26 BULLETIN OP THE NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY. 



out the occurrence of plants in a given district and 

 collects an herbarium to illustrate it; indeed in the 

 present state of knowledge he would have one likely to 

 be of even more real service to science. 



There is need also of experiment. How far certain 

 seeds may be carried by winds of certain strength ; how 

 long seeds may float in water without losing their power 

 of germination ; what seeds resist digestion while passing 

 through the bodies of animals, and many other principles 

 still need that statistical study which is the only founda- 

 tion for true knowledge. 



I would propose finally to the botanists of Acadia 

 that they should communicate their original observations 

 upon locomotion and other biological topics to this society, 

 and that the society publish them in brief, precisely as it 

 has published notes on plant distribution, and that 

 nothing should be admitted to the list which does not 

 rest upon direct personal observation. In this way may 

 be systematically collected a body of reliable fact as a 

 basis for further elaboration of principle, and as well for 

 the preparation of that true natural history of our native 

 plants which is the real goal of all our endeavors. 



Smith CoUege, Northampton, Mass., June 1, 1895. 



Note, October 5.— As this paper goes to press I find myself well-nigh convinced 

 by recent discussions of the subject that, all things considered, the term Ecology 

 is a better one for the study of adaptation than Biology. In this case to express 

 the study of plants, Phytoecology would be better than Phytobiology. 



