2 INTRODUCTION. 



Without giving; atfy attention whatever to the objects they de- 

 jserjbe';' or,, if .they, do so-gt all, it is generally in an incidental 

 'ah'd' ,Jtatitfn!a|l ;wa^ 7 V^)erhaps by attacking the most complex 

 part of the plant first, and picking flowers to pieces, so that the 

 pupil may quickly indulge in the shallow pedantry of giving 

 them their technical names. All this is unjust to the science. 

 Like arithmetic, Botany is only to be acquired by first master- 

 ing its rudiments. And as, in arithmetic, the student is com- 

 pelled to exercise his mind directly upon numbers, and work 

 out the problems for himself, so in Botany, if worth pursuing 

 at all, it should be studied in its actual objects. The char- 

 acters of plants must become familiarly known by the detailed 

 and repeated examination and accurate description of large 

 numbers of specimens. The pupil must proceed step by step 

 in this preliminary work, digesting his observations, and mak- 

 ing the facts his own, until he becomes intelligent in regard to 

 all the common varieties of plant forms and structures. It is 

 because the text-books of Botany hitherto in use fail to provide 

 for and to enforce this thoroughness of introductory study of 

 the characters of plants fail in the very groundwork of the 

 subject that the present plan of study has been prepared. 



But, it will be asked, " Is botanical science, after all, worth 

 acquiring in so painstaking a way ? " This is an important 

 question, and brings me to the higher purpose I had in the 

 arrangement of these books. The uses of Botany are by no 

 means to be measured by the interest or utility of the knowl- 

 edge of plants. A thorough acquaintance with the science 

 will be serviceable on its own account through life ; but its 

 merit is that it leads to an end beyond itself: it has great 

 value as a means of mental cultivation. That branch of Natu- 

 ral History which treats of the vegetable kingdom ought to be, 

 and can be, made corrective of a fundamental defect in our 

 educational system. This deficiency is a lack of any provision 

 for thoroughly exercising the minds of the young upon natural 

 objects. Our plan of general education includes not a single 

 subject that can secure the mental advantages arising from the 

 direct and systematic study of Nature. We do a great deal 

 in the way of " mental discipline," but the order and truth of 

 things around us are not allowed to contribute to it. We 

 train the faculty of calculation and drill the memory in lesson- 



