HOW TO FIND AND NAME 

 WILD FLOWERS. 



AUTHOR'S INTRODUCTION. 



A. HOW TO USE THE LISTS. 



1. If possible, observe several specimens of the kind 

 of plant to be named, and select an average specimen. 



Turn to Part I. and find the list for the month in which 

 your specimens commenced to flower. You will notice that 

 the February list is a very short one, as the season is 

 very young, the ground cold, insects scarce, and few plants 

 find it advantageous or even possible to bloom at this 

 time. The March list is rather longer, and the succeeding 

 ones gradually increase in length, until June is reached, 

 when we have the longest of all. 



It is necessary to bear in mind the part of our 

 Islands in which you are collecting, for this makes some 

 difference in the flowering time of a species. The lists 

 have been compiled so as to give the average time of com- 

 mencing to flower throughout the British Isles, so that 

 if your locality be near Yorkshire (which is fairly central) 

 you should find the times or dates stated approximately 

 in Part II. to be fairly accurate in most cases, and in 

 an average season. If, however, your district be in the 

 South of England, or near the sea-coast, you will find 

 that one to three weeks earlier than the times given will 

 be a suitable guide to the monthly division to consult. 

 The farther northwards, of course, the later the flowers 

 as a rule, unless, again, the locality be near the sea. 



Another point to bear in mind is the height above the 

 sea-level, for specimens growing on the mountains usually 

 flower later than those growing at a lower level. Again, 

 a sheltered nook or a south aspect, which gets a greater 

 share of the sun's rays than the surrounding land, will 



B 



