INTRODUCTION. 



USES AND ADVANTAGES OF BOTANY. 



Botany teaches the names, the structure, the arrangement, 

 the virtues, and the geography of plants. 



BOTANY seems more fitted for the young than any other 

 science, on account of the very valuable knowledge it imparts, 

 the innocent amusement it yields, and the moral and religious 

 influence it exerts over the mind. Its utility will not be for a 

 moment doubted when we reflect on the numberless benefits 

 mankind derive from plants. We apply to them for some of 

 the most valuable medicines, for the materials and colors of 

 clothing, cordage and sails for shipping, timber for building, 

 the entire subsistence for cattle, the chief delicacies of the 

 table, and most of the necessaries of life not only " wine 

 which cheereth the heart of man, but bread which sustaineth 

 his strength." Plants, too, are of the highest importance in 

 purifying the atmosphere, and in tempering the climate of the 

 world ; by the shelter they afford, the rain which they assist 

 in producing, the moisture which evaporates from their leaves, 

 the noxious gases which they absorb, and the purer ones which 

 they give in return. 



B 



