Author: Alexander Irvine

Publisher: Forgotten Books

Published: 2017-10-28

Total Pages: 880

ISBN-13: 9781528516112

Excerpt from The Illustrated Handbook of the British Plants The use of the terms Arctic, Boreal, Germanic, Atlantic types, &c., was declined as inexpedient, and as more likely to puzzle and perplex the junior student than to enlighten him. This work is not meant to embrace the objects for which the Cybele was composed. It is an introduction to the knowledge of British plants, not the history of their immigration, colonization, and subsequent naturalization and complete establishment in this island. But another important con sideration remains to be urged in justification of the procedure adopted; and this should be duly weighed by all who voluntarily undertake the office of public teachers, whether from the press or platform, viz., that it is not prudent to originate more questions than they can satisfactorily answer. It is a truism that questions are more easily asked than answered and as the proverb teaches us, that a fool may ask a question which seven wise men cannot answer, it was judged desirable, in an elementary work, to avoid all such terms as might induce doubts or questionings in the minds of the readers. Moreover, a natural historian has to deal with things, and not opinions. The Author professes to state facts, and he has not yet attained to a complete conviction that the classification of the British, or of any species, into natives, denizens, or colonists, naturalized and semi-naturalized, is a fact, or is in all cases founded on facts; and therefore he leaves this matter to be settled, or modified, or adjusted by those learned authorities who have made these branches of the science their particular or special study. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.