

PREFACE. 



is the mature outgrowth of such notes. In order to make the book 

 pleasing to the general reader, it has been the endea^•or to exckide all 

 technical terms pertaining to the science ot" botany, except the mere 

 classitication of plants into families to show the relation of one plant to 

 another. 



This arrangement has been made according to what is called the 

 Natural S\stem, it being the one most in use in the various books on 

 botan}-, as more philosophical than the Linna.'an System. 



The sentiment or language assigned to each flower has been the 

 result of an extended search through \-arious works both ancient and 

 modern, the most ancient being the richest, however, in material and in 

 poetic ideas. The sentiments attached to flowers originating in the imag- 

 inative minds of the people, ser\ed as a means of communication at a 

 time when the art of writing was known onl}- to the few, these being 

 mostly learned men and professional scribes. As the well known disa- 

 greements of authors in attributing diflerent languages to the same 

 plant often make it difficult to determine which to choose, it is proper 

 to state that the sentiments here given ha\e been preferred because of 

 the weight of authority in their favor. 



Having led the reader into the bowers of nature, what more natural 

 than that many paths should be found leading into the garden of the 

 poets, where rich intellectual blossoms are scattered with an unsparing 

 hand? The love of poetry elevates the soul and makes it more suscep- 

 tible to those delicate, spiritual and subtle influences that are found in 

 other souls; it gives it a more rare appreciation of those higher beau- 

 ties that are daily seen both in nature and art; it awakens a depth of 

 feeling that almost entirely obliterates selflshness, and opens the heart 

 to generous sympathies and warm impulses. The selections made 

 for this work are numerous, and are the result of a ver}- prolonged and 

 laborious quest. They have been culled from many sources and various 

 authors, foreign and native, and comprehend many of the choicest gems 

 from the works of the best poets of all ages. C. H. T. 





