PREFACE.

THE success which has attended my little book on 'Wild Flowers worth Notice,' in the various forms in which for several years it has appeared before the public, determined the publisher to produce it again in a revised and improved condition, yet retaining its old character, only adding to it, rather than altering it. I am therefore glad to have the opportunity of correcting any error which may now exist in work done some years ago, and have endeavoured to bring the information given, up to the present time. When I first undertook the task I felt the difficulty of selecting from the British Flora certain Wild Flowers worth Notice,' and the task would be scarcely easier now were I called upon to make this selection definite. For what flowers are not worth notice? As, however, this cannot pretend to be an exhaustive treatise on the British Flora, such as exists in many forms and in large ponderous volumes compiled by profound and learned botanists, I have endeavoured to choose such plants as are representatives of particular families, and are remarkable either for their beauty of appearance or useful properties, and to give the best. botanical description I can either find or make of them, so as to insure their recognition with the aid of the plate, and to add such traditions, legends, and poetical fancies, as are

associated with them, in order to increase the interest with

which they may be regarded.

Longfellow well says—

"Wond'rous truths, and manifold as wond'rous,

God hath written in the stars above;

But not less in the bright flow'rets under us
Stands the revelation of His love."

Then the natural connection between wild flowers and bright sunshine, or the first warm days of spring, does it not recall many a pleasant ramble to those who are in the enjoyment of youth and health? And even to the feeble or afflicted, the remembrance of the soft lulling influence of a summer's day, in sweet rural scenes, when everything seems joyous and yet tranquil, is a refreshment and a delight. In a charming series of short essays, called 'The Recreations of a Country Parson,' is one 'Concerning Summer Days,' which is so full of pleasant thoughts and the love of green trees and fields, hedges and hedge-rows, that I cannot but wish he would also write 'Concerning Wild Flowers.' When I first began to write of 'Wild Flowers,' it was suggested to me that I should select only those susceptible of cultivation; but to me, the great charm of the whole subject is to fancy the beautiful creatures in their natural homes, where they love to grow, not where they are artificially placed and tended by the hand of man. The wild bryony and clematis climbing luxuriantly over hedge and neighbouring tree-none the less rich for the demands made upon it by groups of happy smiling children for wreaths and festoons of wonderful length. The blue forgetme-not peeping out from its bed of green leaves by the bank of the clear running stream, asking only for moisture to fringe its sides with turquoise flowers. A hundred other lovely "children of the earth," as the blind girl of Bulwer

calls them, owe much of their charm to the "lap" from which they spring-fresh and untouched by the hand of man. Not that I would in any manner depreciate the gardener's art or the skill of the florist, in so tending and cultivating even our native plants, as to produce such perfection of colour and symmetry of form, that it is difficult to recognize our friends of the wayside in the beauties of the garden. But this is surely the admiration with which we regard the well-dressed and fashionable denizens of a city in contrast with the more simple, but, perhaps, not less refined, rustic beauties. Then these favourites of ours must be sought for, they call forth the energy and self-denial of their admirers, and while making great demands in the shape of country walks, and mountain rambles, bestow on their captors rosy cheeks, the inestimable prize of healthful and vigorous frames.

I have often, when urging the necessity of long walks and frequent exercise, been told by young folks living in the midst of rustic lanes, "There is no object to go out for. In cities and towns there are a hundred objects, and we are thus beguiled into walking." Why not then secure an object, if but one, for a country walk; an object which will unfailingly repay you and be cheering in the remembrance? Cultivate an acquaintance with the wild flowers of your own district, study them, gather them, transplant them if you will into a corner of your own garden; but, above all, visit them in their own homes, and be not satisfied till you have made a tolerable friendship with most of our British plants. Like all things of beauty, they perish quickly; and though each month of the year brings its own attractions with it, from the snowdrop of the early spring to the misletoe and lichen of dark December, the lover of flowers will like to preserve the forms of as many favourites as possible, by drying; and few who have botanized in youth, cannot

moralize in maturer age over the remembrances thus furnished, and few who have once engaged in collecting plants ever lose the recollection of the study or the interest it inspired. I therefore say to all, observe, collect, and preserve the wild flowers you find; arrange and name them scientifically, if possible; but if that be not in your power, still they will always be interesting to you as a pleasing record of "times and places, and old familiar faces," which one day you will value. When you have become well acquainted with the wild plants of your own neighbourhood, there are always rare ones to look for, and great is the interest and excitement attending the discovery of a rare species in an unexpected locality; but before you can expect to become a discoverer, you must be a tolerable botanist. But Botany, like other sciences, requires earnest and systematic study. Those who wish to be able to discover the name of a 'plant by the aid of botanical books, must first thoroughly understand the structure of a plant. Facilities for the study of Botany, both in the metropolis and in the provinces, are much greater now than when I first wrote this little book, and urged it upon young people of both sexes. The Government recognize Botany as one of the subjects for science teaching; and we find in the Syllabus for the examination of teachers issuing from the schools of science at Kensington, 'Subject XV., Elementary Botany, including questions on the chemistry of plants, histology, and the general structure of the flowering plant.' In an advanced course of the same subject we have an examination in vegetable physiology and morphology, Subject XVII. according to the Government Syllabus. But these efforts of the Government are simply in the way examinations to test the knowledge of teachers who are supposed to have qualified themselves elsewhere, and to submit to this test of their fitness for teaching the subject in

of

the board and other schools of the country. About 1500 candidates present themselves annually for examination, and Botany is now recognized as one of the subjects to be taught in our national schools. I am reminded of the efforts of the late Rev. Professor Henslow in this direction, long before the matter had ever been considered by public bodies and functionaries.

He was Professor of Botany in the University of Cambridge, and at the same time Rector of Hitcham, in Suffolk. The interest he took in his parish schools induced him to think that the girls might with advantage know something of the plants and vegetation of their own village. With his characteristic energy and goodness, he set about teaching all who chose to learn the elements of Botany, and by the encouragement of his own kindly smile and approving words, he soon succeeded in establishing a genuine love for plants, not only to look at, but to understand, in the minds of these children. The good professor arranged for his pupils a system of naming, classifying, and drying their specimens, and but few girls in the village of Hitcham are now unacquainted with their native plants. A good collection, made, dried, and named by these young botanists, may be inspected any day in the permanent scientific collection of the educational department of the South Kensington Museum, where it is deposited as an example and an encouragement to other village schools. It is but right to add that the testimony of the Inspectors of Schools goes to prove that this school ranks far above the average of schools in the district in every respect; and that in no way is there any difference in its rules or arrangements, with the exception of the introduction of Botany. We can, perhaps, readily account for the indirect influence of this study on the habits and minds of the pupils. The attention it awakens, the methods of arrangement and order it encourages, and the