INTRODUCTION 
Of Flowers, so much has been said and sung, that it were 
impossible to write any thing new. They have been called 
“ the joy of the shrubs which bear them— “ the stars of the 
earthand the “ alphabet of the angelsand, indeed, as 
says Mr. Howitt, “ of all the minor creations of God, they seem 
to be most completely the effusions of his love of beauty, grace, 
and joy. Beauty and fragrance are poured abroad over the 
earth in blossoms of endless varieties, radiant evidences of the 
boundless benevolence of the Deity. They are made solely to 
gladden the heart of man, for a light to his eyes, for a living 
inspiration of grace to his spirit, for a perpetual admiration. 
And accordingly they seize on our affections the first moment 
that we behold them. With what eagerness do very infants 
grasp at flowers! As they become older, they would live for 
ever among them. They bound about in the flowery meadows 
like young fawns; they gather all they come near; they col¬ 
lect heaps; they sit among them and sort them, and sing over 
them and caress them, till they perish in their grasp. 
This sweet May morning 
The children are pulling 
On every side, 
In a thousand valleys far and wide, 
Fresh flowers. 
Wordsworth. 
