TRANSCRIBER’S NOTE Italic text is denoted by _underscores_. Bold text is denoted by =equal signs=. Subscripts are denoted _{xxx} Some minor changes to the text are noted at the end of the book. BEGINNERS’ BOTANY [Illustration: (Sigil)] THE MACMILLAN COMPANY NEW YORK · BOSTON · CHICAGO SAN FRANCISCO MACMILLAN & CO., LIMITED LONDON · BOMBAY · CALCUTTA MELBOURNE THE MACMILLAN CO. OF CANADA, LTD. TORONTO [Illustration: BOUQUET OF BEARDED WHEAT] BEGINNERS’ BOTANY BY L. H. BAILEY [Illustration: (Colophon)] _AUTHORIZED BY THE MINISTER OF EDUCATION FOR ONTARIO_ TORONTO THE MACMILLAN CO. OF CANADA, LIMITED 1921 COPYRIGHT, 1921 BY THE MACMILLAN CO. OF CANADA LTD. PREFACE In all teaching of plants and animals to beginners, the plants themselves and the animals themselves should be made the theme, rather than any amount of definitions and of mere study in books. Books will be very useful in guiding the way, in arranging the subjects systematically, and in explaining obscure points; but if the pupil does not know the living and growing plants when he has completed his course in botany, he has not acquired very much that is worth the while. It is well to acquaint the beginner at first with the main features of the entire plant rather than with details of its parts. He should at once form a mental picture of what the plant is, and what are some of its broader adaptations to the life that it leads. In this book, the pupil starts with the entire branch or the entire plant. It is sometimes said that the pupil cannot grasp the idea of struggle for existence until he knows the names and the uses of the different parts of the plant. This is an error, although well established in present-day methods of teaching.