=12. The value of floristic.= In what has been said above, there is no intent to decry the value of floristic. The skilled workman can spare the material which he is fashioning as readily as the ecologist can work without an accurate knowledge of the genera and species which make up a particular vegetation. Some botanists whose knowledge of ecology is that of the study or the laboratory have maintained that it is possible to investigate vegetation without knowing the plants which compose it. Ecology is to be wrought out in the field, however, and the field ecologist—none other, indeed, should bear the name—understands that floristic alone can furnish the crude material which takes form under his hands. It is the absolute need of a thorough acquaintance with the flora of a region which makes it impossible for a traveler to obtain anything of real ecological value in his first journey through a country. As the very first step, he must gain at least a fair knowledge of the floristic, which will alone take the major part of one or more growing seasons. This information the student of a local flora already has at the tip of his tongue; in itself it can not constitute a contribution to ecology, but merely the basis for one. In this connection, moreover, it can not be used independently, but becomes of value only after an acquaintance with a wide field. Floristic study and floristic lists, then, are indispensable, but to be of real value their proper function must be clearly recognized. They do not constitute ecology.