Torrey, of New-York, is publishing a very large Botany of New-England and the Middle States, which will be very valuable. When you are old enough, you should study one of these books.

Some botanists are so fond of the study, that they are willing to wander about the woods for several weeks, and sleep in a tent, in order to find one new flower.

Some folks think that it is very foolish to devote so much time to flowers. But they are ignorant of the pleasure derived from the study, and also of the use of it. They do not know that much of the medicine which they give a great price for, when they are sick, is made of the plants which grow around their houses. But such is the fact. The physicians and apothecaries of this country have long imported

Do any persons think it foolish to devote much time to flowers ?
Would they think so, if they knew the use of it?

Do not many of the plants which are brought from Europe for medicine grow in this country?

from Europe medicines, which are made of plants that are very common here. This is a great waste of time and money. But although plants are useful, they will not do us any good if we are ignorant of them. Neither should we know those which are poisonous from those which are not. It is therefore necessary to have botanists to examine plants, and discover their uses. Much more is known about plants in Europe than in America, because it is an older country. Therefore I wish to have the children here begin to learn about it, for the Americans ought not to be excelled by Europeans, since we have many more plants than they have.

Although plants are useful in medicine, would they do us any good if we were unacquainted with them?

Why is more known about plants in Europe than in America?

CHAPTER III.

ALL plants are divided into six kinds, or habitats, from the situation or places in which they grow. The habitat of a plant is the place where it most naturally grows. The six kinds are these Alpine, hilly, shady, champaign, aquatic, and parasitic.

Alpine plants are those that grow on very high mountains.

Hilly plants are those that grow on hills, where they have a dry soil, and are exposed to the heat of the sun.

Shady plants flourish in woods and shady places. They cannot bear the hot rays of the sun, but wilt down and die, when the trees are cut

Into how many kinds or habitats are all plants divided?

What is the habitat of a plant?

What are the names of the six habitats?

What are Alpine plants?

What are Hilly plants?

What are Shady plants?

away. The yellow and purple lady's slippers are shady plants; and they are two of the most beautiful flowers in America.

Champaign plants grow in low and dry plains.

Aquatic plants live in marshes, wet places, by the sea shore, and in water; as flags, pickerel weed, sea weeds, and several different kinds of lilies.

Parasitic plants, instead of taking root in the earth, grow from the bodies and branches of trees, and from the stems of other plants. You have often seen moss growing on trees. It is a parasitic plant; so is the mistletoe, and dodder, and some others. Dodder is a very singular plant, and it is very common in NewEngland. It is a bright yellow vine, about the

What are Champaign plants?

What are Aquatic plants?

What are Parasitic plants?

Can you name some plants which are parasitic ?
Can you describe the dodder?

size of a large thread, without any leaves, twining itself about the branches and leaves of other plants, and penetrating them with its fibrous roots, to be nourished by their juices. It grows in damp places, and has small white flowers in bunches. It flowers in July or August. By some people in New-England it is called "gold-thread vine." You must try to find it in the summer.

These six kinds of plants, which I have told you about, will not grow in any other places than those in which they are found, unless they are similar places. If you should transplant a champaign plant to a wet or shady place, it would not flourish. Or, if you should set out a pond lily or a blue flag in your dry garden, they would soon wither and die.

Will these six kinds of plants grow in any other places than those in which they are found?

Would a pond lily or a blue flag grow in dry ground?