34 
STUDY OF BOTANY. 
ON “ THE BEST METHODS OF STUDYING BOTANY 
FOR BEGINNERS.” * 
BY F. T. MOTT, F.R.G.S. 
Persons who begin to “study Botany” 
do not generally realise the vastness of the 
subject. Botany is the history of the whole 
Vegetable Kingdom, and the Vegetable 
Kingdom occupies much more space on the 
surface of this globe than the Animal 
Kingdom does, and has probably a much 
larger number both of individuals and species. 
Such a subject can only be attacked piecemeal. We must 
divide it into Sections and study each Section separately, not, 
however, losing sight of their relations to each other and to 
the whole. 
The history of Vegetables may be conveniently divided 
into six great Sections, viz.:— 
1. The visible structure of a Plant; its parts or organs, 
as stem, leaf, flower, &c., the various forms of 
these, and the tissues of which they are built up. 
This is called Structural Botany. 
2. The chemical constituents of these tissues, the 
chemical processes which go on within them, and 
the vital functions carried on by the different 
organs. This is called Physiological Botany. 
3. The grouping together of plants of similar form, and 
the tracing of the blood relationship among these 
groups. This is Classification or Systematic 
Botany. 
The distribution of these groups on the various parts 
of the earth’s surface, on the land, and in the 
water. This is Geographical Botany. 
The plants of previous geological periods which are 
now found fossilized in the rocks, and the correla¬ 
tion of these with existing species. This is 
Palamntological Botany. 
G. The uses of plants to man and animals as food or 
medicine, or as materials for clothing, building, 
and various other arts. This is Economic Botany. 
4. 
5 . 
* Transactions of Section D of the Leicester Literary and Philo¬ 
sophical Society. Itead March 19th, 1884. 
