PREFACE 



This book has grown out of the author's experience in 

 the lecture room and laboratory, while giving instruction 

 to students in the Short Course in Agriculture, in the 

 University of Wisconsin. 



It is intended especially for students who have had 

 little or no previous instruction in botany, and it is hoped 

 that it may also be found interesting and profitable to the 

 general reader who would learn more of the principles 

 that underlie the culture of plants. 



It is expected that the instructor will amplify the text 

 in proportion to the time at his command, and the ca- 

 pacity of his students. In the author's practice, the first 

 three chapters have been found sufficient for a term of 

 twelve weeks, and the remaining chapters, supplemented 

 with some special work in horticulture, have served for 

 a second term. 



A syllabus of laboratory work is added as an appendix. 



It is hoped that this book may prove as useful to other 

 instructors as it has proved to the author during its evo- 

 lution. 



Madison, Wis., Feb. 15, 1897. E. S. GOPF. 



Note. — In the second edition (1899) a number of verbal 

 changes have been made and a few additional paragraphs and 

 illustrations have been inserted. 



