

EGliteriei] 



Along with the remittance of a new subscriljer, re- 

 ceived recently, was this comment : "Your little journal i& 

 traug'ht with interest from cover to cover and 3'ou don't 

 need a dictionary to look up ever^^ word." This moves? 

 us to observe that botanical publications are like living 

 things in that they pass through periotls of youth, matur- 

 ity and old age. If one looks through the files of any 

 journal of this kind, he will be impressed with the fact 

 that as it increases with age it becomes more and more 

 technical; indeed, until it does begin to be technical it i&- 

 often thought to be immature and there is a considerable 

 number of readers who will have nothing to do with it. 

 The American Botanist, however, is issued for those of 

 any age who retain a youthful spirit and it is our inten- 

 tion to always keep it free from technical matters — to 

 make it a journal for those who love flowers, rather than 

 for the dry-as-dust sort of scientist Avho studies but does 

 not love them. We shall endeavor to present items that 

 are new and interesting,, but whatever age the inagazine 

 attainSy a dictionar3^ \vill not be necessary in order to 

 comprehend it. 



If anyone has the idea that publishers of botanical 

 journals are getting rich, he may ponder the statement of 

 The Plant World, which after an existence of nearly six 

 years announces in the July number that it is giving more 

 than it can afford, and adds that it is unreasonable to ex- 

 pect the supporters of the journal to maintain it at a loss, 



* * 

 * 



Although two-thirds of the subscriptions of Thp: 

 American Botanist expired in June, we have since received 

 just two orders to discontinue. This we consider a re- 

 markable showing for any journal, much less one still in 

 its infancy, for there are alwaj'S a few discontinuances to 



