FIELD BOTANY 



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Edited by Dr. H. A. Gleason, Urbana, III. 



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Some people labor under the delusion that field work in 

 botany begins in the spring and ends in autumn. Such per- 

 sons probably go into a sort of botanical hibernation about this 

 time of year and never wake up until the April sun tells them 

 that a new season has begun. Others do no botanical work 

 except read what others have done, and get some second-hand 

 interest and information in that way. But why should we 

 stop our field work just because the leaves are gone? The 

 field is still there, the plants are still there, and it is safe to say 

 that the majority of us know for less about their winter condi- 

 tion than we might easily find out. Let me suggest a few sub- 

 jects that might be taken up during the winter months, and 

 which will give us a beter idea of the plants about us. 



At this season of the year there are a great many dead 

 stems standing, frequently with the remains of the flowers or 

 fruit still attached. How many of them can you recognize. Take 

 some of them home with you from your walks, and, if you 

 can not find out what they are from your manual, press them 

 and visit the same place next summer when they are again in 

 bloom. 



Everyone has seen the small rosette-like clusters of green 

 leaves close to the ground, by means of which some plants pass 

 through the winter. Do you know what they are? Why not 

 find as many kinds of rosettes as possible, put a stake by one 

 of each kind, and watch them also next summer? If there are 

 plenty of them, a pressed specimen of each species of rosette 

 would be a good addition to the herbarium. 



One last suggestion — why not learn to recognize the dif- 

 ferent species of trees by their buds, twigs, and bark? You 



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