24 INTRODUCTION 



By means of it, in the yesterday of history, a few men 

 discovered much to make us wonder. By means of it, 

 in the to-day of history, many men are discovering much 

 which makes us tbjnk and act. And by means of it, in 

 the to-morrow of history, all men will learn to work to- 

 gether to make life best worth living. 



8. Your First Plant Study. — Already you have had a 

 good deal to do with plants. They have furnished you 

 shelter and food and clothing. You have seen them aHve 

 and at work and have taken pleasure in their beauty. 

 Consciously or unconsciously you have already acquired 

 some miscellaneous knowledge about them. Presently you 

 can begin to put that knowledge in order. Knowledge 

 of plants put in order is the thing called botany. It is 

 chiefly in books. Plants, however, hve regardless of books 

 and often break rules laid down for them. 



Your first plant lesson is not concerned with botany or 

 with books. It concerns only two living things, you and 

 a plant. It is a little matter between yourselves. Let 

 botany and books be for the time forgotten, but let your 

 own good powers for getting information for yourself be 

 well remembered. Perhaps those powers have been idle 

 for a good while — -idle in school, at least, where one can 

 get along pretty well without using them. Now it is time 

 to arouse them ; to use them for all they are worth. Once 

 aroused they will be worth far more to you than the power 

 to learn lessons out of books. This is to be more than your 

 first lesson with a plant. Possibly it is your first school 

 lesson- in getting knowledge for yourself — your first lesson 

 in the scientific method. 



In this lesson your teacher cannot help you much, must 



