On the Managemknt ok Elementauy Classes in BotAny. 



minuteness as may be suited to the capacity of the present students. In other words, -vvo propose to tiuu 

 our ramble to practical account in the way of an object-lesson, and to test the observing faculties by trying 

 to assign to each ]>lant its proper place in a botanical classification. A good many of the plants are recog- 

 iiizfd, without imu-h diflicult^', as being near relatives of species already examined in the class-room ; the 

 Lady's Slipper, for instance, is at once pronounced to be an Orchid ; the Pitcher-Plailt is immediately iden- 

 tified by its leaves, the "Water-Crowfoot is only a white Buttercup; the few Composites in 1 loom at this 

 season are referred at once to the proper familj' ; and so with a number of others. But there are some which 

 cannot be disiwsed of in this off-hand manner, and for these our " Flora " must be consulted. For conve- 

 nience, it is arranged that one person shall read aloud from the manual, while the others, with specimens in 

 hand, listen to the descriptions, and assent or dissent, as these correspond to the characters exhiliited by the 

 ]ilant under examination, or the reverse, until finally its true place and name are revealed. Those having 

 tieen duly noted down, along with the date of collection and the locality, other specimens are taken up in the 

 same way ; and though it is found impossible to overtake all the plants that have been gathered, yet con- 

 siderable headway is made, and even the dullest (for our class, not being an ideal one, contains dull as well 

 as clever pupils) feel a certain degree of confidence in their ability to do a little botanical work on their own 

 account. 



The woi-k of determination is not prolonged to weariness, and soon after three o'clock preparations are 

 made to return home. The fatigue of the morning's walk has comjjletely disap2ieared, and the youthful 

 mind, released from the strain to which it has been subjected, unbends, and with that singular fertility of 

 resource which causes the average juvenile to be at once the envy and the terror of his elders, immediately 

 advances a host of topics for discussion, quite foreign to the object'of the day's proceedings. Botany is for 

 the present laid aside, and it ceases to be a matter of any consequence whatever, whether stamens are hj'po- 

 gj-nous or otherwise, or what may be the relation of the calyx to the OA^ary. "With pleasant conversation the 

 homeward way is beguiled, and as we separate, a hope, which is believed to be genuine, is expressed that ere 

 long we may meet again for another Field Day. 



