85 
Illinois. Of course, there are isolated small prairies east thereof, 
perhaps as far east as western New York, but I think that all 
these early botanists should be excluded from the list of the 
explorers of the Prairie Region. They belong to the Northeast. 
Of course there are many good features in Professor Harsh- 
berger's Phytogeographic Survey, as for instance his bibliog- 
raphies, which will be very useful to students of phytogeography ; 
but these good features I have omitted, for they do not bear 
upon my subject. This article is not intended to be, as it may 
seem, merely an adverse criticism of Professor Harshberger's 
work under a disguised title. There is something more aimed at. 
Not long ago, all botanical work done in this country was taxo- 
nomic work, usually known as systematic botany, although much 
had indeed little of "systematic" in it. Now it is different. 
Courses in taxonomy are almost excluded from the curriculum 
of many of our colleges and universities, or if not excluded, so 
little esteemed that students are discouraged from entering upon 
them. The taxonomist, whether a systematic botanist in the 
true sense or a phytographer, is looked upon by phytogeogra- 
phers, ecologists, physiologists, cytologists, and morphologists as 
of a lower grade of stuff ;—as if it took a less fine grain of brain 
to make a first class systematist than any other kind of -ist. 
What I have aimed to show is that the taxonomist has his place 
in Botany, and if his work is ignored, other -ists, who are de- 
pendent upon him, can not do good work. Professor Harsh- 
berger's Phytogeographical Survey, in a field fairly well known 
to me, gave me an opportunity to show to what such ignoring 
would lead. i] 
New York BOTANICAL GARDEN. 
PISTILLODY IN ARGEMONE PLATYCERAS LINK 
AND OTTO 
By I. M. LEWIS 
The occurrence of pistillody or the conversion gf stamens 
into pistils is by no means common, neither is it rare. It has 
been reported in many genera of plants and has been repeatedly 
