CHAPTER V 
A TALK ABOUT BOTANY 
Tux poet wrote of a certain individual : 
‘A primrose by the river’s brim, 
Or by the cottage door, 
A yellow primrose was to him, 
And it was nothing more.” 
I sincerely trust, good readers, that a primrose, or 
any other wild plant, will mean a great deal to you. 
I hope wild flowers will always arouse in you the 
highest sentiments, and never cease to give you a 
sense of wonder and beauty. I desire to help you 
to know some simple, yet wonderful, facts about 
flowers, and I shall be disappointed if your love and 
reverence for them do not grow with your knowledge. 
It is a great pleasure to know the names of wild 
flowers, to be able to recognize them as they appear 
in their seasons, and the field botanist is never so 
delighted as when he finds a new or rare plant in his 
district. But it is not enough to know the names 
of plants, you must understand their ways. Plants 
have ways of their own which make a most fascinat- 
ing study. You like to read about the habits of 
different peoples; to hear stories about lions and 
tigers ; to know the histories of rabbits, moles, frogs, 
newts, ants, or bees. All these have habits of their 
110 
