THE HAMILTON ASSOCIATION. 79 



BOTANICAL JOTTINGS. 



Extracts from paper read before the Hamilton Association, 14th May, i8gi. 

 BY A. ALEXANDER. 



My object in this paper is not to speak of Botany in general, 

 either as to its study or history, for both of those have been already 

 brought before this Association in able and charming papers, read by 

 our friend Dr. Burgess, of Montreal. I would rather content myself 

 by simply relating some facts and observations clustered around a 

 few plants that are familiar to myself, hoping that some of those 

 hearing me may be induced to begin this delightful study, and that 

 perchance those who have commenced the study of plant life 

 may be led to form a closer intimacy and friendship with Flora's 

 children, and thus be led to go beyond the mere collecting, arranging 

 and classifying of plants, to study the plants themselves, that is, study 

 the organs or parts of plants in regard to the different forms and 

 uses which the same kind of organ may assume. This is what 

 we call vegetable morphology. Without this, Botany may be 

 made one of the dullest, while with it, it is one of the most alluring 

 of all the sciences. And since the introduction of the new morphol- 

 ogy, Botany has been redeemed from what I might call the vicious 

 circle of mere classificatory schemes, and brightened by the fresh 

 and quickening breath of the new thoughts and ideas in regard to 

 th^ unity of all the living organisms comprehended in the animal 

 and vegetable kingdoms. 



There has also been a new physiology, as well as a new morph- 

 ology in recent years, which has fixed all its attention on the 

 adaptation of the plant to its natural environment. This I 

 treated of at some length in a paper entitled the "Elasticity 

 of Plant Constitution," read before the Biological Section about a 

 year ago, and therefore will not say more on that here. The 

 fascinating study of the mutual relations between flower and insect 



