93 



EDITORIAL. 



We would usk the indulgence of our readers, as the summer season 

 approaches, for possible delays in the appearance of each monthly 

 issue of Thi<: Plant World. So manv details enter into the editorial 

 and business management of any magazine that the whole establish- 

 ment may be likened to the complex mechanism of a watch, which is 

 disabled when a single wheel slips out of place. In the first place, 

 literary contributions become less numerous, because the majority of 

 our readers are doubtless eniovinij midsummer fiction and iced lenion- 

 ade at various cool summer resorts. The result is that the editors, 

 confined to the atmosphere of our Washington office, are forced to dip 

 their pens in ink more freely than time or inclination warrants. There 

 are also supplies to be purchased from time to time, illustrations to be 

 obtained, and correspondence to be attended to, often when the staff is 

 consideral)ly reduced in numbers on account of summer vacations. 

 We can perceive a ray of comfort, however, in the fact that many of 

 our plant students are now gathering notes and making observations 

 in the field, the fruit of which will doubtless appear in forthcoming 

 issues of The Plant World. It is our hope, therefore, that sub- 

 scribers will await with reasonable patience the arrival of each issue, 

 knowing that we never intentionally neglect or disappoint. 



A reprint of pane 27 of the sup})lement is sent out with this issue 

 to take the place of the original [)age, on the reverse side of Avhich an 

 advertisement was inadvertently printed. The desire for binding the 

 supplement separately is so universal that we prefer to have the 

 volume possess an attractive appearance when completed. 



