INTRODUCTION. 



There is no department of natural history which is more 

 important, beautiful, and interesting than Botany, or the natu- 

 ral history of plants. Let us take, not a costly exotic from 

 the conservatory, hut any common wild flower or weed. What 

 exquisite symmetry and elegance of form ! The choicest 

 works of art, the most finished productions of genius, are but 

 as the poor eflForts of savages when contrasted with this won- 

 derful work of nature ! We know that this humble flower 

 grows when fanned by winds, watered by rains, warmed by 

 the sun, and that it must derive some portion of its substance 

 from the soil. But how does Nature form this green leaf 

 and this beautiful blossom ? We see her constantly engaged 

 in building up these living forms, and weaving the air, the 

 earth, and the water into every imaginable variety of vegeta- 

 ble fabric. The whole earth is, in fact, one vast chemical 

 laboratory or workshop, where Nature is ever operating with 

 an untiring industry in fabricating living forms out of lifeless 

 inorganic matter. Let us endeavor to trace the movements of 

 this glorious mechanism framed by the hand of the Almighty ; 

 let us " consider the lilies of the field, how they grow." 



And let it not be assumed, at the outset of this investiga- 

 tion, that the intelligence of man is incapable of searching out 



