I'EBRUAKY 28, 1919] 



SCIENCE 



207 



when anatomy is applied in physiology, or 

 when physiology is applied in ecology. While 

 the philosophical applications of botany do not 

 " take the eye and have the price " as do its 

 practical applications, yet their value is uni- 

 versally acknowledged to be ejcceedingly great. 

 They should not be left out of account in our 

 proposals for a renewed mobilization of botan- 

 ical scientists. 



A consideration of these two groups of ap- 

 plications, called here the practical and the 

 philosophical, will furnish a wealth of sugges- 

 tions for research jirojects. It is the business 

 of botanical scientists to supply all knowledge 

 about plants that may be enquired for in behalf 

 of any line of human activity. If we do not 

 possess a certain kind of knowledge demanded 

 by an art or another science, surely it is our 

 responsibility to make the needed knowledge 

 by research, and to do so as promptly after the 

 need arises as is possible. Looked at in this 

 way, the prevalent conception of botany as a 

 composite of two different kinds of science, 

 " pure " and " applied," is seen to strike very 

 wide of the mark. In many ways it is to be 

 regretted that many arts that employ applied 

 science have come to be themselves called sci- 

 ences, thus creating great confusion, but it 

 were hopeless to try now to correct such illog- 

 ical usages as those of agricultural science, 

 medical science, veterinary science and the like. 

 Agriculture, for example, is not a science, but 

 an art, and whatever of science it employs is 

 applied from botany, zoology, geology, clima- 

 tology and so forth. (Of course it is under- 

 stood that if plant physiology or the physiol- 

 ogy of the wheat plant is regarded as a part 

 of botany, so must animal physiology and the 

 physiology of man be considered as a part of 

 zoology.) 



We are probably all in agreement as to the 

 proposition that by far the greater portion of 

 future botanical investigation will have to do 

 with supplying botanical knowledge to the arts 

 of agriculture, forestry and medicine — and the 

 greatest of these is agriculture. Other ejicak- 

 ers at these meeting will probably emphasize 

 the scientific needs of this art — which they 

 may call a science — and I need not liere go 

 farther in this connection. 



If you agree with mc that some of our great- 

 est responsibilities have to do with the supply- 

 ing of knowledge needed by the arts and the 

 other sciences, and if you also agree that much 

 of our advance is to come through cooperation, 

 it naturally follows that botanical scientists 

 must cooperate not only among themselves 

 but also with workers in other sciences and 

 in the arts. 



In conclusion of this address, which may al- 

 ready be too long, I shall not attempt to sum- 

 marize the various iwints and suggestions to a 

 somewhat awkward presentation of which you 

 have so kindly and patiently listened. I 

 have voiced a longing for a conscious coopera- 

 tion among scientists that has been felt by 

 all of us, and I have placed before you a few 

 suggestions as to some paths along which we 

 may hope to proceed toward the realization of 

 this desire. This address lays no claim to 

 logical completeness but I think I may claim 

 for it that it is facing in the right direction. 

 We surely need to appreciate our responsi- 

 bilities as botanists toward humanity and to 

 take conscious steps toward the organization of 

 rational compaigns against the demons of 

 ignorance and superstition and waste. Now 

 is the time of times, the " zero hour " ; let us 

 assume our responsibilities and do our share 

 in the reorganization of human life for the 

 new day that approaches. And let us not get 

 in each other's way nor in the way of other 

 groups of workers. We would give once again 

 to botanical science her " place in the sun," 

 but we would not do this by interposing any 

 hindrances in the paths of the other sciences, 

 with which we have no quarrels. Finally, we 

 would accelerate the growth and unification 

 and organization of our national science, not 

 that we may excel in a national way (with a 

 sort of colossal selfishness of an all-too-com- 

 mon tjTie), but that we may serve world sci- 

 ence to our utmost, thus gaining the supreme 

 satisfaction of having appreciated our resixin- 

 sibilities and borne them in such manner as 

 to receive, at last, our own approval. 



BtRTON Edward Livingston 



The Jou.ns Hopki.vs Untversitt 



