16 
HENSLOW’S BOTANICAL CHARTS. 
so small a space that the figures oftea overlap, producing an 
indistinct and confused effect. The American edition consists 
of six large charts, and the pictures are spread over twice the 
original area, giving much greater distinctness and a very at¬ 
tractive aspect to the series. Several American plants have 
been substituted for the English species that are not found in 
this country, and illustrations of the classes of flowerless plants 
have been added, for which Prof. Iienslow did not seem to find 
room. 
In the plan of the charts, the plant is first represented of 
its natural size and colors; then a magnified section of one of 
its flowers is given, showing the relations of the parts to each 
other. Separate magnified views of the different floral organs, 
exhibiting all the botanical characters that belong to the group 
of which it is a type, are also represented. The charts contain 
nearly five hundred figures colored to the life, which represent 
twenty-four orders and more than forty species of plants, show¬ 
ing a great variety of forms and structures of leaf, stem, root, 
inflorescence, flower, fruit, and seed, with numerous incidental 
characters peculiar to limited groups. All these are so pre¬ 
sented as to be readily compared and contrasted with each 
other. 
The charts are not designed to supersede the study of plants, 
but only to facilitate it. Their office is the same as the illustra¬ 
tions of the book; but they are more perfect, and bring the 
pupil a step nearer to the objects themselves. 
Besides this special assistance in object-study, the charts 
will be of great value, later on in the study, by bringing into a 
narrow compass a complete view of the structures and relations 
of the leading types of the vegetable kingdom. In fact, they 
are designed to present, fully and clearly, those groupings of 
characters upon which orders depend in classification; while in 
several cases of large and diversified orders the characters of 
leading genera are also given by typical specimens. The charts 
will thus be found equally valuable to the beginner, the inter¬ 
mediate pupil, and the advanced student. A Key accompanies 
them, and they can be used with any botanical text-books, 
and during the season of plants they should be upon the walls 
of every school-room where botany is studied. 
