4 
INTRODUCTION TO BOTANY. 
mere resemblance of that delicious fruit ; but, upon investi- 
gation of the botanical characters of the flower, its identity 
was confirmed, and the natives were highly pleased to have 
their supposed poisonous berry shown to be one of the 
most pleasant and wholesome fruits. 
But the most striking use of botany is when famine is 
apprehended ; for although direct experiments may enable 
a person to discover what plants are wholesome and nu- 
tritive from those which are not, yet these experiments re- 
quire time when none, particularly in cases of shipwreck, 
can be spared, and from the greater number of poisonous, 
or, at least, medicinal plants of very violent operation, the 
experiments would, if not guided by botanical analogies, 
be highly dangerous, and inevitably fatal in many cases. 
But by knowing the botanical characters of those families 
of plants which abound in edible fruits, or are remarkable 
for any other dietetic articles, considerable advantages will 
be gained, and unknown articles may be freely used with 
little apprehension of danger. This is a species of know- 
ledge less cultivated in the British islands than it ought to 
be, especially considering the maritime situation which 
leads so many of their inhabitants to embrace a seafaring 
life, and become exposed to the dangers of shipwreck upon 
uninhabited coasts ; and where the dauntless energetic 
spirit of our youth impels so many to engage in distant 
expeditions, and the unfortunate issue of some of these 
expeditions, for what mortal can always command success, 
plunges them into distressful circumstances in a foreign and 
perhaps inhospitable country. 
Another use, if I may so express myself, is the con- 
templation of the beauties of nature ; and in this respect 
botany yields to no other branch of human knowledge, 
and in one respect surpasses most in that, while wealth 
may exhibit its splendour in collecting living plants, yet 
the study is also compatible with the most humble fortunes, 
and may be made to beguile the tedious hours of conva- 
lescence, while it need not confine the sufferer to his room, 
but will even entice him forth to breathe the dewy incense 
of the morn. Few are the studies that require so little 
apparatus, or less trouble to produce a collection, which 
will lie in a small compass, and will afford an agreeable 
exhibition to friends and visitors. 
