A NATURE NOTE-BOOK 57 



but quite as often the development is gradual 

 and each fresh pair put forth becomes more 

 like the typical leaf than the last. The Note- 

 book should receive some record of the seedling 

 stage, and if possible a sketch. Or you may 

 prefer to preserve the seedling and mount it 

 in your book. 



I quite expect that some students may be 

 groaning by now! "We are intensely inter- 

 ested in plant lif e, " they will say, "but we have 

 other duties in life beside the keeping of a Na- 

 ture Note-book. How are we to find time for 

 all these notes and sketches? Identification 

 often takes a beginner a long time, and we 

 learn that the preservation of plants demands 

 care and patience. If we spend time on notes 

 we shall make such slow progress!' 7 



Ah, that is just where you make such a mis- 

 take. Tour great idea of botanical knowledge 

 is knowing the names of as many plants as pos- 

 sible, and reading up the details of their struc- 

 ture and forgetting these details almost as 

 quickly ; though you will not own to this part 

 of the story! 



Now let me advise you. When you bring 



