3i6 
WILLIAM A. MURRILL 
to uphold an error because it happens to be one's own. The injection 
of the personal element only impedes progress; the mind should be 
kept open and unbiased, ready for any new light. What crimes have 
been committed, both in Europe and in this country, in the name of 
Science! Crimes of ignorance, of carelessness, of egotism, of petty 
selfishness, of border antagonisms and national hates! But that is 
human nature, and, after all, the scientists have more than their share 
of piety. 
Morphology and Taxonomy 
Not so very long ago, most American botanists were taxonomists. 
Now the pendulum has swung the other way. The temptation is very 
strong for professors in small colleges to limit themselves to a few 
forms and to go rather thoroughly into their structure and life cycle 
rather than to attempt to know and classify many forms, which 
requires a large herbarium and a large library. National and state 
aid, also, has been largely in the direction of physiology, morphology, 
and pathology, which is only natural and proper; but it means that 
taxonomy and the study of plants not strictly economic must be em- 
phasized in institutions properly endowed and equipped for this 
purpose and that all botanists who enjoy the advantages of such in- 
stitutions should use them to the fullest extent if the proper balance 
in the study and teaching of botany is to be maintaine4. 
The old quarrel between the taxonomis.t and the morphologist is 
based partly on a lack of sympathy due to ignorance ; and one way to 
restore friendly relations is to increase the breadth of view on both 
sides. The taxonomic laboratory should really be an "assembly 
room" for all kinds of information about plants, derived from the 
geologist, the phytogeographer, the morphologist, and the physiologist. 
No fact should be overlooked, no source of information should be 
ignored. 
The object of the taxonomist should be not only to arrange his 
specimens in an orderly way in the herbarium, but to gain the greatest 
possible knowledge concerning the species; using all the specimens at 
hand, all notes from various collections, and all that has been written 
about the species and its distribution, as well as its habitat, abundance, 
variation, and economic bearing. Such a study is not easy, but in- 
volves the highest mental processes. The weighing of all the facts 
and observations regarding species and their systematic position often 
taxes the best judgment. It is easy to collect specimens as a fad; it 
