Links With the Past in the Plant World

The author's primary object in writing this book is primarily to call attention to some of the many questions which are raised by an inquiry into the relative antiquity of existing plants and to illustrate the nature of the evidence afforded by the records of the rocks. One may agree with the dictum, 'There is but one art—to omit,' but to practice this art is often a difficult task. While fully conscious of the incompleteness of the treatment of the subjects dealt with in these pages, and of defects in the method of presentation, the author hopes that he may succeed in attracting some of his readers who are already interested in living plants to the study of plants of former ages.