viii Spring and its Studies 151 



best of all of course Drude's Pflanzenverbreitung and his 

 section of Berghaus's great Physical Atlas, which is 

 happily soon to be available in improved form for English 

 readers. 



The student thus equipped, and the artist practised in 

 rendering these scenes in colour, they may now with safety 

 avail themselves of the help of books and photographs in 

 extending their collection of paintings ; friendly criticism 

 can often be obtained from travellers who actually have 

 visited these scenes, and a growing collection of no little 

 interest and value to more than the pure botanist be thus 

 gradually obtained. Why should not any knot of friends, 

 of whom some love painting and others botany, work to- 

 gether in this way? There is plenty of blank wall space 

 in the nearest school to hang their labours with endless 

 pleasure and usefulness to children, teachers, and natural- 

 ists alike. 1 Nor is such a collection unworthy the attention 

 of the conservators of museums and art galleries, and of 

 the geographical societies. 



Germination. One of the many wise sayings of Eras- 

 mus Darwin was, that the offspring of any organism was 

 not so much a new creature as " a branch or elongation of 

 the parent." This is the common characteristic of all kinds 

 of reproduction, whether of plants or of animals, that part 

 of the parent is separated off to begin a new life. In most 

 cases the new life begins from the union of two units, pro- 



1 The writer has here to express his thanks to the Dundee Art 

 Club, whose members have gone far with the preparation of such a 

 collection of paintings for the botanical department of the College; 

 to Mr. Maclauchlan, curator of the City Museum Library and Art 

 Gallery, for much help ; as also to the studio of the Edinburgh Summer 

 Meeting. With his friend and former pupil, Miss Etta Johnston, whose 

 share in this matter has been a very active one, he will be happy to 

 give all information and assistance to others who may wish to begin 

 such a collection. 



