PREFACE 



WILD Flower study is a pursuit fraught with pleasure 

 and with: 



" Health that mocks the doctor's rules.'' 



It does not require a preparatory course nor any special 

 instruction to become acquainted with the more com- 

 mon Wild Flowers and their individual traits. Every 

 dooryard and field, wayside, mountain and valley, 

 from the polar regions to the tropics, and from ocean 

 to ocean, abounds in these free-born gifts of Nature. 

 There can be no reason why every one should not 

 become acquainted with and enjoy them. The descrip- 

 tions which follow are, therefore, intended to bring 

 those seeking information on this subject into contact 

 with the more common species in the most direct and 

 interesting manner. The book includes many simple 

 accounts of plant and flower connection with history, 

 medicine, and legend, together with bits of folk-lore 

 and poetry. The time of flowering, the range and 

 locality where each flower may be sought, are 

 given, and, above all, the author aims first and last 

 to interest and instruct those who seek ready and 

 reliable information on the subject. Hundreds of 

 notes recorded in the descriptions contained herein 

 were made on the spot where the plants were growing 

 naturally, and many of the descriptions were written 



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