335] B. E. Livingston 137 
kinds of application advance hand in hand, but the great 
majority of individuals may remain generally careless of the 
philosophical kind. For the growth of plant physiology and 
for its best service to the world, it is clear that most of its 
devotees must give much attention to the practical problems 
of plant production and plant culture, and such is indeed 
the case. 
Both groups of applications have their philanthropic or 
altruistic and their personal or selfish aspects, using these 
adjectives in their usual sense. Thus, a world philosophy may 
be cultivated with the conscious aim of advancing human de- 
velopment in general, or with the aim of advancing certain 
individuals, groups or institutions, as by increased financial 
income. Of course, the two aspects overlap, but the broadly 
philanthropic aim seems to have been frequently more evi- 
dent than the other among the great philosophers and re- 
ligionists of the past. We are not told that a Buddha or a 
Christ or a Pasteur has given much attention to personal 
financial income or to the copyrighting or patenting of his 
ideas. Nevertheless, it is quite possible for a modern philo- 
sophical scientist to give attention to such personal things 
without detracting from the broader value of his work. 
The practical applications of a science such as plant physi- 
ology may be carried forward for either altruistic or personal 
ends. The latter kind of activity is commonly called com- 
mercial. A plant physiologist may work for years in per- 
fecting methods for the production of better or more abund- 
ant agricultural crops, and his main aim may be either to 
lower the cost of food to the multitude, or to gain for him- 
self fame or financial profit. The work itself may be the 
same in both cases, and even the publication of his results and 
conclusions may not be markedly different. However, as in 
all such personal activities, the results eventually become free 
to the world, and may thus become just as important in gen- 
eral human advancement as though the work had been planned 
with that end in view. Personal interest can usually withhold 
results of this kind for only a limited time; patents and copy- 
