PREFACE 



IT is seven years since A Text-book of Botany was published, 

 and during this period there has been not only great progress 

 in the knowledge of plants, but also much discussion con- 

 cerning the effective use of plants in a high school education. 

 It is natural that a discussion of this kind should lead to 

 considerable diversity of opinion, and it is evident that no 

 one is in a position as yet to decide the points at issue. 

 Amid all the flux of opinion, however, there is evident a 

 desire to relate plants more closely to the interest and to the 

 need of high school students. This desire expresses itself in 

 an extreme form when courses in " agriculture " are asked to 

 be substituted for courses in " botany." This has brought a 

 distinct temptation to publishers and to authors to " meet 

 the demand " without much consideration as to its signifi- 

 cance. It cannot mean that all that has proved good in the 

 older method is to be abandoned, and an unorganized mass 

 of new material substituted for it. It cannot mean that 

 high school pupils are to become apprentices rather than 

 students. It must mean that the structure and work of 

 plants are to be so studied that this knowledge will enable 

 the student to work with plants intelligently. In other 

 words, it is intended to be the practical application of knowl- 

 edge, rather than practical work without knowledge. 



The present book, Elementary Studies in Botany, comprises 

 two parts, intended to meet the two needs indicated above. 



Part I, Plants in general, gives an account of the structure 

 and work of plants simple enough to be understood by high 

 school students of any grade, and brief enough to be com- 



