TO THE STUDENT 



Botany has sometimes been spoken of rather shghtingly as 

 the ''feminine" science, and indeed in the minds of many people 

 it is chiefly associated with pleasant exercises in learning the 

 names of wild flowers, or with quaint individuals who wander 

 absentmindedly in the woods and fields, trowel and tin box in 

 hand, and who rejoice in the use of long and unpronounceable 

 Latin words. That such a conception of the science of botany is 

 wholly inadequate, a study of the following pages should amply 

 prove. Plants are far more than interesting playthings. They 

 are a conspicuous and inescapeable part of the world we inhabit. 

 They make life possible for us by providing food, clothing, fuel, 

 shelter, and many other necessities. More important still, they 

 are alive and thus endowed with those remarkable qualities which 

 have always made all living things eagerly studied by man, not 

 only for their own sake but for the light which they throw on 

 many human problems. If education is indeed an understand- 

 ing of our surroundings, surely no one should pretend to be 

 educated well who is unfamiliar with plants and their activities. 



A college textbook or a college course in any branch of biology, 

 however, ought to do something more than give familiarity with 

 a mass of facts, no matter how important they may be. It 

 should develop in us the right attitude toward these facts. This 

 attitude — the truly scientific attitude — is both critical and inqui- 

 sitive. It should enable us to find our way to the truth through 

 a maze of facts. This is the attitude which distinguishes a 

 truly educated man from one who is merely knowledge-cram- 

 med, and a lack of it is responsible for much of the loose thinking 

 and false reasoning with regard to biological problems which is in- 

 dulged in by many people?. 



Let us see what this attitude demands and how it may best be 

 attained. We are all obliged to acquire a mass of information if 

 we are to live successfully. We must know the character of the 

 various things which we eat and wear, the operation of countless 

 devices which we use, the rules and habits of other people, the 



