PRESENT PROBLEMS IN PLANT ECOLOGY 1 



The Trend of Ecological Philosophy 

 PROFESSOR HEXRY C. COWLES 



That Schimper was a prophet as well as an ecologist 

 of the first magnitude is well attested by this sentence 

 from the preface to his plant geography: 



The ecology of plant distribution will succeed in opening out new 

 paths on condition only that it leans closely on experimental physiol- 

 ogy; thus only will it be possible to sever the study of adaptations 

 from the dilettantism which revels in them, and to free it from 

 anthropomorphic trifling, which has threatened to bring it into com- 

 plete discredit. 



The close interdependence of physiology and ecology 

 is being more and more recognized; this is made manifest 

 by a survey of the titles presented to the botanical meet- 

 ings year by year. Suggestive among this year's titles 

 are: Bog toxins and their effect upon soils; experi- 

 mentally induced root-regeneration in Parthenium; the 

 relation of evaporation to the treelessness of prairies ; are 

 alpine plants exposed to increased evaporation? Titles 

 such as these would have been quite impossible a few 

 years ago through the failure of ecologists to recognize 

 the fundamental necessity of building their work upon 

 physiological foundations. Quite as fundamental but 

 less fully recognized, especially by many physiologists, 

 is the dependence of physiology upon ecology. The in- 

 creasing sanity of physiological problems is due in large 

 measure to the wholesome influence of ecology. In the 

 old days when physiology was a mere laboratory science, 

 and therefore artificial, no experimental test could be too 



at the Baltimore meeting, by invitation of thf Coundl. S ° Cietj ^ 

 356 



