32 RIVERBY 



is a sealed book to them. The descriptions of the 

 flowers are in a language which they do not under- 

 stand at all. Arid the key is no help to them. It 

 is as much a puzzle as the botany itself. They need 

 a key to unlock the key. 



One of these days some one will give us a hand- 

 book of our wild flowers, by the aid of which we 

 shall all be able to name those we gather in our 

 walks without the trouble of analyzing them. In 

 this book we shall have a list of all our flowers 

 arranged according to color, as white flowers, blue 

 flowers, yellow flowers, pink flowers, etc., with 

 place of growth and time of blooming; also lists or 

 sub-lists of fragrant flowers, climbing flowers, marsh 

 flowers, meadow flowers, wood flowers, etc., so that, 

 with flower in hand, by running over these lists we 

 shall be pretty sure to find its name. Having got 

 its name, we can turn to Gray or Wood and find a 

 more technical description of it if we choose. 



