212 APPLIED BIOLOGY 



The dandelion, sunflower, aster and the others mentioned 

 above are members of the family of plants known in botany 

 as the Composite Family (Compositse). It is the largest 

 family of seed-plants (phanerogams). There are over five 

 hundred species of composites in the United States east of 

 the Mississippi River. The composites are regarded as the 

 highest plants, just as mammals are the highest animals. 



It is easy to identify a specimen flower as a composite, but 

 in order to find out what its name is, one must consult special 

 books on the classification of plants. Most famous of such 

 books is the " Manual of Botany," by Asa Gray, the most 

 noted American botanist, professor of natural history at 

 Harvard College from 1842-1888. 



208. Flowers and Applied Biology. How any relation 

 can exist between study of flowers and applied biology may 

 not be apparent to those persons whose idea of " applied " 

 is that it means something good to eat or something of 

 economic value, as are forests, cereal plants, etc. And yet 

 it would be a mistake to think of flowers as not having 

 economic value, for millions of dollars are invested in land 

 and greenhouses used solely for producing flowers for the 

 market, and in all civilized lands the sale of flowers amounts 

 to an enormous total of dollars annually. 



In still another way study of flowers is of direct practical 

 use, namely, in producing new varieties of plants. Each 

 year the catalogues of dealers announce new and attractive 

 varieties. Many of these have been produced by gardeners 

 who have applied their knowledge of flowers to experiments 

 with artificial cross-pollination; and the result of such ex- 

 periments is often valuable new varieties of plants. 



But while some readers may not be interested in flowers 

 because some other persons make great profits in growing 

 and selling them, it is probable that there are few individuals 

 who will admit that they have no interest in flowers for their 

 ornamental value. Have you ever met a person so dead 



