Volome JO Number 3 



The Plant World 



B /llbacjajlne of ©cneral JBotan^ ff<r/iy ^ -.-w. < 



MARCH, 1907 ^ 



A EOUXD TRIP BETWEE^T IOWA AND PUGET 



SOUND. 



I. Westward Bound. 

 By Pi!f)FESsoi{ Bruce Fixk. 



Among tlie sciences wliicli aid one in appreciating nature 

 in rapid survey, Botany certainly holds a high place. jSTot the 

 dry bones of cytology, for few persons will consider from a 

 car window the nature of apical cells or the origin of organs 

 in the plants about them while covering thirty miles an hour; 

 but rather, a knowledge of plants in a general way, including 

 the names and general characters of the more common species, 

 genera and families of plants, and especially their structural 

 adaptations to ecological conditions. One should know the 

 ecological significance of short, stunted stems, few and small 

 leaves, fleshiness of leaf or stem, the rosette habit, and a few 

 other verv elementarv facts of Ecoloffv. Besides this hc^ should 

 possess a good knowledge of PhysiogTaphy and should kudw 

 something of Geology in order that ho nuiy be able, at a ghincc, 

 to make a diagnosis of the rehition of strnctui'o \n onvii-diimont. 

 Equipped thus, and on a train that nuikes longer or shorter stops 

 occasionally, so that some of the plants may be collected and 

 examined, even a ra]>id ride in a wild country, whei-e ]dants 

 grow, becomes a holiday vacation full of interest. 



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