4 INTRODUCTORY 



and power of germination. (0) Pharmacology, dealing with 

 the production and utilization of drug plants, (h} Plant pathol- 

 ogy, dealing with the cause, control and eradication of plant 

 diseases, (i) Bacteriology, dealing with the study of bacteria 

 (page 250). 



These branches have been separated from botany and organ- 

 ized as independent branches of learning. However, botany is 

 fundamentally the basis for all of them and their highest devel- 

 opment will depend largely on their close relationship to the 

 parent subject. Plant pathology is the youngest of these applied 

 subjects and is necessarily most closely attached to the parent 

 subject. The diseases of the higher plants are mostly due to the 

 lower forms of plant life. Therefore, the plant pathologist 

 must have an understanding of both the higher and the lower 

 forms of plant life. 



Botany is not primarily the learning of technical terms, defi- 

 nitions and the scientific names of plants. It is the study of 

 plant life in all its various relations. It cannot be studied in 

 the same manner that we study many other subjects; it cannot 

 be studied from text-books. The books contain records and 

 methods, but the study of botany is a study of the plant. The 

 statements in the books are based on our present knowledge of 

 the subject; but we are learning new facts; our knowledge is 

 advancing and our books are constantly undergoing changes in 

 accordance with these new facts. It is said that one of Agassiz's 

 mottoes was: "Study nature, not books." This should be the 

 motto of all students of botany. 



The proper study of botany not only gives us a knowledge of 

 plants in their various relations, but it also develops our power 

 of close observation and accuracy ; our ability to see things that 



