xii INTRODUCTION 



electricity. When we think of these things we wonder why it is 

 that man has not given more attention to this primary source 

 of life, health, wealth and happiness; why he has not given 

 more attention to increasing it. The answer lies in the fact that 

 nature is good to us; nature has supplied man with the neces- 

 saries and more, and man has been satisfied. f But with the in- 

 creasing population it will become more and more necessary for 

 man to study plants and plant life and to learn the secrets of 

 nature which will enable him to increase the production of val- 

 uable plants. 



Plants have influenced the migration of man. In the 

 account of his journeys of discovery and exploration he has 

 always given much attention to the character of the plant life. 

 And most of the permanent settlements of importance have 

 depended on the character of the plant life and the possibilities 

 for agriculture. Big factories may have been located where 

 the water power was good, but they must also be accessible to 

 the raw materials to be used ; or they may have been located near 

 the great beds of coal, oil or natural gas and in that case they 

 were dependent upon the plant products of past ages. How- 

 ever, the great migrations of the world have always been along 

 the lines of great plant growths, and the early settlements in 

 America and the rapid progress of the American people, with 

 which you are familiar, are ample proofs of these statements. 



But this is not all ; the great joy of life is in life itself. To 

 fully enjoy the life within us we must take pleasure in the life 

 around us. The joy of the country, of the forests and plains, 

 the mountains and valleys, of the parks and gardens, is not only 

 in their beauty but in the appreciation of the value of the plant 

 life which makes them beautiful. 



Botany cannot be studied like most subjects; it does not con- 

 sist in committing facts. It cannot be learned from books, for 

 there is no botany in books. Books contain a few plans and 

 methods for study; a few records of observations and studies 



