1V A TEXTBOOK OF GENERAL BOTANY 
Other features which give the book a universal aspect consist 
in methods of presentation rather than in selection of subject 
matter, except in so far as widely known species are used in the 
illustrations. Good examples are afforded by such subjects as 
deciduous leaves, annual rings, and rings of bud-scale scars. In 
temperate countries these are associated with a winter season, but 
they are also found in many tropical trees that are native to regions 
with a seasonal climate, and in this case they are connected with 
a dry season. ‘Obviously such features should be considered in any 
general text, but they should be treated in relation to adverse 
conditions rather than as universal phenomena. This will em- 
phasize their meaning to the student, and at the same time will 
let him know that they are not characteristic of all trees. 
The greater part of the book is devoted to the morphology, 
physiology, and reproduction of the seed plants, as these plants 
are of the greatest interest to the student on account of their 
importance in his environment. The plant is treated as a _ 
working machine, physiology and morphology being taught to- 
gether, as in this manner both are most interesting and most 
easily understood. 
The writer has given this course to seventeen classes, and 
mimeographed editions have also been used in the University 
of the Philippines by Professors Kienholz, Marafion, Merrill, 
Santos, and Shaw of the College of Liberal Arts and by Professors 
MeWhorter and Quisumbing of the College of Agriculture, 
and by Professor Gutierrez in the National University. The 
experiences of the writer and the suggestions and criticisms 
of those who have used the text have been embodied in the 
successive editions. Great care has been taken to arrange the 
topics in such sequence that the student will be prepared to 
understand every subject when it is presented, and that the 
necessity of advanced or deferred explanations will be obviated. 
Only such subjects as the student may be expected to master 
and remember are included. Nothing is simply mentioned, as 
mere mention without information sufficient for an understanding 
is more likely to confuse than to instruct. 
