12 GENEKAL BOTANY 



the trees, to the smaller and humbler forms, like insects, 

 which inhabit the crevices of decaying logs and bark and 

 the leaf mold created by the decay of fallen leaves. Winter 

 to these creatures of the forest is less severe than it would be 

 in an open and barren region, and summer brings an abundance 

 of food, with protection from heat. Similarly, an intimate knowl- 

 edge of the life of our common birds, insects, fishes, and mam- 

 mals would reveal the all-important influence of plants on the 

 environment of these animals in the meadows, lakes, and streams 

 which they inhabit. The great deserts, likewise, are habitable 

 by a limited number of animal forms, including man, on account 

 of the protection and food supplied by the cacti and other desert 

 plants which have become adapted to such arid regions. 



On account of these environmental relations of plants to 

 man, the culture of certain kinds of plants which are useful 

 for food and for lumber and for ornamental purposes has 

 assumed a larger and larger place in. industry and commerce 

 as civilization has advanced. 



Industrial and commercial relations of plants. The great 

 importance of modern industrial botany has led to the estab- 

 lishment, by our national and state governments, of important 

 departments for the investigation and culture of plants. In 

 these departments hundreds of expert botanists are studying 

 those aspects of plants and plant culture which are deemed to 

 be of the greatest importance to man. 



Agriculture, and its relation to plants, is one of the great 

 lines of endeavor connected with practical botany. Forestry, 

 although not yet so fully developed in our own country, bids 

 fair to receive an increasing amount of attention as our forests 

 become depleted and the supply of lumber decreases. 



Plant breeding, or the production of better kinds of fruits, 

 grains, and ornamental plants, is receiving wide attention and 

 interest at the present time. As a result of this great activ- 

 ity on the part of individuals and of our national and state 

 governments, many improved kinds of food and forage plants 

 have already been bred, and the future promises even greater 

 improvements in both agricultural and horticultural varieties. 



