When you plan an excursion do not take your collecting tin and a “Flora” in which to look up the names of all you find, and then imagine that you are fully prepared for a day’s botanising. It is, of course, a very useful thing to learn the names of the flowers you find, because you cannot even speak of a plant if you do not know its name, but the mere naming is in reality the least interesting and important thing about them, as you will know if you have followed the study of plants in the way suggested in this book.

In arranging an excursion, or what is far better, a series of excursions into the country, the most important thing to have is a plan of action. Do not wander aimlessly in the woods, attracted from side to side by all that comes in your way; choose rather some special set of things to collect and study. If there are several of you together, then each one should have a particular subject about which to make notes and collections; then afterwards all the members of the excursion party should meet together and compare their results, and show each other any interesting specimens obtained.

Each person should be provided with:—A tin collecting-box, a strong knife or digger, a note-book, pencil, and magnifying-glass, some string, and a fine knife.

In case you find it difficult to decide on special things to do, here is a list of a few of the many suitable subjects which may be chosen. The list is not at all complete, but it may give you a few ideas at the beginning of your field-work.

1. In the early spring, study particularly all the plants which are flowering. Dig up complete specimens of all the smaller plants, and notice how many of them have some special means of storing food underground through the winter, such as bulbs, tubers, and so on. This stored food makes it possible for the flowers to bloom before the leaves have done any work, a thing which would be impossible in the case of ordinary young plants. Our “early” spring flowers are really late flowerers, as they bloom on the result of the food made in the previous year. Make drawings, or press a series of these.

2. Collect buds and opening buds, getting series of scales from the outer hard ones to the inner developed leaves, and press them.

3. Notice, and make sketches of, the different ways in which leaves are folded in buds: the fan-like beech, the coiled fern, and so on.

4. Collect seedlings; notice specially those of trees. Study the form of their earlier leaves, which are generally simpler than the mature ones.

5. In summer, collect as many forms as possible of full-grown leaves. Compare and classify them according to their nature and shape: those which are simple or compound, and then in more detail. Dry and mount a series of representative ones.

6. Study very particularly flowers in relation to their insect visitors. For this it is better to remain a long time in one place, so that it is not so good for a general excursion, but is splendid if you can get off for an early excursion by yourself, or with one or two companions.

7. Make collections and lists of all climbing plants, noting by what means they climb.

8. Keep a list for the whole year of the colours of the flowers as they come out, noting in general which are the most characteristic for the different seasons.

9. Collect fruits, and arrange them according to the way they scatter the seeds.

10. When the leaves are falling, notice where they break away, and what form of scars they leave. In the case of compound leaves, whether they fall off whole or in parts.

11. Collect series of plants which are growing together in different places, e.g., those in a woodland glade, those at the edge of a pond, those on a sandy hill, and so on. Dry them by pressure between sheets of paper, and mount them, noting how their forms correspond to their surroundings.

12. Go to the same spot in a wood in spring, summer, autumn, and winter; make notes and drawings of what you see each time. In the spring there will be a carpet of flowers under the bare trees, note what happens in the summer, and later on.

These suggestions are only a beginning, and special problems will arise of their own accord in connection with the work you are doing, till you find that the real excursion becomes the most interesting and important part of your work. If we go to the plants themselves and ask them to teach us, they will never fail to give us the chance of learning lessons of ever-increasing interest.