ABSTRACT
But if the artist is still not allowed to study nature to the extent he might, that pursuit is undertaken by a large section of the nation. Prominent amongst these are the botanists and herbalists, who for centuries have been noted for their knowledge of the floral and vegetable kingdom, and who enjoy, in common with the Chinese, the distinction of having the most elaborate and oldest vegetable nomenclature in the world. This is hardly to be wondered at, for their country is the most interesting one in that respect outside the tropics.
