394 The Botanical Gazette. [September, 
In America the year 1887 saw the establishment ofa se- 
ries of state institutions, which gave a wonderful influence to 
the study of ecology. American botany owes much to the 
Agricultural Experiment Stations, especially in promoting a 
knowledge of vegetable pathology and ecology. Together 
with the Agricultural Department of the general government, 
they have enabled American botanists to become the leading 
investigators and writers upon pathological subjects, giving a 
position and imparting a value to the science of plant diseases, 
both scientific and practical, that ten years ago would have 
been inconceivable. What has been done for pathology is 
likely to be done for ecology, as it is the second subject in 
importance cultivated by station botanists. In the latter 
science the assistance of the Agricultural Colleges is also im- 
portant, for in a few years the subject will undoubtedly hold 
a commanding position in the curriculum of the agricultural 
and general science courses of these institutions, and be re- 
osophy. What is most needed at present is a suitable text- 
book; for the value of the subject will be more quickly rec- 
ognized when it is displayed in well arranged form. 
It would be interesting and profitable to take a survey of 
the development of the different branches and topics of the 
science, but I shall content myself with barely mentioning one 
or two which especially flourish in this country. Recently a 
new life has been infused into the study of floras and the dis- 
tribution of plants by what is called the ‘‘biological” method, 
the inspiration having been derived in the first place from the 
zoologists. This method, which has so far been most success- 
fully applied to limited areas in the western part of the United 
States, undertakes an explanation of the present location of 
forms by considering severally and collectively the various ¢X- 
ternal and inherent factors promoting and restricting their 
