A TEXT-BOOK OF BOTANY 
FOR SECONDARY SCHOOLS 
CHAPTER I 
INTRODUCTION 
1. Occurrence of plants.—Plants form the natural cover- 
ing of the earth’s surface. So generally is this true that a 
land surface without plants seems remarkable. Not only 
do plants cover the land, but they abound in waters as well, 
both fresh and salt waters. One of the most noticeable 
facts in regard to the occurrence of plants is that they do 
not form a monotonous covering for the earth’s surface, 
but that there are forests in one place, meadows in another, 
swamp growths in another, ete. In this way the general 
appearance of vegetation is exceedingly varied, and each 
appearance tells of certain conditions of living. 
2. Plants as living things.—It is very important to 
begin the study of plants with the knowledge that they are 
alive and at work. It must not be thought that animals 
are alive and plants are not. There is a common.impression 
that to be alive means to have the power of locomotion, 
but this is far from true; and in fact some plants have the 
power of locomotion and some animals do not. Both plants 
and animals are living forms, and the laws of living that 
animals obey must be obeyed also by plants. Of course 
there are differences in detail, but the general principles 
of living are the same in all living forms. To begin with the 
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