PRESENT STATUS 9 



10 the habitat, or to the development and structure of the formation which 

 it bears, i. e., when it takes up the manifold problems of the oIkos. Such 

 a study must be based upon floristic, but the latter becomes a part of in- 

 vestigation only in so far as it leads to it. Standing by itself, it is not 

 ecological research : it is the preparation for it. This distinction deserves 

 careful thought. The numerous recruits to ecology have turned their at- 

 tention to what lay nearest to hand, with little question as to its value, or to 

 where it might lead. The result has been to make reconnaissance far out- 

 weigh investigation in amount, and to give it a value which properly be- 

 longs to the latter. P\irthermore, this mistaken conception has in many 

 cases, without doubt, prevented its leading to valuable research work. 



14. Resident investigation. Obviously, if reconnaissance is a superficial 

 survey, and investigation thorough extensive study, an important distinction 

 between them is in the time required. While one may well be the result of 

 a journey of some duration, the other is essentially dependent upon resi- 

 dence. In the past the great disparity between the size of the field and the 

 number of workers has made resident study too often an ideal, but in the 

 future it will be increasingly the case that a particular region will be worked 

 by a trained ecologist resident in it. This may never be altogether true of 

 inaccessible and sterile portions of the globe. It may be pointed out, how- 

 ever, that, between the tropics and the poles, residence during the summer 

 or growing period is in essence continuous residence. In the ultimate an- 

 alysis, winter conditions have of course some influence upon the develop- 

 ment of vegetation during the summer, but the important problems which a 

 vegetation presents must be worked out during the period of development. 

 For temperate, arctic, and alpine regions, then, repeated study during the 

 growing period for a term of years has practically all the advantages of 

 continuous residence. For all practical purposes, it is resident study. 



15. The dangers of a restricted field. In the resident study of a par- 

 ticular region, the temptation to make an intensive investigation of a cir- 

 cumscribed area is very strong. The limits imposed by distance are alone 

 a sufficient explanation of this, but it is greatly increased by the inclination 

 toward detailed study for which a small field offers opportunity. This 

 temptation can be overcome only by a general preliminary study of the 

 larger region in which the particular field is located. The broader outlook 

 gained in this way will throw needed light upon many obscure facts of the 

 latter, and at the same time it will act as a necessary corrective of the ten- 

 dency to consider the problems of the local field in a detached manner, and 

 to magnify the value of the distinctions made and the results obtained. 



