GETTING ACQUAINTED WITH THE TREES 



that he had a fine herbarium where I might 

 see all the plants I wanted, nicely dried and 

 spread out with pins and pasters, their roots 

 and all ! 



Look at dead plants, their roots indecently 

 exposed to mere curiosity, on a bright, living 

 early April day? Not much! I told my trou- 

 ble to the professor of agriculture, whose eyes 

 brightened, as he informed me he had no 

 classes for that morning, and — ^^We would see!" 

 We did see a whole host of living things 

 outdoors, — flowers peeping out; leaves of the 

 willows, just breaking; buds ready to burst; 

 all nature waiting for the sun's call of the 

 ^^grand entree." It was a good day; but I 

 pitied that poor old dull- eyed herbarium spec- 

 imen of a botanical professor, in whose veins 

 the blood was congealing, when everything 

 about called on him to get out under the rays 

 of God's sun, and study, book in hand if he 

 wanted, the bursting, hurrying facts of the im- 

 minent spring. 



But a word more about the liquidambar — 

 the name by which I hope the tree we are 

 discussing may be talked of and thought of. 



224 



