Art Out-of-Doors 



is meant by their nearer or more distant 

 degrees of relationship — how and why they 

 are grouped in what may be called families, 

 clans, commmiities, and nations. And then, 

 when a simple handbook can be so used 

 that after examining a plant we can iind its 

 name, all its other characteristics may be 

 read at a glance. Finding its name, we 

 discover the manner of its growth, the traits 

 which ally it Avith its relatives and those 

 which constitute its personality, the regions 

 where it is common or rare, the nature of 

 the spots in which it may be sought most 

 hopefully, and the seasons of its blooming 

 and its fruiting. All this is worth knov>-ing, 

 even at the cost of dealing for the moment 

 with the very ugliest of Latin names. And 

 if a m.an or a child has any aesthetic suscepti- 

 bihty, his held of enjoyment will be greatly 

 vvidened by such knowledge. If a child 

 finds a rosy arethusa with twin blossoms, will 

 his pleasure in its beauty be decreased by 

 knowing that twin-flowered arethusas are 

 very rare? Or if he discovers that the 

 pretty little bunch-berry v>-hich carpets some 

 recess in the v^'oods is first-cousin to the big 



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