THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. 71 



write of its interesting features in the best language he can 

 command. It is worse than useless to consult a botanical man- 

 ual while writing. Just because you happen to be interested 

 in the flowers of a plant or its methods of seed-dispersal is 

 no excuse for burdening your readers with a detailed botanical 

 description of its leaves and roots. Consult the manuals if 

 you must after your article is written, but while writing, bet- 

 ter lock up the books. It is astonishing how the points of in- 

 terest multiply when one stops to consider what it is in even 

 some common plant that attracts him. Sometimes it is the 

 peculiar situation chosen for growth, or the relation it sus- 

 tains to surrounding plants; again it is its methods of ob- 

 taining its share of sunlight or its adaptations for pollination 

 or seed-dispersal. Even the time of blooming, the shape and 

 color of the flowers, the size of the seeds, the shape of the 

 leaves, the texture of the bark, the form of the stem or the 

 adaptations to environment may form the nucleus for a good 

 story. The main thing is, have something interesting to write 

 about, write it and then stop. Take the material nearest at 

 hand, study your specimen carefully, forget that there is such 

 a thing as a botanical description and you may be sure the 

 editor will ask for more articles like it. 



^ ^ >}c 



The American Association for the Advancement of Science 

 will hold its mid-winter meeting at Chicago, this year, during 

 the week beginning Dec. 30. The meetings of the botanical 

 section are always worth attending as the very latest things 

 in botany are likely to be discussed. The meetings, which will 

 be held at the University of Chicago, are open to the public 

 and all who are interested in botany are invited to attend. At 

 the time the Association meets many other national societies 

 will meet in Chicago, notably the Botanical Society of Amer- 

 ica, the American Society of Naturalists, American Society 

 of Zoologists, etc. At this time it is also proposed to form a 

 Nature-Study Society. 



