PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION 



Surely Sir John Lubbock is right in maintaining that " those 

 who love nature can never be dull," provided that love be ex- 

 pressed by an intelligent interest rather than by a purely senti- 

 mental rapture. 



The " Flower Descriptions " should be consulted in order to 

 learn the actual dimensions of the different plants, as it has not 

 always been possible to preserve their relative sizes in the illustra- 

 tions. The aim in the drawings has been to help the reader to 

 identify the flowers described in the text, and to this end they 

 are presented as simply as possible, with no attempt at artistic 

 arrangement or grouping. 



We desire to express our thanks to Miss Harriet Procter, of 

 Cincinnati, for her assistance and encouragement. Acknowledg- 

 ment of their kind help is also due to Mrs. Seth Doane, of 

 Orleans, Mass., and to Mr. Eugene P. Bicknell, of Riverdale, 

 N. Y. To Dr. N. L. Britton, of Columbia College, we are in- 

 debted for permission to work in the College Herbarium. 



NEW YORK, March 15, 1893. 



