2 24 General Botany 



many disease-producing organisms that injure and destroy wild 

 and cultivated plants. 



Importance of further study of the environment. From this 

 brief survey of the more important factors it must be evident 

 that the plant lives in a highly complex environment, that these 

 factors vary from one season to another, and that they are closely 

 interrelated. For these reasons it is difficult fully to explain the 

 effects produced by changing one of these factors. Certainly 

 the day has passed when offhand answers can be given to the 

 many questions arising from intelligent observation of plants in 

 nature or in cultivation. These questions can only be answered 

 correctly by experiments carried on by men who have made a 

 special study of plants in relation to environmental factors. 

 Furthermore, only well-trained men can make investigations that 

 will advance our knowledge in this important field. Yet this 

 more than any other is the field of botany that will contribute 

 information of fundamental importance to the farmer, the 

 gardener, and the forester. Every advance in our knowledge 

 of the relation between a plant process and a definite environ- 

 mental factor can be advantageously applied to improve cultural 

 practices. 



