81 



where pteridologists and pteridophiles alike will find ample material 

 to aid them in their studies. Hooker's (and Bauer's) ' Genera Fili- 



and Rare Ferns, etc.; Newman's ' British Ferns '; Sowerby's, John- 

 son's,_Anne Pratt's and Heath's fern books; PresKs ' Pteridographia'; 

 Kunzius' ' Index Filicum ' ; Swartz's 'Synopsis Filicum'; besides 

 many valuable papers scattered through other works are here, along 

 with Eaton, Robinson, Williamson and the present writer, to repre- 

 sent our American fern literature. 



In the mosses and other lower cryptogamia, we have Sullivant's 



British Mosses'; 



Australis,' 

 Phycologia 



Britannica,' etc.; with many other invaluable works, by Bischoff, 

 Fee, Agardh, Schweinitz, Dillenius, Acharius, Greville, Hoffman, 

 Eschweiler, Kutzing, Pringsheim, Thuret, Leighton, Tuckerman, 

 etc., etc. 



It is not possible in a notice of this kind to do more than indi- 

 cate the character of the whole by the selection of a few; and an 

 examination of the library itself, or of its catalogue, will alone show 



its value and importance tobotanists, 

 Stickney 



$ 



J 



thirty years, $700 of which are devoted annually to the purchase of 

 books. With this means — termed the *' Stickney Fund " — at its dis- 

 posal, and with such additional sums as the Society may appropriate 

 from time to time, the Library Committee is able to take advantage of 

 every opportunity to procure desirable works; but as these are gen- 

 erally expensive, the number of books added yearly is limited. The 

 .library has received many additions by donations from various 

 sources, the most important accession being that of the extensive 

 collection of books bequeathed by Rev. John Lewis RusselL of Salem, 

 who for many years was professor of botany and horticultural phy- 

 siology to the Society. Prof. Russell's private library was especially 

 rich in works on cryptogamic botany — embracing many invaluable 

 papers, pamphlets and local catalogues, all of which came into the 

 possession of the Society soon after his death, forming an en- 

 during monument to the memory of a fine botanist and a beloved 



clergyman. 



The library is open for reference at all times, and the genial 

 Librarian is ever ready and pleased to assist strangers in finding such 

 works as they may wish to consult. 



2. T/ie Herbaria.— ^\i^ Society's herbaria consist of several dis- 

 tinct collections of plants from different sources, but the special col- 

 lection of North American Ferns to which the Torrey Bulletin 

 gave the name of " Davenport Herbarium " is the only one generally 

 known. In Mav, 1857, the Society received a collection of fifty 

 species of plantsVrom Crete, presented by Dr. Giuseppe Monarchini, 

 U. S. Consul to the Island of Crete, and a corresponding member of 

 the Society. 



