32 THE TEACHING BOTANIST 



on some unconscious prejudice given us by early sur- 

 roundings or education, and are no more matters of 

 conviction than is the language we speak or the 

 country we are loyal to. By constant meditation 

 upon the excellences of those phases of the science 

 which he likes best, usually those in which he has 

 been best educated, one becomes impressed by their 

 great value for training and as knowledge ; and in the 

 absence of constant comparison with other phases, 

 one's own naturally comes to seem most important 

 of all. This view once established, all new facts sus- 

 tain it ; for to him who has put on colored glasses, 

 all things look of that color. It is, then, particularly 

 important to endeavor in this discussion to put aside 

 prejudices based upon the nature of our own educa- 

 tion, and to attempt to rise to a standpoint high enough 

 to give a view over the entire subject. Happily, this 

 is becoming easier with each succeeding generation 

 of teachers ; for our best colleges are now giving a 

 thorough and well-rounded botanical education. 



All teachers must agree that the optimum course 

 will be that which combines the best training with 

 the most useful knowledge. Our inquiry, then, re- 

 solves itself into these two questions : What phases 

 of Botany best develop the scientific instincts ? and, 

 What knowledge of plants is educationally most use- 

 ful to the average man ? 



Of all scientific instincts, the very foremost in im- 



