PREFACE vii 



the future teacher who will be confronted with a need for ac- 

 quaintance with the living plants of our environment. Plant 

 life and plant products figure largely in the experience of school 

 children, and can become an interesting part of the science 

 program provided the teacher is adequately prepared to direct 

 such work. 



With these aims in mind, the authors have organized the 

 subject matter of PLANTS AND MAN into six parts, each 

 dealing with a basic relationship of plant life to human existence. 



Part One introduces the student to the more important aspects 

 of elementary botany, pertinent to the topics taken up in the 

 remainder of the text. The first chapter discusses elementary 

 biological information essential to the concept of a plant organ- 

 ism. Chapters two and three summarize in evolutionary treat- 

 ment the essential facts from morphology, anatomy, physiology 

 and ecology dealing with the maintenance of life in the plant 

 organism, and the reproductive methods used by plants in 

 perpetuating themselves. Chapter four briefly outlines the basic 

 elements of plant taxonomy and the consideration of the most 

 important phyla of the plant kingdom. Chapter five concludes 

 this part of the book with a preview of the various inter-relation- 

 ships between plants and man, some of which constitute the 

 remaining chapters of Parts Two through Six. 



Part Two continues the consideration of plant foods and other 

 organic products, introduced in chapters two and three. The 

 methods by which such organic products are elaborated, the 

 origin of plants cultivated for their products, and the various 

 ways in which plants are used as foods, food accessories and 

 beverages comprise chapters six through fourteen. 



Part Three continues the consideration .of the supporting 

 tissues developed by plants, introduced in chapter two. The 

 development of the plant skeleton, the identification of woody 

 plants (Angiosperm and Gymnosperm trees native to the United 

 States), the conservation of our forest resources, the production 

 and use of wood and fibers comprise chapters fifteen through 

 twenty. 



Part Four develops the idea of the formation of secretions in 

 plants, and man's use of both plant secretions and excretions; 



