338 
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF BOTANY 
[Vol. 8. 
When the immortal author of Thanatopsis advised those sick in mind 
and spirit to "go forth under the open sky and Hst to nature's teachings," 
we are sure that the still small voice of useful plants was not excluded 
from the curative agencies. That scientific worker is indeed defrauded 
who does not get both mental exhilaration and spiritual uplift from con- 
templation, in crop plants, of the riotous beauty of floral color, the seductive 
fragrance of myriad blooms, the marvelous intricacies of structure, and 
the wonders of adaptation, or from the quietness of far-stretched fields of 
grain or cotton, and the majesty of towering forest forms, saying, in the 
latter case, with the dead soldier, Joyce Kilmer, "But only God can make 
a tree." 
In Conclusion 
The fundamental botanic requirements in crop production are to know 
what we now have, to find w^hat exists elsewhere, and to use both in creating 
something better than either. 
To know what we have requires botanic description, classification, 
and illustration, and a study of plant functioning. To find what exists 
elsewhere and to predict where it may be useful requires expert knowledge 
of plant relationships and plant ecology. To create the best requires in- 
timate genetic knowledge, and a visualizing of the plant that is to be in 
terms of the characters of plants that are. To no more worthy tasks can 
botanists devote their best endeavors. 
Office of Cereal Investigations, 
U. S. Department of Agriculture 
