64 
THE PLANT WORLD. 
expect that few retrospective glances would be taken by the stu¬ 
dents of a subject which has developed so rapidly and in a field 
where other phases of the work had, in a measure, attained their 
stature. Some account of past ecological study may perchance 
be of service as a guide-post, since many seem to be uncertain of 
the present status of the subject and still more of its future. 
The writer undertakes to give an historical account, not because 
he is fitted for the task by knowledge or long acquaintance with 
the field, but because he, as a student and teacher of ecology 
wises to trace out the genesis of a subject full of both interest 
and chaos. 
The habits of plants and aspects of vegetation have always 
been matters of interest and comment by travelers. Undoubtedly 
our knowledge of the biology of plants would have progressed 
much faster had they been first studied as living organisms, instead 
of herbs useful in medicine. For several centuries the chief stu¬ 
dents of plants were physicians who learned to know them for 
their medicinal properties. It is extremely interesting, however, 
to note that the first and perhaps only botanist of antiquity, 
Theophrastus, records several accurate notes upon the habits and 
distribution of plants. His description of mangrove swamps and 
the zonal relation of species are so exact that one has no trouble 
in making out the character of the societies he had in mind. The 
nyctitropic movement of leaves is described and termed “ sleep 
movement,” and is distinguished from the sensitive movements 
of Mimosa leaves. 
The formation of what we now call herbaria dates from the 
sixteenth century; at that time, however, the word “ herbarium ” 
meant a book of dried plants. Previous to that time the authors 
of books had illustrated their descriptions of plants with drawings 
or paintings. They were now led to introduce pressed specimens 
along with the descriptions in order to acquit themselves of the 
charge of drawing upon the imagination in making their illus¬ 
tration. 
During the latter half of the sixteenth century there was a wide- • 
spread interest in botany in Europe. For the first time in the 
history of the science, men attempted to record facts as they found 
