90 THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. 



army of plant lovers, but the expectation failed to be realized ; 

 in fact, it is the opinion of a good many who have carefully 

 observed the proceedings, that one of the most efficient means 

 of setting- the student against botany is the average botanical 

 course in the high school. The reason for this lies partly in 

 the course itself and partly in the teacher. In most schools 

 both teacher and student consider botany as a task — possibly 

 not quite so irksome as geometry or latin but a task, neverthe- 

 less. The student is introduced to much pickled or dried ma- 

 terial and many sections and disconnected parts of plants which 

 he has never seen in nature from which he is made to learn a 

 satisfactory number of facts upon pain of failure to "pass" in 

 the study. The average teacher is prone to place discipline 

 above interest, and a well filled note book above the power to 

 see and to judge and the lessons are conducted upon lines that 

 would do equally well for a class in ancient history. Nobody 

 need expect much from the teaching of botany until it is taught 

 out of doors by teachers interested in the work. The matter 

 of interest upon the part of the teacher is one that those in au- 

 thority commonly overlook. The classes in botany are usu- 

 ally turned over to anyone on the faculty who has not enough 

 work in her own specialty to keep her busy. But even among 

 those who teach botany by preference few are deeply interested 

 in the subject. One who would know something of the bot- 

 any of the region cannot rely for this information upon the 

 teacher of botany in the high school. Generally speaking 

 such teachers make no pretense to a wide knowledge of the 

 subject. They read no botanical works, they subscribe for no 

 botanical publications, they write no botanical papers, they 

 make no original investigations; they are in a wora, luere 

 faculty members. If by some accident they attend a meeting 

 of botanists they join the audience of mute and respectful 

 listeners with nothing to say when discussion waxes interest- 

 ing. How even the enthusiast can expect such an apology to 

 turn out students with an abiding interest in, and love for. 



