Author: Thomas Meehan

Publisher: Forgotten Books

Published: 2015-06-15

Total Pages: 300

ISBN-13: 9781330319543

Excerpt from The Native Flowers and Ferns of the United States in Their Botanical, Horticultural and Popular Aspects, Vol. 1 The want of a systematic, illustrated work on the Flora of the United States has long been felt. Some time ago the author of the present volumes seriously entertained a project for such an undertaking, and even went so far as to issue a prospectus. But the difficulties in the way of the enterprise seemed so formidable that it was thought prudent to abandon it. The difficulties alluded to can readily be perceived. A glance at the vast extent of our country, with its widely differing conditions of soil, climate, and position, is sufficient to convince even the most superficial observer that the task of describing and illustrating its Flora is one which might well cause even the most courageous of botanists to hold aloof. To complete such a work in the lifetime of one man would be impossible, and this consideration was once of the main reasons which determined the author to abandon his project. In this determination he was strengthened by another consideration, which, although of an entirely different nature, seemed to be quite as potent as the first. A purely scientific and systematic treatise on the Flora of the United States, in the sense in which such a work would be understood by the botanist, must necessarily be limited to a small circle of readers, and even in this small circle there would be but few who would care to subscribe to a work, the end of which they might never live to see. While, therefore, such an undertaking was clearly an impossibility from the author's point of view, it was equally evident that no publisher could be found ready to invest in it. Under these circumstances, the fact that a work on "The Native Flowers and Ferns of the United States" is offered to the public may need a few words of explanation. 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.