PREFACE 



An introductory course of study in botany should do at 

 least six things for the student: 



1. Teach him the fundamental elementary facts con- 

 cerning plant life. 



2. Acquaint him with the broad, illuminating generaliza- 

 tions, and with the theories and working hypotheses which 

 have been formulated on the solid basis of observed fact. 

 An intelligent comprehension of these fundamental con- 

 cepts is far more important for purposes of general culture 

 and a liberal education, and also for more advanced study, 

 than an intimate acquaintance with the facts alone on 

 which the generalizations are based. 



3. Familiarize him with the methods of thought and 

 work by means of which the science has been and is being 

 advanced. 



4. Give him some acquaintance with the great names in 

 the history of the science, so that he may view our present 

 body of knowledge in true perspective. The student 

 should be made to realize that what we now know was not 

 obtained "ready made," but only by painstaking investi- 

 gation and search. Therefore, brief references are made 

 in the following pages to a number of pioneers in the un- 

 explored fields of botanical discovery. From an educa- 

 tional point of view it is quite as important to understand 

 that our present body of knowledge has been a gradual 



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