PARAGRAPHS FOR THE TEACHER IX 



forms and the names of plants. It is now proposed 

 that only function be taught. But one cannot study 

 function intelligently without some knowledge of plant 

 forms and names. He must know the language of the 

 subject. The study of form and function should go 

 together. Correlate what a plant is with what it does. 

 What is this part? What is its office, or how did it 

 come to be? What are its relations? It were a pity to 

 teach phyllotaxy without teaching light-relation: it 

 were an equal pity to teach light-relation without 

 teaching phyllotaxy. 



Four epochs can be traced in the teaching of ele- 

 mentary botany: (1) The effort to know the names of 

 plants and to classify. This was the outgrowth of the 

 earlier aspect of plant knowledge, when it was neces- 

 sary to make an inventory of the things in the world. 

 (2) The desire to know the formal names of the parts 

 of plants. This was an outgrowth of the study of gross 

 morphology. Botanies came to be dictionaries of 

 technical terms. (3) The effort to develop the powers 

 of independent investigation. This was largely a result 

 of the German laboratory system, which developed the 

 trained specialist investigator. It emphasized the 

 value of the compound microscope and other appa- 

 ratus. This method is of the greatest service to botani- 

 cal science and to mankind, but its introduction into 

 the secondary schools is usually unfortunate. (4) The 

 effort to know the plant as a complete organism liv- 

 ing its own life in a natural way. In the beginning of 

 this epoch we are now living. 



