BOTANY. 139 



Now, if the young ladies should ever take 

 the trouble to grow pinks and roses, to please 

 their mamma, and look into all their "best 

 books on botany at home," I suspect they will 

 find nothing about the matter in them. I hope, 

 however, that you will be a botanist to a cer- 

 tain extent, as it adds much to the interest of 

 gardening. Many of the best gardeners are 

 botanists. 



Botany is the science of distinguishing and 

 classing plants, according to their peculiar 

 characteristics; and affords the means of re- 

 cognizing the marks whereby each individual 

 species may be known from another. I cannot 

 here enter into the whole scope of the science ; 

 you will find enough to satisfy you on the sub- 

 ject, if you look into one of the dictionaries or 

 encyclopaedias which you have at home. You 

 will there see how important it is to be able to 



