186 



THE AMERICAN 



I'he presence of petals in the flowers of the Red 

 Maple, and the size and downy state of the fruit 

 of the Silver-leaf Maple, will be reliable indica- 

 lions of the species. In Southern Illinois there 

 will probably be no fruit on the Silver-leaf 

 Maple during the present year on account of a 

 severe frost which has injured the flowers just 

 as they were about to expand. 



WHO SHOULD STUDY BOTANY ? 



The school boy and school girl, who so often 

 ramble in the woods gathering flowers and 

 seeking recreation and amusement, will And 

 their interest in the fields and woods vastly 

 increased by a knowledge of this science. They 

 will be constantly making new discoveries in 

 their search among rocks, by the brook, or 

 in the fields and forest. Let them learn how 

 to preserve specimens, and to arrange them in 

 an herbarium, that they may have them at hand 

 for comparison with other species, and that they 

 may yield pleasure in wintry days when Nature 

 is in her annual sleep. 



There are hundreds of young men and young 

 ladies in our academies and colleges who study 

 Botany much as tliey study grammar — in their 

 text books — who would find their interest in the 

 study vastly increased, as well as find health, 

 and refreshment from their weary mental toil, 

 by a daily ramble in the fields seeking plants 

 and objects of interest in Nature. How few of 

 those who finish their education in the colleges 

 go forth with a pi-actical acquaintance with 

 Nature I Probably forty or fifty species of trees 

 are in the forests around them, and yet few can 

 accurately identify a dozen kinds. They are 

 probably quite as ignorant in tlie other depart- 

 ments of natural science. These things ought 

 not to be. 



All persons of sedentary habits, including 

 clerks, teachers, clergymen, and other persons 

 whose occupation keeps them much within 

 doors, would find relief mental and physical, 

 vigor, rational and satisfactory enjoyment, by 

 forming an actiuaintance with the vai'ious na- 

 tural objects presented around them. Their 

 enjoyment of a walk would be tenfold increased. 

 They would find hundreds of objects of interest 

 which before escaped their attention. 



Horticulturists and florists, from the nature 

 of their business, have more or less acquaintance 

 with Botany, and their toil is cheered and doubly 

 rewarded by their knowledge of the beautiful 

 science. But too few even of this class extend 

 their inquiries beyond the immediate field of 

 their labors. 



But what shall we say of the farmers, to whom 

 everything is a weed which does not bring dol- 

 lars, and whose plow and hoe are ready to cut 

 down every plant which dares lift its head in 

 the place allotted to cultivation? You have 

 plenty of room, dear friend, in the garden and 

 in out of the way places, to give the flowers a 

 chance, and you need their kindly influences 

 to cheer you in your daily labors. Open your 

 heart to the sunshine and beauty of Nature, 

 and you may render your toil more agreeable. 

 Perhaps no class of men are better situated for 

 a study of Botany, or have closer practical rela- 

 tions to it than farmers. The cultivation of that 

 field of corn may appear a more dignified labor 

 if you consider the history, the structure, and 

 the value of that noblest grass which God has 

 given to the human race. 



Nothing is more calculated to increase our 

 enjoyment of life than a love of Nature. We 

 derive pleasure from an examination of works 

 of skill in art. We look upon a painting per- 

 haps, and we find our admiration excited by 

 the display of the genius of the painter. The 

 picture is life-like — there is harmony of color — 

 there is expression— there is a just proportion 

 of parts. But we need attention and culture 

 iu order to a full appreciation of the beauties of 

 a painting. An uncultivated person might pass 

 through a gallery of the finest works of art and 

 not recognize their superior claims. So it is 

 with the works of Nature. They are displays 

 of the skill of the greatest Artist. They are the 

 works of au unequalled Master. But we may 

 spend a life-time among these objects and never 

 half appreciate them. ( We need to cultivate 

 habits of observation, thought, investigation. 

 A glance at a rose gives us pleasure— its form 

 is symmetrical — its color is attractive— its fra- 

 grance is delightful. But if we also consider 

 its structure, its various organs, the wonderful 

 secrets of its vital operations — its relations and 

 connection in the great system— it then gives 

 1^ us much greater pleasure. Many humbler, less 

 ^showy plants we meet with daily, which, with 

 a little investigation, would speak with equal 

 force to us of the wisdom and goodness of the 

 Creator. 



In some cases, where the nectarium of a flower 

 is not perceptible, if the spur of such a flower— 

 which usually becomes the depository of the 

 nectar that has oozed from the capsules secret- 

 ing it— be too narrow for the entrance of a bee, 

 and even beyond the reach of its long tongue, 

 it contrives to attain its object by biting a hole 

 ou the outside, through which it taps the store. 



