Januaet 7, 1921] 



SCIENCE 



These addresses have taken various forms; in 

 some cases a review of the achievements in 

 some particular phase of botany; others have 

 looked to the future. It has been my pleasure 

 to have heard many of the addresses on these 

 annual occasions for thirty years, and I feel 

 sure that they have epitomized the botany 

 for the time. As I look back I find there was 

 much of inspiration in these addresses. We 

 regret that some of the men who sounded the 

 keynote at these gatherings are no longer with 

 us. It is interesting to look back to see what 

 was uppermost in the minds of the speakers 

 on these different occasions: N. L. Britten, 

 "Botanical Gardens"; J. C. Arthur, "Devel- 

 opment of Vegetable Physiology " ; L. M. 

 Underwood, " The Evolution of the Hepa- 

 ticffi"; T. H. Macbride, "The Alamagordo 

 Desert"; D. H. Campbell, "The Origin of 

 Terrestrial Plants"; H. C. Cowles, "Eco- 

 nomic Trend of Botany"; B. T. Galloway, 

 " Applied Botany Retrospective and Pros- 

 pective " ; William Trelease, " Some Twentieth 

 Century Problems " ; Charles R. Barnes, '' The 

 Progress and Problems of Plant Physiology"; 

 W. G. Farlow, " The Conception of Species 

 as Affected by Recent Investigations on 

 Eungi"; Geo. E. Atkinson, "Experimental 

 Morphology " ; R. A. Harper, " Some Cur- 

 rent Conceptions of the Germ Plasm"; E. C. 

 ITewcomb, " The Scope and Method of State 

 Natural History Surveys " ; Duncan S. John- 

 son, " The Evolution of a Botanical Prob- 

 lem"; Geo. P. Clinton, "Botany in Relation 

 to American Agriculture " ; H. M. Richards, 

 . " On the Nature of Response to Chemical 

 Stimulation"; C. E. Bessey, "The Phyletic 

 Idea in Taxonomy"; D. T. MacDougal, 

 " Heredity and Environie Eorces " ; B. L. 

 Robinson, " The Generic Concept in the 

 Classification of Elowering Plants " ; A. F. 

 Blakeslee, " Sexuality in Mucors." Dr. Coul- 

 ter in his address as president of the asso- 

 ciation spoke on " Botany as a National 



In reading these addresses one certainly 

 feels that a wide range of thought and in- 

 vestigation is covered. When I began to re- 



flect on a topic suitable for an occasion of this 

 kind, and suitable for one who has been en- 

 gaged in trying to interest students and help 

 to solve some of the problems confronting 

 those who have to deal with the economic 

 phases of our subject, it occurred to me that 

 " some phases of economic botany " would 

 give me a chance to offer some suggestions 

 that might be a stimulus to bring together 

 the varying interests of botany. 



HUMAN INTEREST OF BOTANY 



Botany should, first of all, have an intensely 

 human interest from the standpoint of our 

 well being. If we recognize this fact then 

 plants should be studied not only for what use 

 they may be to man directly and indirectly, 

 but we must recognize also the cultural value 

 of botany in schools, colleges and universities. 

 Those who have had something to do with the 

 park movement in the United States ap- 

 preciate, of course, that the general interest 

 in plants is r'eally greater now than ever be- 

 fore. The layman to-day takes intense de- 

 light in the great out of doors and he does so 

 for the pleasure he gets out of contact with 

 nature. To such men and women a knowl- 

 edge of plants becomes an intensely fascina- 

 ting subject. They are becoming as truly cul- 

 tured as the men or women who studied 

 Shakespeare or any other of the great writers. 

 This is a new culture which I think means 

 much to the human race and our profession. 

 It develops the highest instincts and elicits 

 highest emotions. Let us not forget that the 

 much despised taxonomic botany has a real 

 place in our life, especially for those who have 

 come to look upon the out of doors as a means 

 to enjoy life. 



EAELY ECONOMIC BOTANISTS 



Let us take a little retrospective view of 

 the subject. Botany began as an economic 

 subject. Dioscorides, Pliny, Aristotle and 

 Theophrastus were observers who gave to the 

 world what they observed in the plant king- 

 dom, largely on economic plants. Moreover 

 they related in good form what previous 

 writers had observed, with comments on culti- 



