THE ORNITHOLOGIST AND BOTANIST. 



35 



Amelia Edwards tells of roads through 

 the Tivoli, edged with floral Persian car- 

 pets. Forget-me-nots, she says, were 

 called St. Lucys flowers; the white clo- 

 ver the peasants consecrated to St. John. 

 In ' ' Untrodden Paths " she describes a 

 fibrous crest, like a top-knot of spiders' 

 legs, crowning an ugly bloom. So wher- 

 ever one goes, something may be learned. 



Not long since, the writer met in a 

 book store, an old Englishman. On 

 inquiring for a work on botany, he said, 

 "Would you like to see a collection of 

 pressed flowers?" He opened a sort of 

 herbarium with loving care, and said, 

 '"These hollies, hawthorns, etc., are 

 from the Kew gardens. Each spray has 

 a history, each thorn has an interest.'" 

 As his heart warm ed, he grew eloquent, 

 and in imagination he seemed to breathe 

 the air of his native heath. Blessed 

 hours, they come all too seldom in this 

 work-a-day world. 



Outings train the eyes, the ears and 

 the brain. Humboldt, Agassiz, Hugh 

 Miller, Audubon and Thoreau were great 

 pedestrians. The pen pictures of Dickens 

 have immortalized many a tramp. Cai-- 

 lyle was fond of outdoors and Longfel- 

 low walked daily, if only in his garden. 

 Gladstone, at eighty-one, still treads the 

 velvety turf of his native isle. Burns' 

 sweetest verses are of the fields. Illus- 

 trious examples of inspiration gathered 

 at Nature's shrine. 



As to studies of plant life, the devel- 

 opement . peculiar to each species is of 

 interest. Llother Earth is coaxing and 

 sun and dew are mellowing the soil; the 

 life secrets of under-ground are no long- 

 er hidden. Come and see. Dr. Holmes 

 sa}'^ a bi t of blue, and a bit of green is 

 for us all. The more the life of plants 

 is investigated, the more we wonder. 

 All around us is the material for study. 

 By our doors, in the chinks of pavements 

 and in the crevices of walls the mould- 

 forest is germinating, and the exquisite 

 mosses are hiding decay. 



Weeds, what are weeds? The choic- 



est blooms in our. fields are many times 

 christened weeds. What may be a weed 

 here, may be an exotic beyond the seas. 

 Our mullein is known as the American 

 velvet plant abroad. While in the West 

 Indies, I gathered many a bunch of 

 charming flowers from the hills. These 

 I have often seen coaxed into blossom- 

 ing in green-houses here, and called by 

 rare names; but they were only weeds, 

 as they brightened the isles. A lady 

 while sailing along the coast of Africa 

 noticed some red islands, and was much 

 surprised to find this color came from 

 geranium blossoms. The same plant is 

 a favorite here and graces our window 

 boxes each winter. 



HOW TO STUDY PLANTS. 



BY G. H. HICKS. OF THE C4RAY MEMORIAL 

 EOTAKICAL CHAPTER. 



The collection and mounting of plants 

 is but a small part of the study of botany 

 and of itself cannot contribute much to 

 a knov/ledge of plant secrets. Study the 

 living specimens, not only in their nat- 

 ive habitat, but transplant different spe- 

 cies (now is the time to do it) in cans 

 or crocks filled with earth taken from 

 the vicinity where the plants were found. 



Place them in your garden, under your 

 window, in your room and in your office 

 or school room, give them water and light 

 according to their native habits and 

 watch the unfolding of every leaf and 

 flower. Study them, in the minutest de- 

 tail. Experiment with them under var- 

 ious conditions of environment and fer- 

 tilization. Keep a daily record of their 

 behavior, make drawings and dissect- 

 ions and in this way discover new things 

 about them. 



Few of the plants described in Ameri- 

 can botanies liave been studied thor- 

 oughly, and few are there that will not 

 yield interesting and important results 

 under this method of treatment. Re- 

 member that of the most common plants 

 often the least is known. 



