Proceedings of the Ohio State Academy of Science. yy 



tion that he had abandoned his field work with students for the 

 reason that he found the matter pertaining to minute compara- 

 tive morphology so absorbing that he could not find time for the 

 trips for observation and study. Another college teacher was, 

 a few years ago, giving one semester of Botany and devoting 

 all of the time to histology and cytology. This teacher was in 

 the midst of a most interesting flora, covering a large area of 

 virgin nature with streams, hills, valleys, mountains, woodlands, 

 and meadows within a few miles of his laboratory. Yet he 

 had never taken his students into the rich field about him. 



Microscopic study alone will never suit the tasts of all 

 beginners in Botany. It is too far removed from plant life as 

 they know it in its natural environment. Nor can microscopic 

 study give a good understanding of the fundamental relationship 

 of plants to everyday life, except perhaps when applied to the 

 minute, lower plants, which must be studied mainly with the micro- 

 scope. Study of the plants as a whole should precede microscopic 

 detail ; and courses may easily be arranged with this end in view 

 by introducing the student to the various groups of plants in the 

 field or the greenhouse in fall or spring, and reserving more of 

 the microscopic study for winter. We advocate the field work 

 only as a means for obtaining a better knowledge of plants. For 

 this purpose, it still has its legitimate use. The laboratory, the 

 microscope, and simple physiological experiments are much more 

 important, even in first courses in College Botany; for without 

 these, one can have no adequate knowledge of lower plants, nor 

 could we ever give our students the elementary insight into the 

 structure, functions, and relationships of higher plants, which, 

 when related to experience and human interest, can be made to 

 appeal to all persons. 



Because of its relationship with living and its adaptability 

 as a means of culture, Botany is constantly gaining a larger 

 place in the curricula of our colleges. Plants are of great value 

 to man, and the economic phases of Botany are probably as im- 

 portant as those of any other science. Likewise pure botanical 

 science has its peculiar advantages as a subject for study. Plants 

 are more numerous than animals and more accessible in field 



