FACT AND THEORY 241 



Yet with but one certainty in the entire scheme 

 of classification — that certainty being the indi- 

 vidual itself. 



Men may tell us that a plant belongs to one 

 genus or to another, that it is of this species, or 

 of that — or that it is even of a different family 

 than at first we thought — but these, after all, are 

 but theories, built up about the plant by man — 

 theories which serve merely as guideposts in our 

 work. 



The plant itself, the individual plant, if we but 

 watch it and give it an opportunity, will tell 

 us for itself, beyond dispute or denial, just what 

 manner of plant it is — just what we may hope 

 for it to do. 



Next in importance to classifying plants, from 

 a superficial standpoint, is a method of naming 

 them. 



When we go to the florist's we ask for roses, 

 or marigolds; when we go to the fruiterer's we 

 talk to him of oranges, and plums, and cherries; 

 when we go to the green grocer we ask for let- 

 tuce, or cabbage, or peas; when we select furni- 

 ture we talk of it as being made of mahogany, 

 or oak, or walnut. 



Thus, commonly, we call all forms of plant 

 life by their nicknames — and by their nicknames 

 only do most of us know them. 



