INTRODUCTION. 15 
Those who do, often think only of how much 
the root or the seed or the specimen will fetch 
at home or in their garden. 
When you ramble by turns in the shady 
groves, grassy glades, rocky hills, or steep 
mountains, you meet new charms peculiar to 
each ; even the gloomy forest affords a shady 
walk. very rock, nook, rill . . . has peculiar 
plants inviting your attention. When nothing 
new nor rare appears, you commune with your 
mind and your God in lofty thoughts or dreams 
of happiness. Every pure Botanist is a good 
man, a happy man, and a religious man ! He 
lives with God in his wide temple not made by 
hands .... 
To these botanical pleasures may be added 
the anticipation of the future names, places, 
uses, history, & c. of the plants you discover. 
For the winter or season of rest, are reserved 
the sedentary pleasures of comparing, studying, 
naming, describing and publishing. A time 
may come, when if all plants are well known, 
little will be left to be done, except seeking rare 
plants or occasional deviations and varieties ; 
but a long while will elapse before this may 
take place, since so few of our plants are com- 
pletely known as yet. Then will begin the la- 
bors of the draftsman, the collector of rare 
plants and roots, or the seeking of special and 
generic deviations. 
In this another wide field of researches will 
be open to the enquiring mind. My thoughts 
have often been led thereto when noticing 
singular deviations. I admit like Adanson, 
Necker and Linneus himself that plants do 
vary gradually and constantly, although often 
very slowly, both in the specific and generic 
