ACADEMY OF SCIEN^CES. 17 



Regular Meeting, March 2d, 1868. 



Col. Ransom in the Chair. 



Nathan Porter, Emile Sutter and H. D. A. SchieiSer were elected 

 resident members. 



Prof. Bolander delivered an interesting address concerning the value of botan- 

 ical gardens. He did not consider the youth of our State and city sufficient 

 excuse for the failure hitherto to do something for experimental agriculture. 

 He instanced what has been done in this direction at Melbourne, Australia, 

 where a public botanical garden is in successful operation which embraces an 

 area of three hundred and thirty-eight acres, and contains a great variety of 

 forest trees, among which are no less than 10,000 conifers. The experimental 

 ground contains various kinds of cotton, arrow-root, ginger, tobacco, coffee, tea, 

 grass-cloth, and many other useful plants. Foreign and indigenous grasses, 

 hedge plants, and such as are suitable for edgings, are subjected to experiment 

 to test their value. The seeds of no less than one hundred and scventj^ grasses 

 have been harvested in the garden and distributed. Of 40,000 stone pines 

 raised at one time, and 7,000 Deodar cedars at another, all were distributed to 

 the public except a few for the use of the Department. A great variety and 

 number of seeds and plants are annually distributed. No less than two hund- 

 red and nine institutions have been supplied during the past planting season. 

 All vegetable products, whether commercially, medicinally, or technologically 

 important, are eagerly collected and experimented upon. Besides its work in 

 introducing new plants, the ]SIelbourne institution has published many valuable 

 reports, four publications having issued in the past year. The herbarium com- 

 prises about 28G.000 specimens of Australian and extra-Australian plants. 

 More than three hundred genera, either not indicated before or specifically not 

 elucidated, have, been for the first time introduced into the systematic vegetation 

 of that part of the globe. Ninetj'-five of these represent generic types new to 

 science. The phytochemical department of the institution has experimented 

 with a great variety of vegetable products to test their value as new sources 

 for the employment of labor and capital, and the utilization of districts now 

 barren. These experiments have shown that fibers for paper-making, volatile 

 oils, tar, acids and potash, may be profitably produced from many native 

 trees and plants. The report gives facts which show that some portions of the 

 less secluded ranges of Australia, having singular facilities for irrigation, will 

 yield olives, vines, oranges, and an almost endless variety of other fruits. 



Considerable discussion followed concerning the utility of plants 

 that have been or may be introduced in California. 



Gregory Yale offered a resolution for the appointment of a com- 

 mitee to prepare a succinct recommendation for the continuance by 



Teoc. Cal. Acad. Sci., Vol. IV.— 2 >'ov. 18B8. 



