4 IDENTIFYING WILD FLOWERS. 



5. If the description seems to agree well with the 

 specimen, turn up the corresponding number in Part II., 

 and pursue the work still further for the purpose of verifica- 

 tion. The number given after the scientific name is an 

 indication of the extent of its distribution in our Islands. 

 Thus, the number 118 means that the plant grows in 

 all the 118 counties in the British Isles, and that it is a 

 plant probably common in those districts ; while the 

 number 10, for instance, indicates that it occurs only 

 in 10 of those counties, and is therefore a plant growing 

 in a restricted area, and is probably rare in those 

 districts. In the place of these numbers the sign 

 indicates that the plant is not a native of these Islands ; 

 its distribution, therefore, is variable and its permanency 

 uncertain. The special areas in which each plant species 

 is found, and the approximate date of appearance, are 

 also given as further guides. The dates given are in- 

 tended to form the groundwork for the student's observa- 

 tion and records. His own special district will provide its 

 own set of dates, approximating to the dates given as a 

 guide for beginners. Those species which are figured in 

 Hulme's "Familiar Wild Fiowers' : * are marked "F. W. F.," 

 and the numbers following refer to the volume and page 

 in that work. The essential features of each family 

 of plants are given at the head of the order to which 

 the plant belongs. If your plant be found to agree with 

 these descriptions and details, you may then decide to 

 give it not only the common name in Part I., but also 

 its scientific name in Part II., and assign it to its proper 

 family, etc. 



If you have access to a work with coloured illustra- 

 tions, you are then easily able to still further confirm your 

 conclusions, as well as to obtain supplementary information 

 about the plant. 



B. ABOUT FLOWERS. 



1. Simple or Single Flowers (as distinguished from Com- 

 posites ? such as the Dandelion, Daisy, Coltsfoot, and 

 * Published by Messrs. Cassell & Co, 



