PREFACE. 
This little book has a twofold claim upon those 
concerned in the work of education. 
In the first place, it introduces the beginner to 
the study of Botany in the only way it can be prop¬ 
erly done — by the direct observation of vegetable 
forms. The pupil is told very little, and from the 
beginning, throughout, he is sent to the plant to get 
his knowledge of the plant. The book is designed 
to help him in this work, never to supersede it. In¬ 
stead of memorizing the statements of others, he 
studies the things themselves. The true basis of a 
knowledge of Botany is that familiarity with the 
actual characters of plants, which can only be ob¬ 
tained by direct and habitual inspection of them. 
The beginner should therefore commence with the 
actual specimens, and learn to distinguish those ex¬ 
ternal characters which lie open to observation ; the 
knowledge of which leads naturally to that arrange¬ 
ment by related attributes which constitutes classify 
cation. 
