250 
The Reconstruction of 
urged. That which was very desirable before the war has now 
become an imperative necessity. If botanists are to do their share 
in the struggle to re-establish normal life and to secure the 
increased vitality and efficiency which will be so evidently necessary 
if we are to maintain ourselves under the new conditions the 
demand must be met and met at once. All kinds of practical 
problems, certainly not least those relating to plant life and plant 
utilization, will press for solution with an intensity hitherto 
unknown. The new generation will insist on a greater reality in 
life and in the pursuit of knowledge with a wholly fresh urgency. 
Ours is a country whose governing class is singularly devoid of 
scientific culture, and whose national virtues certainly do not 
include any excessive respect for science or for theoretical know¬ 
ledge of any kind. One danger which cannot be ignored is that 
in the overwhelming desire for quick results we shall see a wide¬ 
spread attempt to bring about a sharper separation than ever of 
practical training and of practical pursuits from broad scientific 
foundations. That way destruction lies, and the only adequate 
measure of safety is frankly to face the truth and whole-heartedly 
to set ourselves to our share in the work of reconstruction. We 
have to readjust our intellectual ideals as well as to reconstruct 
the material fabric of civilisation on sounder lines. Many changes 
are necessary, a different curriculum and a different attitude 
towards knowledge and science in the schools, a new organisation 
of research, an immense increase in its endowment, and at the 
same time a larger supply of better human material for scientific 
work. Elementary scientific training at the Universities is the 
link between these two fields, the schools on the one hand and 
research on the other, and it is the business, the immediate 
business, of academic botanists to see that so far as they are con¬ 
cerned that link is made sound and capable of properly fulfilling its 
function. It is of no use to tinker with the situation. It is of no 
use to say: “ Oh, yes, by all means let us introduce more physiology 
into the courses.” What is wanted is not patching, but reconstruc¬ 
tion, a new spirit and a new ideal. 
The immediate object of this memorandum is to obtain a basis 
of agreement as to what should actually be done, and the following 
concrete proposals are put forward as a basis for discussion. 
1. The elementary courses in Botany corresponding with 
