ROADSIDE BLOOMS 63 



species. To realize this fully they ought to 

 be seen in their favourite nooks and haunts. 

 A bouquet of wild flowers is beautiful when 

 freshly gathered, but the blooms soon fade 

 and fall. 



It is surprising how near these haunts 

 come to the habitations of men. I remember 

 once, when I was resident in a large town, 

 and it was often impossible to go out to the 

 open country, my brother and I used to try 

 how many different sorts of wild flowers we 

 could procure at the roadsides and in waste 

 ground on the margin of the city, and we got 

 a considerable variety. Great numbers of 

 delicate blossoms white, blue, yellow, and 

 purple grow in such unlikely spots, and bring 

 the country into a place which man has made 

 peculiarly his own. 



I think it is a mistake for the ordinary 

 lover of Nature to begin the observation of 

 wild flowers by reading botanical works. If 

 one has to profess a knowledge of botany as 

 part of the qualifications for a profession or a 

 degree, he must, of course, master the science, 

 and cannot too soon begin its formal study. 

 But for others, the wisest course, in my 



