6 PREFACE. 



thoughts of God, habits of mental activity, strength of judgment, and 

 decision of character ; and, moreover, to do all this by means of a study 

 whose path, in a double sense, is strown with flowers, then is the study 

 of Botany desirable; and that labor is not in vain which is bestowed 

 upon the preparation of a work designed, like the present, for primary 

 classes, from the ages of ten to fourteen. 



As the title implies, we have aimed to represent to the eye nearly every 

 subject or form treated of, or described in these Lessons. But, notwith- 

 standing the copiousness of these illustrations, neither the teacher nor the 

 pupil wUl be satisfied to rely upon their aid alone. Nature alone can 

 afford the proper illustrations in the study of Nature's works, and it is 

 only by comparison with the living specimen that either the picture or 

 the description becomes intelligible. Therefore let specimens in unlimited 

 number accompany every botanical recitation. 



Most of the figures are original. Others have been derived from Maout, 

 Payer, Eichard, Balfour, Lindley, and a few, by permission, from Darl- 

 ington's " Weeds and Useful Plants." 



Finally, to the children and youth of our country, gathered in schools 

 of every name, this humble volume is dedicated, with confident belief that 

 it win prove to many of them a source of intellectual and moral culture 

 as well as of pure and rational delight. 



Brooklyn, N. Y., February 28, 1863. 



