INTRODUCTION 3 



must, in the nature of the case, exist ; and that even 

 where the attainment of the Optimum cannot imme- 

 diately be hoped for, it is, nevertheless, an immense 

 advantage to have it ever in view as a standard of 

 comparison and an ideal for which to strive. 



Naturally there will be much difference of opinion 

 as to what should enter into an optimum elementary 

 course in Botany treated as a Science, and it is only 

 after long discussion and much experiment that any 

 consensus of opinion can be expected. But all will 

 agree that the Optimum must be such as will make 

 available the potentialities of the Science as a means 

 for training the mind and as an element in culture ; and 

 I think it will not be denied that to accomplish these 

 ends it must embody the essence of the best human 

 knowledge of the leading divisions of the Science, and 

 that it must include training in those qualities by which 

 that knowledge has been gained. The field of scientific 

 Botany should be laid open to the student, much as 

 the topography of a country is represented on a good 

 map ; that is, however small its scale, it should show all 

 the great features in their proper relative proportions. 

 If this be admitted, it follows that the optimum course 

 in Botany must treat the science, not by divisions, but 

 synthetically, must include training in the elements of 

 Anatomy, Morphology, Physiology, Ecology, and Clas- 

 sification, and cannot be limited to any one or two of 

 them. The particular place and correlation of these I 



