PREFACE BY L. H. BAILEY 



My plan for a series of popular botanical texts 

 contemplated three books, — "Lessons with Plants," 

 primarily for the teacher; "Botany," for the school; 

 and "Experiments with Plants," to suggest and ex- 

 plain simple ways by which the pupil could be set at 

 the working out of real problems in the growth and 

 behavior of plants. The first two books have appeared. 

 When I was working on the third, I chanced to visit 

 the laboratory of Mr. Osterhout at the University of 

 California, at a time when he was instructing a class of 

 teachers. I saw at once that he was better fitted than 

 I to write the book; and, finding that he was contem- 

 plating a similar text, I gave up my enterprise and 

 offered him the title of the proposed volume. It was 

 at first intended that I collaborate in the preparation 

 of the book, but insistent duties have interposed, and I 

 have given it no personal attention; moreover, I did 

 not feel that I could add to its usefulness; and again, 

 a book made by two persons woi'king so far apart, and 

 one of them not now actively engaged in teaching, 

 would be likely to lack homogeneity. 



The introduction of laboratory work has been the 

 gX'eat contribution of natural science to pedagogy. The 

 laboratory sets the pupil at work with a personal and 

 concrete problem; it develops the creative and active 



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