A Word for Books 
to speak of any possible plant instead of a 
comparatively restricted number. But to 
learn Latin names is only the first step in 
learning to know the plants they represent — - 
a needful step, but in no sense an end or aim. 
The names of plants are important in the 
same way as the names of people. We must 
discover a stranger’s name if we are to 
identify him, to realize his relationships, his 
place in society, and his role in the world, 
to remember his individuality, and gain 
more information by speaking about him 
with others. To a person who knows noth- 
ing of botany, the trees and flowers which 
he calls familiar are like the attractive faces 
that meet him day after day in the street — 
unnamed faces representing lives and souls 
which are hidden from his ken. But to one 
who has some knowledge of botany, familiar 
plants are like intimate friends, and unfamil- 
iar ones like interesting strangers with whom 
he can immediately make acquaintance. 
In studying botany we learn first such 
facts as we already know with regard to 
human beings. We learn what plants are, 
how they are born, live, and grow, and what 
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