ADM' I Alios 31 



an exact cxj)ressi(Hi we soon be^Mii Ui use it, 

 because it is more convenient and (jften saves 

 repeatinL,^ a lon<; sentence. 



I would ask ni)' readers to tr}' and obtain 

 from their gardens and fields the various objects 

 mentioned at the close of each chapter, and 

 com[iare them with the plates, learning all about 

 them as they read the letterpress. 



This will, I feel sure, add much interest to the 

 study, for having something to collect and ex- 

 amine tends to lighten mental work and enables 

 us better to understand descriptive writing. 



In this introductory chapter I will simp!)- take 

 a general view of \egetable growth and its 

 adaptation to the situation in which it is found. 



In many respects plants recjuire the same 

 conditions as animals, birds, and insects ; they 

 must have air, food, moisture and light in order 

 to attain healthy growth, and although they differ 

 from animals in being usuall)- stationary, their 

 life is carried on in a vcr)" similar wa)'. Let us 

 take a forest tree as a t}pe. 



It is anchored in the soil by its roots which 

 are its feeding organs ; through ihem it draws 



