'Visit the plant in its native heath, Consider its ways' 



Plants in Their Environments 



Mary M. Boyce. 

 "Environed they are with many foes." 



We hear rn.uch of the origin of species, natural selection, etc., 

 but until lately little on the "at homes" and foreign travel of 

 plants as they march steadily over the world. Warming has 

 published, in Danish, a work on (Ecology, being a study of vegeta- 

 tion in existing environments, and really the sociology of plants. 

 He advocates data-collecting by studying the plants in the field 

 instead of on the laboratory table, as has been done in the past. 

 He shows how form.s and functions are modified to serve purposes 

 for food, water, heat, and protection for reproduction. 



It is interesting to note the characteristics of plants in regions 

 with marked physical conditions. Plants share the elements 

 with anim.al life. Suspended in the air are found bacteria. We 

 may trust microscopists when they tell of the communities abid- 

 ing around us with never ending struggles for mastery and life. 

 Lichens are nourished in the atmOvSphere; algae and yeast are 



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