8 HENSLOW's BOTANICAL CHARTS. 



The American edition consists of six large charts, and the 

 pictures are spread over twice the original area, giving much 

 greater distinctness and a very attractive aspect to the series. 

 Several American specimens have been substituted for English 

 species which do not occur in this country, and illustrations 

 of the classes of flowerless plants have been added, for which 

 Prof. Henslow did not seem to find room. 



In the plan of the charts, the plant is first represented of 

 its natural size and colors ; then a magnified section of one of 

 its flowers is given, showing the relations of the parts to each 

 other. Separate magnified views of the different floral organs, 

 exhibiting all the botanical characters that belong to the 

 group of which it is a type, are also represented. The charts 

 contain nearly five hundred figures colored to the life, and 

 which represent twenty-four orders and more than forty spe- 

 cies of plants, showing a great variety of forms and structures 

 of leaf, stem, root, inflorescence, flower, fruit, and seed, with 

 numerous incidental characters peculiar to limited groups. 

 All these are so presented as to be readily compared and con- 

 trasted with each other. 



The charts are not designed to supersede the study of 

 plants, but only to facilitate it. Their office is the same as 

 the illustrations of the book ; but they are more perfect, and 

 bring the pupil a step nearer to the objects themselves. Many 

 plant characters are so minute that they are difficult to find, 

 and much is gained by referring first to the enlarged and col- 

 ored representations. 



Besides this special assistance in object-study, the charts 

 will be of chief value in bringing into a narrow compass a 

 complete view of the structures and relations of the leading 

 types of the vegetable kingdom. In fact, they are designed 

 to present, fully and clearly, those groupings of characters upon 

 which orders depend in classification ; while in several cases 

 of large and diversified orders the characters of leading genera 

 are also given by typical specimens. The charts will thus be 

 found equally valuable to the beginner, the intermediate pu- 

 pil, and the advanced student. A Key accompanies the charts, 

 and they can be used with any botanical text-books, and dur- 

 ing the season of plants they should be upon the walls of every 

 school-room where botany is studied.^ 



