December 19, 1919] 



SCIENCE 



557 



sequence, as their representatives are brought 

 into the laboratory for study. No course in 

 botany for high-school students ought to be 

 considered satisfactory, that does not give a 

 tolerably good idea of the relationships of the 

 principal families of the seed plants, of the 

 place of the economic plants among them, 

 and of their geographic and ecological distri- 

 bution. 



Toward the close of the year, and after the 

 systematic work referred to, some simple 

 work in the study of variation, and of the 

 results of selection should be taken up. 

 There is no better way of developing observa- 

 tion in yoimg people, than by setting them to 

 work collecting all the so-called " variations " 

 they can find of a number of species of plants. 

 A little simple work in plotting variation 

 curves is also easily possible with high-school 

 students. A school garden can be made to 

 afford a series of plants to be used in hybridi- 

 zation, and the pupils can readily be taught 

 the necessary technique in plant breeding. 

 Curiosity once aroused as to the outcome of 

 crosses, and interest awakened in the possi- 

 bility of originating new forms of plants, the 

 high-school teacher will find such a summer 

 occupation for the brightest pupils as may 

 lead to serious and important results. Many 

 a student in a farm neighborhood will be 

 aroused thereby to undertake valuable work 

 in the improvement of staple crops, such as 

 will bring about economic results of value to 

 an entire neighborhood. It is also perfectly 

 easy to convey to pupils of this age a working 

 knowledge of the elementary principles of 

 breeding, sufficient to serve for a consider- 

 able range of practical purposes. 



"We may therefore conclude that a course 

 in agricultural botany for secondary schools 

 should differ from the ordinary academic 

 course in the same subject in the following 

 respects : 



First, in the aim of the course, which is the 

 economic advantage of the pupil rather than 

 the professional array of the subject from the 

 standpoint of discipline. 



Second, in the means used for botanical 

 instruction, the seed plants being largely em- 



ployed as teaching material for practical 

 purposes. 



Third, in the extensive use of plants of eco- 

 nomic value as the means through which to 

 study plant structure and functions. 



In the hundreds of cultivated forms of 

 grasses and forage plants, in the multitude of 

 varieties of the grains, in the horde of the 

 vegetables, in the manifold fruit-bearing 

 plants of the orchards and gardens, in the 

 wealth of valuable forest trees, ornamental 

 garden plants and shrubbery, in the array of 

 plants grown for fibers, for drugs, gums, 

 resins, rubber, beverages, condiments, and 

 spices in the parasites, poisonous and nox- 

 ious plants and weeds, there exists a vast 

 botanic garden of species, varieties and bio- 

 types of plants, wild and cultivated, in which 

 every modification of form, and every bio- 

 logical adaptation of structure to environ- 

 ment is found. There is no type of root, 

 stem, flower, or seed structure, generalized or 

 specialized, that is not to be foimd among 

 them. There is no mode of securing or pre- 

 venting cross or close pollination which they 

 do not exhibit. There is no mode of per- 

 formance of a single physiological function 

 in any type of habitat that they do not dis- 

 play. In this maze and medley of plants cul- 

 tivated by man, and which carry the initial 

 intrinsic interest of economic value, are limit- 

 less opportunities for developing in a begin- 

 ning course in botany, fresh and interesting 

 types of material for the study of the organs 

 and tissues of plants, their work and their 

 relation to soil and climatic environment. 

 Here is the high school's, and especially the 

 rural high school's opportunity in botany. 



In all communities, and especially in rural 

 communities, a course in botany should have 

 three fundamental objects — to stimulate ob- 

 servation, to give such botanical knowledge 

 and training as will be most useful, and to 

 impart culture. Let us briefly consider these 

 three leading motives. 



First, as to the matter of observation. Our 

 public school system is overburdened with 

 second-hand learning. Ideas are furnished 

 ready-made in books. The written word be- 

 comes a fetish. The child gets most of his 



