PROCEEDIN(;S OF THE OHIO ACADEMY OF SCIENCE. 319 



tory, which often vitiate results to such an extent that one can 

 draw no certain conclusions regarding the functioning of plants 

 in nature. Morphological and anatomical studies bring ecology 

 back to the laboratory where the structural relations may be 

 studied best. There can be no doubt that the rise and develop- 

 ment of ecology has done much to ofTset extreme methods in 

 the laboratory and give new life to studies of structure and 

 function. If the field method in physiological ecology can give 

 us adequate knowledge of the functioning of plants in their 

 habitats, many important problems will be solved. 



Not many years since, some botanists explained all modifi- 

 cations of plant structures in terms of relationship to environ- 

 ment, but the latest dictum of ecology is that a plant may exist, 

 for at least a limited time, in an environment with which a 

 majority of its morphological and anatomical characters do not 

 accord. Yet the special field of ecology is to study all factors 

 of the environment and all structures and functions of the plants 

 found in a given habitat in order to ascertain what are the in- 

 fluences which decide wdiat plants and what plant aggregates 

 appear and maintain themselves in that habitat. Such studies 

 have been confined largely to vascular jDlants, but ecological 

 studies of bryophytes, algae, and fungi will become more common 

 as time j^asses. 



Agriculture, horticulture, and forestry are beginning to 

 recognize their partial dependence on ecology. The relation be- 

 tween natural vegetation and agricultural and horticidtural pos- 

 sibilities is becoming well understood in all parts of the country, 

 but has been investigated especially in regions recently opened 

 for settlement. It has been demonstrated through recent research 

 that the study of natural vegetation in relation with soil moisture, 

 soil texture, soil chemistry and ])hysics. and various other factors 

 of the environment is a most helpful criterion in determining 

 the availability of certain soils and certain climates for various 

 agricultural and horticultural purposes. Much money has been 

 wasted by using soils and climates for purposes for which they 

 are not adapted, and ecological and physiological methods are 

 certain to be employed extensively in the future in preventing 



