CHAPTER VII. 

 PLANS FOR BOTANICAL WORK. 



The following suggestions written by Mr. Win. B. 

 Werthner, for Chapter 940, Dayton, O., are so practical 

 and valuable that we are glad to reproduce them here for 

 the benefit of the whole Association : 



"As spring conies on, an interest in nature is awak- 

 ened, a-nd as botany offers so many fields for individual 

 work, the following suggestions are made with the hope 

 that they may induce more out-of-door study. The 

 student will easily find that one season's work does not 

 exhaust the subject, and that he may continue from year 

 to year, always learning some things he did not know- 

 before, and that his investigations may lead to discover- 

 ies of the highest importance, giving him a deeper under- 

 standing of natural forces and a better appreciation of 

 life itself. This science is so comprehensive that men 

 have long' ago given up the idea of being master of it all; 

 and so you will see that one or two things carefully stud- 

 ied and collected will give you more pleasure, and lead to 

 better results, than a superficial study of the whole field. 



The question is asked: What can I do out of school, 

 in summer and other times, to keep up my interest or 

 direct my attention to botanical problems? Here are a 

 few topics for investigation: 



F. Make experiments with living plants. 



(a) Seedlings. Note under what circumstances differ- 

 ent seeds will germinate; whether they all need the 

 same amount of air, warmth, water, etc. Compare 

 their modes of growth; plant in various kinds of 

 soil, and at different times. 



