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ledge of that part of morphology on which classification mainly 
depends. 
At the time Gray wrote his definitions as above quoted, this 
branch of the science was in its infancy; twenty years after this 
date, De Bary finished his text book on “ The Comparative An- 
atomy of Phanerogams and Higher Cryptogams,” which is now 
the standard authority on anatomical questions. Fifteen years 
have passed since De Bary’s book was published, and during this 
time much progress has been made in this branch. Such progress 
in any department renders necessary a corresponding growth in 
text books and in methods of treatment. Whatever may be true 
of text books in general, it is believed safe to say that the English 
written text books of the day are singularly deficient in this respect. 
Abstruse and difficult physiological problems are introduced to 
students illy-prepared to handle them, while they try to meet the 
deficiency by a partial description of anatomical characteristics, a 
knowledge of which is necessary even to a comprehension of the 
questions. Not only must the standard of text books be raised, 
but the methods of instruction must be improved if we expect to 
cope successfully with some of the most interesting problems of 
the day. 
For example, such subjects as twining stems, transmission of 
stimulus, nutation, and other intricate questions are often given 
to the students who have completed an elementary course in what 
we term type work, or sometimes, general botany, which includes 
a bird’s-eye view of the various classes of plants with only the 
merest elements of anatomical training. Expensive pieces of ap- 
paratus are exhibited and their manner of working explained to 
students whose training is wholly inadequate to enable them to 
Make an intelligent use of such apparatus. 
Assuming the truth of our statements it is comparatively easy 
to find an explanation for this condition. Very few of our insti- 
tutions of learning recognize the “Science of the Vegetable 
Kingdom” as a separate independent subject, and still fewer have 
any conception of its real nature, of its position in other countries, 
and of its importance in reference both to the practical and theo- 
retical questions of the day. It is, however, not so easy ina 
limited space to show clearly in what manner anatomy is so closely 
