Vill Foreword 
“‘ A little learning is a dangerous thing,’’ was 
written before the days of Nature-study. In that 
domain ‘ 
‘a little learning,’’ provided always that 
it be accurate as far as it goes, is a stimulus to 
much interesting work, opens the eyes to many 
beauties, and proves an every-day delight; for what 
one finds in the fields depends largely upon what 
one takes into them, and in field and forest, as 
elsewhere, ‘‘the eye sees that which it brings 
with it the power of seeing.’’ 
The young hero of an old German fairy-tale 
wandered far and wide, seeking the key-flower 
which he had seen in dreams, and which was to 
open for him a treasure-house of riches. And 
when he returned from his long and fruitless quest 
he found the magic blossom blowing at the thresh- 
old of his door. 
Perhaps this means that we shall find our purest 
joys, after all, in the simple things which are in 
reach of most of us—such as the love of kindred, 
the friendship of books, and the companionship 
of Nature, which, constant through all changes, 
ever shows us the same winsome face. 
My sincere thanks are due to the publishers of 
the ‘‘ Popular Science Monthly,’’ the New York 
““ Evening Post,’’ ‘‘ Arthur’s Home Magazine,’’ 
