Abstract
IN his preface the author explains that his object has been βto place the subject before elementary students in such a way as to exercise to the full their powers of observation, and to enable them to make accurate deductions for themselves from the facts which they observe.β The book is written on the assumption that a compound microscope is not employed; and in the section on physiology no knowledge of the physiology of plants is assumed. There are already numerous books more or less suitable as guides to the student of elementary botany, some of them so excellent as to leave little, if anything, to be desired in their special fields. But they either omit a good deal that might readily enough be examined and verified even by beginners, or they require such a use of the compound microscope as is scarcely practicable in the teaching of botany in schools. A book on the lines indicated by Mr. Groom should prove very helpful alike to beginners and to teachers, and would doubtless be welcomed if felt to be the result of adequate personal experience. But we cannot altogether congratulate the author on his success in carrying out his objects, despite the merits of his work, especially if it is intended as a school-book. Children can scarcely be expected to benefit as much from the study of general morphology as from the examination of selected plants, in which they could observe and gradually become familiar with the various structures and life-histories.
Elementary Botany.
By Percy Groom Pp. x + 252. (London: G. Bell and Sons, 1898.)
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[Book Reviews]. Nature 57, 534 (1898). https://doi.org/10.1038/057534b0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/057534b0