A WIDE WORLD OF PLANT-LIFE 27 



more a man knows of Nature, so much the more he has 

 learnt what an immense amount Hes still beyond his 

 power to understand. 



And the true understanding of plants means a great 

 deal more than just being able to give their names, 

 either in English or in Latin. 



It is useful to know their names, and still farther to 

 be able to say to which Divisions or Families in botany 

 each one belongs. But that is a small part of the 

 question. Many people who can give names glibly 

 enough know almost nothing of their real nature, their 

 true history. And some others, who are not at all ready 

 with their names, could tell you any amount about the 

 plants themselves, and about their curious wonderful 

 ways. 



You know how, in the Animal Kingdom, we find an 

 enormous variety of creatures, ranging from the eagle 

 to the humming-bird, from the elephant to the mouse, 

 from the whale to a speck of floating jelly. 



And it is the same in the Vegetable Kingdom. There 

 too, we have all kinds, all sizes. There too, we can 

 range from the vast Wellingtonia and the wide-spreading 

 Banyan, down to invisible vegetable-specks, living their 

 own tiny lives; and from huge flowers, a yard across, 

 down to blossoms so minute that they can only be seen 

 with a magnifying- glass. 



Not all plants are equal; not all have the same 

 powers; not all are beautiful. And no two kinds of 

 tree, no two kinds of herb, no two kinds of flower, are 

 alike. 



More than this, though one might not think it, no 



