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provided with suitable walks and drives and have been plant- 

 ed to trees and shrubs, both native and exotic, representing 

 a large number of species and varieties. Much of the sur- 

 face is in lawn, and in the vicinity of some of the buildings 

 are flower borders and shrubberies. While the planting has been 

 done mainly for the purpose of giving the grounds an orderly and 

 attractive appearance, the advantages which are afforded to bo- 

 tanical instruction in the way of illustration and material for work, 

 has not been lost sight of. Belonging to the department also, is 

 a small garden, supplied with hot-beds and cold frames, contain- 

 ing nursery rows of young trees and shrubs, affording facilities 

 for the growth of seeds and the testing of varieties, and for the 

 planting out in the summer of a part of the greenhouse and con- 

 servatory plants. 



Such in general was the equipment of the Botanical Depart- 

 ment at the time the Experiment Station was organized. In the 

 study of methods for the organization of the station, the ques- 

 tion was considered as to whether this department, as in the case 

 of several others, might not contribute to the efficiency of the 

 station without detracting from the value and thoroughness of 

 its principal work of instruction. If botanical work was to be 

 undertaken at all, here was a large equipment brought together 

 as the result of twenty years of labor and a large expenditure of 

 money, much of which would be indispensible to station work. 

 There were the several herbaria and collections useful in the iden- 

 tification of plants and seeds and in other ways ; the well 

 equipped plant houses were available for a wide range of experi- 

 mentation on the growth of plants, their behavior under varying 

 conditions, the effect of fertilizers used in pot culture, and the 

 like ; and the laboratories with their microscopes and apparatus 

 were available for supplementing the work of experimentation or 

 for the study of various problems in plant life. 



The authorities of the University were not averse to the use of 

 the department equipment for station purposes, so far as it could 

 be done without lessening in any way the efficiency of university 

 instruction. Accordingly the subject of botanical work to be un- 

 dertaken for the station was considered. Many lines of work 

 thought to be important presented themselves. Plant physiology, 

 a subject specially mentioned in the Hatch Act, afforded a wide 

 field for experimentation and research ; in forestry, a subject of 



