COLLEGE BOTANY 



INTRODUCTORY 



Botany. — ^Botany is the study of plants and plant life. It 

 involves not only the study of the individual plant but also the 

 study of plants in relation to each other and in relation to soil, 

 temperature, water supply, light, other living organisms and 

 many other factors. It may be expanded to include the problems 

 of plant production and the utilization of plant products. 



Botany is very much misunderstood by many people v^ho 

 look upon it as a somewhat ornamental subject without any 

 particular relation to any other branch of learning, either cul- 

 tural or applied. However, it is both a cultural and an applied 

 science of the greatest value. It is a cultural subject in that it 

 trains the student in a new line of thought, gives a new method 

 of reasoning and helps in the development of the scholar. It 

 develops the powers of close observation and accuracy in methods 

 of work. It also opens a new field for the enjoyment of the 

 beauties of nature and for the appreciation of literature. It is 

 an applied science in that it is so closely associated with the 

 problems of life. It not only involves the production and utiliza- 

 tion of plants, but it involves the laws of evolution which govern 

 all forms of life. 



In fact, the very existence of animal life depends upon the 

 presence of plant life. Progressive agriculture is very closely 

 associated with botany: (1) through the study of chemistry of 

 the soil and fertilizers most satisfactory for plant growth, (2) 



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