October 20, 1916] 



SCIENCE 



549 



Whether or no we have been living for 

 the past forty years in a fools' paradise, it 

 is certain that our outlook will be widely 

 different after the war, and may the stim- 

 ulus of a changed environment find us 

 ready to respond! 



Sacrifice must be general, and the botan- 

 ist must do his bit. This need not mean 

 giving up the pursuit of pure science, but 

 it should mean' a heavy specialization in 

 those lines of pure science which will help 

 to alleviate the common burden, will render 

 our country and the Empire less dependent 

 on external aid, and knit more closely its 

 component parts. 



It may be convenient to consider, so far 

 as they are separable, home and imperial 

 problems. 



Without trenching on the domain of eco- 

 nomics, we may assume that increased pro- 

 duction of foodstuffs, timber and other eco- 

 nomic products will be desirable. The 

 question has been raised as to the possibil- 

 ity of increasing at the same time indus- 

 trial and agricultural development. But 

 as in industry perfection of machinery al- 

 lows a greater output with a diminished 

 number of hands, so in agriculture and 

 horticulture perfection of the machinery 

 of organization and equipment will have 

 the same result. 



There are three factors in which botan- 

 ists are primarily interested — the plant, the 

 soil, and the worker. 



The improvement of the plant from an 

 economic point of view implies the co- 

 operation of the botanist and the plant- 

 breeder. The student of experimental 

 genetics, by directing his work to plants of 

 economic value, is able, with the help of 

 the resources of agriculture and horticul- 

 ture, to produce forms of greater economic 

 value, kinds best suited to different local- 

 ities and ranges of climate, those most im- 

 mune to disease and of the highest food 



value. Let the practical man formulate 

 the ideal, and then let the scientist be in- 

 vited to supply it. Much valuable work 

 has been done on these lines, but there is 

 still plenty of scope for the organized 

 Mendelian study of plants of economic im- 

 portance. It is a very large subject, and we 

 are hoping to hear more about it before we 

 separate. 



A minor example occurs to me. Do the 

 prize vegetables which one sees at shows 

 and portrayed in the catalogues represent 

 the best products from an economic point 

 of view; in other words, is the standard of 

 excellence one which considers solely their 

 value as foodstuffs? A chemico-botanical 

 examination would determine at what point 

 increase in size becomes disproportionate 

 to increase in food value, and thus correct 

 the standard from an economic point of 

 view. And, presumably, the various char- 

 acters which imply greater or less feeding 

 value offer scope for the work of the 

 Mendelian. 



The subject of intensive cultivation offers 

 a series of problems which are primarily 

 botanical. It would be a useful piece of 

 investigation to work out the most profitable 

 series which can be grown from year to 

 year with the least expenditure on manures 

 and the minimum of liability to disease. A 

 comparatively small area would suffice for 

 the work. 



The introduction of new plants of eco- 

 nomic value is within the range of possi- 

 bility; our repertoire has increased in re- 

 cent years, but an exhaustive study of food 

 plants and possible food plants for man and 

 stock would doubtless yield good results. 

 It is matter of history that the introduc- 

 tion of the tea plant into further India was 

 the result of observations by Fortune, a 

 botanical collector. The scientific botanist 

 may find pleasant relaxation in the smaller 

 problems of horticulture. 



