48 THE BOTANISTS OF PHILADELPHIA. 



and functions of the several parts of the flower. For the 

 first time he was struck with his ignorance of the common 

 things about him. 



"What a shame it is," said he to himself, "that I 

 should have employed so many years in tilling the earth, 

 and destroying so many flowers and plants without being 

 acquainted with their structure and their uses ! " 



In relating the events of this day, he would declare his 

 inability to account for such thoughts. He said it was like 

 an inspiration, for he had never had such reflections before 

 in his life. After pulling his daisy to pieces, and musing 

 on the parts awhile, he took hold of his plough again, and 

 resumed his labor. 



But his new thoughts did not abandon him, and a 

 strong desire arose within him for some knowledge of the 

 plants and flowers around him. When the bell summoned 

 him to dinner, he related these circumstances to his wife, 

 and made her acquainted with the desire for knowledge 

 which had sprung up in his mind. She did not encourage 

 him. He was not rich enough, she said, to spend any of 

 his time in such pursuits, and she advised him to stick to 

 his farm, which, being recently hewed out of the wilderness, 

 demanded all his time and care. 



But he could not overcome his new desire. It haunted 

 him continually, whether he was at work or at rest, at table 

 or in bed. He resisted the impulse for four or five days, 

 and then, finding his desires unconquerable, he hired a 

 man to plough for him, saddled his horse and rode to Phila- 

 delphia. Arriving at the city, then a town of ten thousand 

 inhabitants, he went to a book store. Not knowing what 

 book to ask for, he told the bookseller his story, and said he 



