PEEFAOE. 



The course of study in these Lessons is based upon the 

 inductive method of A. L. de Jussieu. Beginning with 

 Cryptogamia (the alphabet of organic life), Plant Develop- 

 ment is gradually unfolded, from the green stain on our 

 door-stone to the Magnolia and Clematis. Thus, at the 

 outset, we see the principles upon which Differentiation is 

 based. The Lesson on Fossils (including the Geological 

 Table) exhibits the proofs of these principles. Then, with 

 the plant world thus outlined, we begin the study of sepa- 

 rate parts — root, stem, leaf, flower, fruit, tissues — and the 

 forces which govern them. 



The Phanerogamia are' usually divided by systematic 

 botanists into two classes, — Monocotyledons or Endogens, 

 and Dicotyledons or Exogens ; and the Dicotyledons into 

 two sub-classes, — Gymnospermae and Angiospermae. This 

 is not nature's method. The Monocotyledons are Angio- 

 spermae (Covered Seeds) as well as the Dicotyledons ; they are 

 much more highly differentiated than the Gymnospermae ; 

 and they are a much newer class, geologically. The most 

 learned scientists of to-day follow nature ; and in nature 

 we find Gymnosperms associated with the higher Crypto- 

 gams in the order of development. They form Compre- 

 hensive Types, including the characters of Cryptogams, 

 Monocotyledons, and Dicotyledons. They are not true 

 Dicotyledons. Their flowers are without calyx or corolla ; 



