12 INTRODUCTION. 



and also by those separate periods of time at wMch they 

 arrive at a state of maturity and decay. We shall show 

 that the amount of work done by these phytons, in their 

 individual and collective capacity, constitutes the growth 

 of each year, and has been recorded in the wood of its stem 

 and on the outer surface of its bark. But all the parts of 

 organic nature are so intimately connected with each other, 

 that the careful study of any one part necessarily leads as 

 a reward to correct ideas respecting the whole. This is 

 particularly the case with the tree, which is a microcosm, 

 or little world, beautifully illustrative of those unchanging 

 laws of individual and social development which lie at the 

 foundation of the present social system. 



My own experience has taught me that a work of this 

 nature is likely to be very useful. It is emphatically 

 written for the people — for those who feel life to be one 

 continued struggle for existence. Many of the truths 

 which will be illustrated are stern and incontrovertible 

 realities, confirmed by the daily and hourly experience of 

 life. Of all the author's botanical works, this is perhaps 

 the only one that will survive him. One thing is certain, 

 that it will be more generally understood. The reader of 

 only ordinary education and intellectual power may readily 

 comprehend the principles inculcated in this book, and 

 see their applicability as guiding rules for the judicious 

 and happy management of each day's duties. Reader, 

 whoever you are, may this book prove to you a friend, 

 may you be induced by its pages to look on the Tree with 

 a new interest ; and obtaining from its noble form a clear 

 and truthful view of your own position and duty in life, 

 become by the perusal of this volume, a wiser man and a 

 better citizen. 



