335] B. E. Livingston 137 



kinds of application advance hand in hand, but the great 

 majority of individuals may remain generally careless of the 

 philosophical kind. For the growth of plant physiology and 

 for its best service to the world, it is clear that most of its 

 devotees must give much attention to the practical problems 

 of plant production and plant culture, and such is indeed 

 the case. 



Both groups of applications have their philanthropic or 

 altruistic and their personal or selfish aspects, using these 

 adjectives in their usual sense. Thus, a world philosophy may 

 be cultivated with the conscious aim of advancing human de- 

 velopment in general, or with the aim of advancing certain 

 individuals, groups or institutions, as by increased financial 

 income. Of course, the two aspects overlap, but the broadly 

 philanthropic aim seems to have been frequently more evi- 

 dent than the other among the great philosophers and re- 

 ligionists of the past. We are not told that a Buddha or a 

 Christ or a Pasteur has given much attention to personal 

 financial income or to the copyrighting or patenting of his 

 ideas. Nevertheless, it is quite possible for a modern philo- 

 sophical scientist to give attention to such personal things 

 without detracting from the broader value of his work. 



The practical applications of a science such as plant physi- 

 ology may be carried forward for either altruistic or personal 

 ends. The latter kind of activity is commonly called com- 

 mercial. A plant physiologist may work for years in per- 

 fecting methods for the production of better or more abund- 

 ant agricultural crops, and his main aim may be either to 

 lower the cost of food to the multitude, or to gain for him- 

 self fame or financial profit. The work itself may be the 

 same in both cases, and even the publication of his results and 

 conclusions may not be markedly different. However, as in 

 all such personal activities, the results eventually become free 

 to the world, and may thus become just as important in gen- 

 eral human advancement as though the work had been planned 

 with that end in view. Personal interest can usually withhold 

 results of this kind for only a limited time; patents and copy- 



