4.  F. If you knew anything of botany, Nanny, you would not say so.

5.  A. What is botany, papa?

6.  F. Botany, my dear, is the knowledge of plants.

7.  A. Some plants are very beautiful.  If the lily were growing in our fields, I should not complain.  But this ugly nettle!  I do not know what beauty or use there can be in that.

8.  F. And yet, Nanny, there is more beauty, use, and instruction in a nettle, than even in a lily.

9.  A. O papa, how can you make that out?

10.  F. Put on your gloves, pluck up that nettle, and let us examine it.  First, look at the flower.

11.  A. The flower, papa?  I see no flower, unless those little ragged knobs are flowers, which have neither color nor smell, and are not much larger than the heads of pins.

12.  F. Here, take this magnifying glass and examine them.

13.  A. Oh, I see now; every little knob is folded up in leaves, like a rosebud.  Perhaps there is a flower inside.

14.  F. Try; take this pin and touch the knob.  Well, what do you see?

15.  A. Oh, how curious!

16.  F. What is curious?

17.  A. The moment I touched it, it flew open.  A little cloud rose out like enchantment, and four beautiful little stems sprung up as if they were alive; and, now that I look again with the glass, I see an elegant little flower as nice and perfect as a lily itself.

18.  F. Well, now examine the leaves.

19.  A. Oh, I see they are all covered over with little bristles; and when I examine them with the glass, I see a little bag, filled with a juice like water, at the bottom of each.  Ha! these are the things which stung me.

20.  F. Now touch the little bag with the point of the pin.

21.  A. When I press the bag, the juice runs up and comes out at the small point at the top; so I suppose the little thorn must be hollow inside, though it is finer than the point of my cambric needle.

22.  F. Have all the leaves those stings?

23.  A. No, papa; some of the young ones are quite green and soft, like velvet, and I may handle them without any danger.

24.  F. Now look at the stem, and break it.

25.  A. I can easily crack it, but I can not break it asunder, for the bark is so strong that it holds it together.

26.  F. Well, now you see there are more curious things in the nettle than you expected.

27.  A. Yes, indeed, I see that.  But you have often told me that God makes nothing without its use; and I am sure I can not see any use in all these things.

28.  F. That we will now consider.  You saw the little flower burst open, and a cloud rose, you say, like enchantment.  Now all this is necessary for the nature of the plant.  There are many thousand plants in the world, and it has pleased God, in his wisdom, to make them all different.  Now look at this other nettle, which grew on the opposite side of the road; you see that it is not exactly like the one you have just examined.