PREFACE TO THE FIRST RUSSIAN EDITION 



For about a quarter of a century there has been a great 

 gap in the botanical Hterature of the west of Europe, 

 as also of Russia, since there has been no book that 

 might inform the public in a popular way of the present 

 state of vegetable physiology. I decide to publish 

 these lectures in the hope, were it only in slight measure, 

 of meeting this end. In submitting this book to the judg- 

 ment of the public, I fully realise the difficulties of the 

 undertaking. Every popular exposition, precisely be- 

 cause of its popular nature, deprives the author of the 

 possibility of expressing the whole truth, i.e. of criticising 

 from all sides the facts he brings forward ; and, more- 

 over, it obliges him not to say anything hut the truth, a 

 requirement that can scarcely be complied with in a 

 science which is far even yet from being firmly estab- 

 lished. Hence it is clear that a popular exposition of 

 such a science as the physiology of plants presents many 

 more difficulties than a similar exposition, for instance, 

 of chemistry or physics. 



The second requirement for such a book is that the 

 author should give up for a while his usual point of 

 view, that of a specialist; and should, so to speak, step 

 back a little in order to see what science looks like at a 

 distance. The main condition for success consists in 

 the selection of such a point of view as will be close 

 enough to allow of the observation of main details, and 

 yet not too close to spoil by detail the impression of the 

 whole. It is not for me to decide whether I have been 

 fortunate enough to find such a point or not. 



