MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 15 
earliest possible moment. A large part of the daily work — 
has been in noting such arrears, checking up and entering 
the current numbers of publications as they arrive, sending 
them on the round of the Garden research staff, collating 
the volumes for the binder, and finally indexing and dis- 
tributing them on the shelves. 
The present year has been exceptional in that there have 
been no opportunities to purchase books which will com- 
plete sets in serials lacking one or more of the earlier 
volumes. 
Reclassification of Books.—Work has been continued dur- 
ing the year, and is now near completion, in making changes 
in the card catalogue and in the accession slips, which were 
made necessary by the reclassification, begun in 1915, of the 
books and pamphlets in the sections of plant physiology and 
plant pathology. 
Publications—The current volume of the ANNALS OF 
THE Missourr BoranicaLt GARDEN, which is our yea 
exchange for publications of scientific societies and institu- 
tions, contains 377 pages, 17 plates, and 52 text figures, and 
records the results of botanical researches by individuals con- 
nected with the Garden. It is computed that the value per 
year of exchanges received for the ANNALS is about $1,500. 
Some exchanges are also received for the Garden BULLETIN. 
Both the AnNnats and the BuLLETIN are supplied to regular 
subscribers, and separates of the various articles in the 
ANNALS are for sale by the library. The cash receipts for 
subscriptions and separates for the year were $368.79. 
Loans of Books.—The pressure of war work is shown by 
the smaller number of loans of books which was made last 
year to other institutions for use by their investigators. 
There were loans of 67 books to 27 institutions. Such loans 
are made on the interlibrary plan. The borrower makes 
application for the loan through the library of his university, 
which is responsible for the return of the book in good con- 
dition at the expiration of the term and for payment of trans- 
portation both ways. 
Subject Index.—Work on the subject index of titles of 
botanical articles published by scientific societies of the world 
was limited to the classification of cards written in 1917. 
Statistical—_There have been 388 volumes, valued at 
$942.65, and 806 pamphlets, valued at $161.45, donated to 
the library; and $03 volumes, valued at $723.11, and 53 
pamphlets, valued at $19.56, purchased. The library now 
ontains 35,955 books and 46,571 pamphlets, a total of 82,- 
