FOREWORD 



It does not fall to the lot of most people to be able 

 to devote much time to Botany. This book does not 

 pretend to be even an introduction to that delightful 

 pursuit. Given, however, a certain admiration for 

 the beauties of the garden and countryside. Miss 

 Giberne's book is calculated to enlarge it into a feeling 

 of friendship for the individuals of the vegetable king- 

 dom. The authoress gracefully draws aside the veil 

 and shows the wind, the bees, and the flowers at play. 

 The reader is encouraged to step among them, and to 

 look for himself. 



Any one who had been content with the usual super- 

 ficial observation of Nature, and who is hereby intro- 

 duced into an intimate acquaintance with the game and 

 with its players, will have to thank this book for a new 

 and very charming friendship with the animated but 

 previously unnoticed world around him. 



S. T. Dunn, B.A. 



Formerly Official Guide in the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. 



