4 BOTANY: PRINCIPLES AND PROBLEMS 



and for their successful pursuit demand a sound knowledge of 

 botanical principles. Everyone who is concerned with plants 

 from a scientific point of view, whatever his purpose or profession, 

 is rightfully to be called a botanist. 



The History of Botany. The Classical PenW.— Botany as 

 we know it today is the result of a long term of observation 



Fig. 1.— Aristotle, 384-322 B.C. 



and inquir3^ As do so many other sciences, it looks back to 

 the fertile speculations of the Greeks for the first definite expres- 

 sion of its problems and principles. The "nature" of plants 

 was studied by Aristotle (384-322 B.C., Fig. 1) who saw 

 clearly certain of the broader problems of plant and animal life, 

 and whose sagacious comments thereon are still worthy of our 

 attention. It is his disciple Theophrastus of Eresus (371-287 

 B.C.), however, whom botanists have generally regarded as 

 the father of their science. This keen naturalist accumulated 

 a great mass of information with regard to plants and discussed 

 their various characteristics. Rome also had her share in the 

 development of plant science, notably through the contributions 

 of Pliny the Elder (23-79 A.D.), whose "Natural History," 



