THE PLANT WOELD 137 



" To supply information about plants and to supply it in language 

 that tlie general reader can understand, is the pro\dnce of The Ameri- 

 can Botanist. ^ * * It is not necessarj^ to be a prominent scientist 

 to write an article that will interest the flower-lover. * * * Turn- 

 ing to the dictionary, * - * we find that a botanist is ' one versed 

 in the knowledge of plants.' That is exactly what this magazine aims 

 to be. * * * While we shall use original matter for the bulk of The 

 American Botanist, we shall also make a feature of re-publishing every- 

 thing of a popular nature appearing in other botanical journals. * *" 



The last quotation evidently contains the keynote of the editor's 

 intentions, since in the July issue before us three of the sis leading 

 articles are quoted from other journals. Without questioning the con- 

 venience of this p.iactice from the editorial standpoint, we are inclined 

 to doubt whether, in these days of cheap first-class magazines, a pub- 

 Kcation without illustrations, consisting of only sixteen pages of read- 

 ing matter composed largely of extracts, is likely to find favor with the 

 public at the subscription price of one dollar per year. 



The popularization of science does not necessarily mean the writ- 

 ing of " articles that will interest the flower-lover." A journal claiming 

 to be in any sense scientific should endeavor to instruct as well as to 

 amuse, and we venture the assertion that an examination of the pages 

 of any current magazine of popular science will disclose the fact that 

 the most readable, as well as the most instructive articles, have been 

 written either by absolute professionals, or by amateurs with more or 

 less scientific training. It is certainly no compliment to the attain- 

 ments of our American botanists to suppose them incapable of writing 

 in language free from technicalities, and the lay public, having confi- 

 dence in the specialist's knowledge of the subject, will read what he 

 has to say with interest and profit. An editorial experience of several 

 years has proven conclusively that most articles written by so-called 

 amateurs are valueless for publication. 



Our contemporary also indulges in an editorial denunciation of the 

 use of scientific names in popular writings. This objection strikes us 

 as rather trivial. Besides being absolutely necessarj^ for proper iden- 

 tification of the plant which is being discussed, such names are almost 

 always inserted in parentheses, and can be readily passed over by those 

 to whom they are unfamiliar. 



We do not wish to imply, bj^ this somewhat extended criticism, 

 that there is not a wide field in this country for the exploiting of ama- 

 teur botanical journals conducted in the right spirit, that is, with the 

 advancement of botanical science as the paramount object. We trust 

 that our new contemporary will belong to this category. Its attractive 

 cover and neat typography are certainly to be commended; while being 

 " versed in the knowledge of plants," it may be expected to supply an 

 aching void in the demands of popular botany. 



