{86315 
PREFACE 
In this book an attempt has been made to treat botany from 
the standpoint of general principles rather than as illustrated 
by special plants used as types, and from a world point of view 
rather than from a local one. This method is more likely to 
give the student a broad outlook, and makes the book suitable 
for any climate or region. The writer has had teaching experi- 
ence in both temperate and tropical regions, and believes this — 
method preferable for students in either region, not only be-. 
cause it gives them a broad outlook but also because it avoids 
many misconceptions. 
There is probably greater similarity in the botanical features 
of tropical and temperate regions than is generally realized. 
The writer has failed to find any set of facts which should be 
taught to students in the one region and not in the other. The 
vegetation of the temperate zone is, in general, more specialized 
_ than that of the tropics, but the features which in temperate 
countries are the result of cold are paralleled in the tropics by 
similar features which are connected with a dry season. Bizarre 
plants are rare in any cultivated region, and such curiosities as 
Fafilesia and Nepenthes are less familiar to the average tropical 
student than is Dionaea to the average American. 
Treating principles rather than individual species leads the 
student to realize that he is studying plants in general rather 
than a few selected kinds, and this realization greatly enhances 
the value of the knowledge obtained. In this book the names 
of the species used to illustrate structures are given in the 
legends to the illustrations rather than in the text, and in many 
cases these names might just as well have been omitted. This 
method of handling the illustrative material tends to make the _ 
book general rather than provincial. 
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