Reconstruction of Elementary Botanical Teaching, 251 
9. West, G. S., and Starkey, Clara B. Zygnema cricetovum and its position in 
the Zygnemaceae. Rep. Brit. Assoc., Birmingham 
Meeting, 1913, p. 716. 
10. West, G. S., and Starkey, Clara B. A Contrib. to the Cytology and Life- 
History of Zygncma cricetomm, with some Remarks 
on the “ Genus ” Zygogoniitm. New Phytol., XIV, 
1915. 
11. West, W., and West, G. S. On Some Freshwater Algje from the West 
Indies. Jour. Linn. Soc. Bot., XXX, 1894, p. 264. 
12. Wille, N., in Engler and Prantl. Nat. Pflanzenfam. I Teil, 2 Abt., 1897. 
13. ,, Op. cit. Nachtr. z. I Teil, 2 Abt., Leipzig, 1909. 
THE RECONSTRUCTION OF 
ELEMENTARY BOTANICAL TEACHING. 
BOTANY AS THE SCIENCE OF THE LIVING PLANT. 
To the Editor of The New Phytologist. 
Dear Sir, 
As one who is deeply convinced of the important part Botany 
and its applications have to play in the national life of the future, 
1 am glad to take the opportunity afforded by the discussion in 
your pages on the Reconstruction of Elementary Botanical 
Teaching to state my opinions on the matter. 
With much of the original memorandum I am in complete 
agreement. It is obvious that the importance of botany in 
comparison with other sciences is not generally realised, and it is 
clear that this must be due to botanists themselves and their 
presentation of their subject, at any rate in part. I also agree 
with the signatories of the memorandum that the disgracefully 
small remuneration offered to botanists, the paucity of adequately 
paid research posts, and one may add, the almost universal 
understaffing of botanical departments, all play their part, and in 
my opinion, a very large part, in producing the present situation. 
The events of the past twenty-five years suggest that the only 
effective way of bringing about improvement in these particular 
matters is by collective action on the part of botanical workers. 
The recent formation of the National Union of Scientific Workers 
has now made this possible, and it seems to me the duty of every 
botanist who wishes to improve his subject to join the Union. 
But as the memorandum deals especially with teaching, I 
