156 



EDITORIAL. 



We believe that lack of interest in any particular group of plants 

 is often to be attributed to failure to understand the best methods of 

 study and observation. This is, especially true of the lower crypto- 

 gams, in which the various parts of the plant are usually designated 

 by names very distinct from those with which we are familiar in their 

 more conspicuous relatives, the phanerogams. In short, one must 

 know just what to look for, and how to look for it, in order to appre- 

 ciate the beauties of structure in this vast class of small organisms. 

 In another part of this issue we print an article, the first of a general 

 series, dealing with the mosses, and giving hints for their collection 

 and study. The language has been made as free fnmi technicality as 

 possible, and we trust that the carefully executed plate that accompa- 

 nies the article will be of service to the student in his work of identify- 

 ing the various parts of a moss plant. From time to time, we shall 

 print articles in similar vein l)y well-known specialists, treating such 

 groups as the Myxomycetes, the fleshy fungi, the parasitic fungi, the 

 lichens, etc. It is certainly necessary in the progressive age for even 

 the amateur to know something of the lower plants, in order to gain a 

 clearer understanding of the greater problems of plant descent and 

 relationship. 



