as a rule, the smaller the 
lens the more it magnifies. One of about an inch and a half 
focus is the most useful for general work, and may cost anything 
from sixpence upwards. Some details can only be seen ‘against 
the light,” z.e., when the object is viewed as a transparency, with 
the light behind it. 
PART III. EXPLANATION OF THE TERMS 
USED. 
The student should read through this section carefully before 
trying to use the Key, and should make sure that he knows the 
names of the different parts of the flower, and understands 
the meaning of opposite leaves, leaflets, stipules, and bracts. 
The other terms, when they occur in the text, are generally made 
clear by the figures which accompany it. 
The following general terms are in frequent use. 
A segment is a part of any structure which is more or less 
completely divided off from the rest. It is an intentionally vague 
and comprehensive term, including such parts as are almost 
completely severed, as well as those which are divided by a 
mere notch. 
The base of any structure is always the part nearest to its 
attachment, or stalk, even if it hangs vertically downwards so that 
the base is at the top. The apex is the opposite end to the base. 
Distinct, in this book, always means evident, or plain (not 
necessarily divided off, for which the term “separate” is used). 
In the short descriptions of the leaves, flowers, and fruit, 
only the terms illustrated on the two following pages are used, 
and some, even of these, almost explain themselves. 
The leaves always spring from the stem or branches. Not 
infrequently however, some, or even all of them, arise from the 
