HITCHCOCK: STUDY OF THE LOCAL FLORA 253 



groups he will be able to coordinate the plants with their bo- 

 tanical names. The pioneer work has been done, but many 

 details remain to be elaborated. 



So much for the opportunity; now for the benefits. The ad- 

 vantages may be divided conveniently into two classes, humani- 

 tarian and technical. I need say little concerning the humani- 

 tarian side of the subject. Those for whom a walk in the woods 

 is a pleasure will accept with little argument the statement that 

 the pleasure is greatly enhanced by a " speaking acquaintance" 

 with the plants they see. They meet plants as friends, they call 

 them by name, they glory in their beauty, they sympathize 

 with their misfortunes and accidents. The stranger in the plant 

 community is greeted with joy and its presence is chronicled in 

 the annals of the excursion as an event of importance. A knowl- 

 edge of plants turns a Sunday afternoon's aimless meandering 

 into a purposeful quest through Nature's laboratory, resulting 

 in a broadened outlook, a keener enjoyment, and incidentally 

 an increased knowledge of plants. 



Let us now turn to the other side, the technical training af- 

 forded by studies in systematic botany. All will readily admit 

 the desirability of being familiar with the more important fam- 

 ilies of plants. A knowledge of family characters brings a con- 

 comitant familiarity with the important genera and species. 

 It is a distinct advantage to a botanist, be he physiologist, 

 anatomist, or mycologist, to know the botanical relationships 

 of the economic plants with which he comes in contact and to 

 recognize the family to which belong the common weeds, wild 

 flowers, and cultivated ornamentals. To see a systematist who 

 does not understand the meaning of a Mendelian ratio or the 

 significance of 15 chromosomes, is disconcerting; to see a physi- 

 ologist who can not distinguish an oak from a maple, or knows 

 not the family relation of cotton and hollyhock, is appalling. 



A study of the local flora will afford opportunities for the 

 self-training we are now about to consider. One should go 

 further than merely to find the accepted names of plants. He 

 should do constructive work; he should carry on critical investi- 

 gations. For this there is abundant opportunity. Every 



