PREFACE 



various blood-relationship, but commonly classed together 

 by the people on the basis of certain biological features 

 they have in common, viz. in being woody and all that 

 that implies. In both cases the further limitation is 

 imposed that we deal with the plants of our own country, 

 or such as are commonly planted here, and this restriction 

 is the less a disadvantage, because our native and intro- 

 duced species happen to be very excellent representatives 

 of the group selected. 



But, in addition to the hope that such studies may 

 encourage closer work in the field, and convince students 

 that Field-Botany is not confined to a few weeks of our 

 fleeting seasons, I also hope to show that they are useful 

 to the expert. Rarely have I experienced a greater 

 surprise, or enjoyed days of field-work more, than during 

 a fortunate visit many years ago to one of the greatest 

 Forest-Botanists ever known to Europe : he could recog- 

 nise practically every species of tree, shrub, or bush we 

 met with, from the smallest piece of twig with one or two 

 internodes on it, or from a mere frarjment of its wood or 

 bark or leaf, and if anyone is inclined to regard such 

 knowledge as barren, let him look into the work that 

 Robert Hartig accomplished during his lifetime. 



The purpose of this Avork, then, is several sided. It 

 appeals to the amateur who wishes to know something 

 of the study of trees and shrubs and is for that reason 

 expressed in language devoid of unnecessary technicalities 

 and so comprises an introduction to Nature-Study in 

 what I hold to be the true sense of that much-abused 

 term ; it also comprises an introduction to the methods 



