INTRODUCTION. 15 



used by the unlearned. Then the idea arose, 

 How can we help others in their difficulties ? 

 This little book is the answer. It will not 

 be of use to advanced students, they will only 

 criticise and discover how much has been left 

 unsaid; but the beginner is more easily satis- 

 fied with the extent of information gained, and 

 if a taste for knowledge is encouraged the 

 object of this book is attained. 



This explanation will also account for the 

 use of simple terms. We find a tiny fungus 

 which looks like a brownish bird's nest, with 

 some miniature eggs in it, or a shining white 

 mushroom, and we are told its name in Latin ; 

 it is described in terms meaningless to the 

 ignorant, we lose interest, and our attention 

 flags. We began for pleasure and recreation, 

 but it became irksome and fatiguing, and the 

 subject which might have amused us and 

 helped to pass many an idle hour is put aside 

 and abandoned. Yet this study is a most fas- 

 cinating one. We all long for pleasant subjects 

 of thought in our leisure hours, and there can 

 bo nothing more diverting and absorbing than 

 the investigation of the beautiful and familiar 

 plants around us. 



When we leave the bustling, noisy streets of 



