LETTERS ON BOTANY. 



LETTER XXVL 



PRELIMINARY THE MAGNOLIA TRIBE THE 



BARBERRY TRIBE. 



(Plate XXVI.) 



At the close of our Botanical correspondence two 

 years ago, I had given you an unfinished, but rather 

 extensive, sketch, of the structure and classification of 

 a considerable number of interesting plants ; and I 

 then supposed that, for all elementary purposes, I had 

 already occupied so much of your time as to have 

 run the risk of wearying rather than amusing you. 

 The sketch, indeed, was far from comprehending all 

 the beautiful objects by which the admiration of a 

 lover of flowers is excited, nor did it include a 

 complete view of even the most common species that 

 are yielded by our own woods and fields and hills ; 

 but it furnished you with a plan of study, it taught 

 you the right manner of exercising your powers of 

 observation, it explained many of the more important 

 facts connected with the oro^anization of the Veo-etable 

 World, and it was calculated to place you in a position 



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