INTRODUCTION. 5 



great work on logic took a form which, could not have been 

 given it if the author had not been a working naturalist as 

 well as a logician. In the second volume of his <* System of 

 Logic "Mr. Mill says: 



" Although the scientific arrangements of organic Nature 

 afford as yet the only complete example of the true principles 

 of rational classification, whether as to the formation of groups 

 or of series, these principles are applicable to all cases in which 

 mankind are called upon to bring the various parts of any ex- 

 tensive subject into mental coordination. They are as much 

 to the point when objects are to be classed for purposes of art 

 or business, as for those of science. The proper arrangement, 

 for example, of a code of laws, depends on the same scientific 

 conditions as the classifications in natural history ; nor could 

 there be a better preparatory discipline for that important 

 function than the study of the principles of a natural arrange- 

 ment, not only in the abstract, but in their actual application 

 to the class of phenomena for which they were first elaborated, 

 and which are still the best school for learning their use." 



If, therefore, the object of education is the completest cul- 

 tivation of the powers of the mind, botanical science evidently 

 has a very strong claim to a regular and leading place in our 

 scheme of school-studies. But it will be a grave mistake to 

 suppose that its benefits can be secured by the mere use of text- 

 books, however full and valuable the information they con- 

 tain. Nor are they to be gained by the casual examination of 

 plants, nor by the analyses of a few flowers, with the aid of 

 keys and dictionaries, nor in the limited time usually allotted 

 to the subject. The study must be commenced early and pur- 

 sued steadily by the method of direct observation, until its 

 elementary facts and principles are made entirely familiar. 



It is the claim of the First and Second Books of Botany 

 that they lead the pupil over this indispensable ground, and, 

 if faithfully followed, they will lay the solid foundation of the 

 science, and will contribute to that desirable bent and habit of 

 the intellect which natural-history studies are best calculated 

 to impart. They are not intended to supersede the regular 

 treatises upon the science, but to supplement them and prepare 

 for them. They are guides to self-education, and are adapted 

 for use in school or out, by teachers and mothers, whether 



