PREFACE 



This book has grown out of the author's experience 

 in the lecture room and laboratory, while giving in- 

 structions to students in the Short Course in Agricul- 

 ture, in the University of Wisconsin. 



It is intended especially for students who have had 

 little or no previous instruction in botany, and it is 

 hoped that it may also be found interesting and profit- 

 able to the general reader who would learn more of the 

 principles that underlie the culture of plants. 



It is expected that the instructor will amplify the 

 text in proportion to the time at his command, and the 

 capacity of his students. In the author's practice, the 

 first three chapters have been found sufficient for a 

 term of twelve weeks, and the remaining chapters, sup- 

 plemented with some special work in horticulture, have 

 served for a second term. 



A syllabus of laboratory work is added as an ap- 

 pendix. 



It is hoped that this book may prove as useful to 

 other instructors as it has proved to the author during 

 its evolution. 



Madison, Wis., Feb. 15, 1897. E. S. GOFF. 



