MULBERRY: CELTIS: FIG. 45 



people will be sure to bring you leaves of this plant 

 and ask you to tell them the name. What a comfort 

 and satisfaction it is to some people to find out the 

 name of this or that flower or tree ! There are 

 persons who delight to walk along a road and 

 ascertain the name of the owner of each house or 

 villa which they pass ; but they do not claim to be 

 ethnologists. Yet it is quite a common delusion that 

 a person who knows the names of a great number of 

 plants must be an accomplished botanist. Let me 

 quote on this subject a couple of hexameters, the 

 first which the Muse dictated to my son. Whether 

 perfect or not, they are creditable, I consider, for a 

 coup d'essai : 



" Nomina qui rogitat Naturam coepit amare : 

 Causas qui quserit Naturae est verus amator." 



It is difficult, as a rule, to name a plant from a 

 leaf ; but that of the Paper Mulberry admits of no 

 mistake. The elegant outline and clean-cut curves 

 make it quite unique (Fig. 18). I recommend it as an 

 excellent drawing copy. Notice that this tree bears 



Fig. 18. LEAF OF BROUSSONETIA. 



