This book is included in the Outdoor Survival Basics section.
INTRODUCTION IF in country drive or ramble we happen upon an unknown flower, it is a comparatively easy matter, by means of the illustrations and the color guides of the modern field books of wild flowers, to identify it. The lack of similar reference books for identifying a plant by its fruit was forcibly brought to my notice during a drive in early autumn. Our journeyings led us along a wooded roadway where it was no longer the brilliance of the flowers which demanded our attention, but rather the attractive masses of fruits. There was one shrub bearing fruits of varying colors in different stages of development which was very attractive and which I did not know. I naturally wished to make its acquaintance. Here the aforesaid field books failed to give their ready aid. Any system of analysis was of no avail, as the flower which preceded this special fruit was unobtainable. I was surprised at the meagerness of the descriptions of the fruits which I read, hoping to find my specimen among them. It was this difficulty of approach to the identification of my fruited plant, and the scarcity of material relating to this aspect of the plant's life, that suggested the present book. I have attempted to deal with those plants only which bear attractively colored fruits. These fruits are the more noticeable ones; they do not, in most cases, develop until the blossoms have entirely disappeared; and they naturally fall into a class by themselves, being adapted for the same method of seed dispersal. The list will naturally include herbs, shrubs, and trees. A guide based on the kind and structure of the fruit will aid in determining the family to which a plant belongs, and under each family the species are grouped by colors. The illustrations will also aid in identifying specimens. If the acquaintance of approximately two hundred plants of our northeastern section in their fruited stage is made more accessible; if added attention is attracted to the result of the work of the flower, making our knowledge of the cycle of the plant's life more complete, the work, fragmentary though it be, may have a place. The order of arrangement of the Plant Families follows that of Engler and Prantl. The nomenclature and arrangement of species is essentially that of Britton and Brown. The additional name is the term used in Gray's sixth edition. In the classification of the Blackberries I have followed the general plan of L. H. Bailey, who has made a recent and careful study of them. I am indebted to many a work of reference for aid: Gray's "Manual," Britton and Brown's "Illustrated Flora of the United States and Canada," Emerson's "Report of the Trees and Shrubs of Massachusetts," Card's "Bush Fruits," Bailey's "Evolution of our Native Fruits," Kerner and Oliver's "The Natural History of Plants," and others. To the friends who have kindly furnished specimens I would extend my sincere gratitude. There have been many who, by the expression of a need for help such as the present book hopes to give, or by suggestion and encouragement, have strengthened my purpose to carry on the work to its fulfillment. I hold them all in grateful remembrance. Table of Contents ILLUSTRATIONS INTRODUCTION ADAPTATIONS OF FRUITS AND SEEDS FOR DISPERSAL AND PROTECTION DEFINITIONS GUIDE TO PLANT FAMILIES FAMILIES AND SPECIES DESCRIPTIONS OF SPECIES : Red or Reddish Purple Black or Dark Purple Blue Yellow Green White GLOSSARY ABBREVIATIONS OF AUTHORS' NAMES INDEX OF ENGLISH NAMES INDEX OF LATIN NAMES End of Preview
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