Foreword. 



Let me confess, at the very begrinning, that I do not 

 know what is the accepted nature of a foreword. In this 

 instance it is the conviction which has come to me at 

 the very end of the work; for the following pages, com- 

 piled from the columns of periodicals in which most of 

 them appeared some years ago, seem to ask of their 

 author, "Is it worth while?" 



It was in the company of ray children that many of 

 the experiences here recorded took place. As the sturdy 

 lads tramped off into the woods and flshing-places of the 

 countryside, it became evident that we must have some 

 pursuit in common to hold us in sympathy. 



Natural bent sent me to the company of the botanists. 



Dear, delightful Asa Gray! The slighted knowledge 

 of schooldays was reviewed, and by a more appreciative 

 pupil. Not all at once, but little by little, the friendship 

 grew. To how many" confidential, pleasant hours the 

 Earth has since admitted me, I can not count. 



With Britton and Brown's "Illustrated Flora of the 

 Northern United States and Canada" as authority, the 

 flora of Madison County, Ohio, has been mounted and 

 classified, so far as it has come within reach. 



There is no ennui, no heavy time to kill, when all 

 around us secrets of Nature invite to revealment. Then, 

 secrets no longer, let us while away a little time in re- 

 cording them. 



So, if anything is learned from these pages, if any 

 impulse in the right direction proceeds from them, or if 

 they furnish only the entertainment of an idle hour, they 

 are worth while. 



That the reader may have full measure of the pleasure 

 and profit of the years' work, I will conclude by revealing 



7 



