I >ecember 20, 1 909 1 55 



"In the author's opinion everything in the course in botany 

 that can he studied in the field or laboratory should be SO stud- 

 ied. In no other science is there less need for extended recita- 

 tions, or in the high-school course at least; for reference work of 

 any kind. The permanent notebook should be entirely a record 

 of what the student has observed in the laboratory, and the reci- 

 tations, held after the laboratory work is completed, should aim 

 to bring- this knowledge into proper relation with such facts as 

 must of necessity be obtained from the text-book. 



"The course is designed to cover a year's work in the lab- 

 oratory, and falls naturally into two divisions — one devoted to 

 the structure and life processes of angiosperms, the other to the 

 structure and evolution of the whole plant kingdom." 



The book is divided into three parts. Part one deals with 

 "the structure and life processes of angiosperms," under twelve 

 headings: To the student; exercises with the microscope; cells; 

 seeds; roots; bulbs; stems; leaves; flowers; fruits and seeds; the 

 study of trees — a key to our common trees; ecology of the flower 

 — some plant adaptations. This part ends on page 88, and con- 

 tains many questions relating- to the structure, mode of growth, 

 uses, and adaptation of the different parts of a plant. 



The second part, pages 89 to 157, deals with "the structure 

 and evolution of the plant kingdom. 1 ' Beginning with the 

 algae some of the simpler forms in the great groups of thallo- 

 phytes, bryophytts, pteridophytes and spermatophytes are stud- 

 ied in such a way that the most instructive and interesting facts 

 concerning them are fully brought out. 



The third part consists of thirty-six experiments as follows: 

 To discover some of the properties of protoplasm; whether chlo- 

 rophyll is a pigment; the effect of sunlight upon the production 

 of chlorophyll; how much water a given seed will absorb in ger- 

 mination; where the water enters the seed and the path it takes 

 within; whether seeds exert force in absorbing water; whether 

 seeds need light in order to germinate; whether seeds make use 

 of any part of the air in germination; whether seeds give off 

 heat in germinating; whether seedlings are able to exert force 

 in growth; what guides the young shoot upward and the root 



