How to Tell the Birds from the Flowers and other wood-cuts/Introduction
By other Nature books I'm sure, You've often been misled,You've tried a wall-flower to secure, And "picked a hen" instead:You've wondered what the egg-plants lay, And why the chestnut's burred,And if the hop-vine hops away, It's perfectly absurd.I hence submit for your inspection, This very new and choice collection,Of flowers on Storks, and Phlox of birds, With some explanatory words.Not every one is always able To recognize a vegetable, For some are guided by tradition,While others use their intuition,And even I make no pretenseOf having more than common sense.Indeed these strange homologiesAre in most flornithologies,And I have freely drawn uponThe works of Gray and Audubon,Avoiding though the frequent blundersOf those who study Nature's wonders.
