


TO BEGINNERS IN THE STUDY OF BOTANY. _ : 




















the first lessons, and the bewildering character of the vast tees tof 
individuals to be dealt with vanishes before the systematic classificati 01 ; 
which botanists have now reached. * 
The vegetable kingdom has about a hundred thousand species, each one 
of which differs from every other sufficiently to make it distinct, a +h 
a there are common characters to many, which allow them to be grouped | 
a into assemblages or families ; so that the vast multitude, after all, is ar- _ a 
‘ ranged under a comparatively small number of divisions. When the . 
beginner is made to understand this fully, very much of the formidable 
character of the science disappears. ra . 
What the learner seems to need most at the very outset is some method 
of reaching the botanical name of a plant. 
The accomplishment of learning the names of a number of plants does 
not make a botanist. It was said by a learned French writer, that ‘‘ He 
had always thought it possible to be a very great botanist without know- 
ing the name of a single plant.” 
This can be true only in part. It serves, however, to enforce the truth 
that learning to call a plant by its name is not all of botany. ; 
Yet some means of leading the learner with ease and certainty to the 
name of a plant is of the first importance, and is without doubt the best 
' method of interesting young persons in the subject. 
The author of this Catalogue has used different methods to ahaha and 




render more easy the determining of the names of plants ; but on account * és 
of their defective and unscientific character they PaYE not been pub- +5 
lished. an 7 
The following method he has found among the most usefal: ‘ oe 
Nore.—(The student should possess either Wood’s Class-Book, or Gray’s Manual with a 
the Lessons.) Val 
) a 
Let the learner procure specimens, say of Ranunculus (Buttercup), : Me 
consisting of the entire plant including the root. Consult the index, and Y : 
find the name in the manual, or text-book. Then read the generic de- 2 
scription, holding the plant in the hand (looking in the glossary for a 
words not understood); continue to read till the description is seen to apply : 
in every respect to the characters of the plant under inspection. 
Then pass on to the specific descriptions, read each one in succession 
till the one that exactly corresponds to the plant is reached. The first 
lesson will then be ended. 
Having determined one species of Ranunculus, there will be little dif- 
ficulty in finding the names of other species. Proceeding in the same way 
with other common and well-known plants, such as the Violet, Catnip 
Mint, Chickweed, etc., the learner will soon be independent of an instruc- 
tor. 
To aid in putting this method into practice, the author has prepared a 
familiar description of the flower and its parts, and has added thereto a 
list of a few of our most common and well-known plants. 

