62  Next  Steps  in  Botanical  Science.      f  Am  Jour.  Pharm. 
c  \   February,  1913. 
the  resins  by  condensation  and  oxidation.  This  reaction  seems 
entirely  in  accord  with  the  chemical  changes  which  naturally  take 
place  as  phytochemical  changes  usually  proceed  from  the  simple 
to  the  more  complex,  as  for  example,  from  formaldehyde  to  the 
carbohydrates,  but  never  from  the  carbohydrates  to  formaldehyde. 
From  the  study  of  these  terpene  derivatives,  it  seems  more 
than  probable  that  the  resins,  at  least  those  of  the  pine  family, 
bear  the  same  general  relationship  to  the  terpenes  that  naphthalene 
does  to  benzene  and  that  the  terpene  molecule,  C10H16,  is  the 
common  substance  from  which  the  resins  are  derived. 
University  of  Minnesota. 
SOME  OF  THE  NEXT  STEPS  IN  BOTANICAL  SCIENCE.1 
By  Charles  E.  Bessey.2 
When  one  who  has  worked  long  in  any  field  of  science  speaks 
before  an  audience  such  as  this  he  is  expected  to  say  something 
about  the  condition  of  his  branch  of  science  when  he  began  work 
with  meager  and  poorly  adapted  apparatus,  to  contrast  it  with  its 
greatly  improved  condition  to-day,  and  to  dwell  with  pride  upon 
the  finely  equipped  laboratories  with  costly  apparatus  especially 
designed  for  particular  experiments,  to  be  found  by  the  twentieth 
century  scientific  student.  And  I  must  confess  that  the 
temptation  to  do  so  was  one  difficult  to  resist,  for  we  who  have 
grown  old  in  years  are  fain  to  dwell  upon  the  days  of  long  ago 
with  the  garrulity  which  comes  with  gray  heads  and  withering 
muscles.  It  has  seemed  to  me  wiser,  however,  that  this  evening 
we  should  look  into  the  future  rather  than  into  the  past,  for  in  that 
direction  lies  the  possibility  of  progress,  and  it  is  of  progress  that  I 
wish  to  speak. 
THE  BOTANY  OF  YESTERDAY. 
Yet  in  order  that  we  may  properly  orient  ourselves  with  refer- 
ence to  the  area  covered  by  the  science  of  botany  to-day,  we  shall 
have  to  go  back  a  few  decades  to  understand  what  additions  have 
been  made  to  its  territory  during  this  period  of  expansion.  For 
the  shrewd  observer  can  not  avoid  the  conclusion  that  botany  has 
1  Reprinted  from  Science,  Jan.  3,  1913,  pp.  1-13. 
2  Address  of  the  president  of  the  American  Association  for  the  Advance- 
ment of  Science,  Cleveland,  December,  1912. 
