28 THE BUREAU OF SCIENCE 



as to altitude, moisture, etc., if once introduced, and those that 

 will probably not thrive here. A large amount of strictly 

 economic botanical work is accomplished each year for this and 

 other bureaus and for various individuals. 



35. Systematic botany. — Numerous papers have been published 

 on the botanical collections of the Bureau both by employees of 

 the Bureau and by specialists to whom material has been sent 

 for study and report. The total number of species of vascular 

 plants known from the Philippines has been increased by about 

 2,500 in the few years that botanical work has been in progress 

 here, so that we know at present from the Archipelago about 

 7,000 species. The development of the systematic work here has 

 been necessary to the advancement of our definite knowledge of 

 an infinite number of problems bearing on forestry, agriculture, 

 and education. No American botanical institution is sufficiently 

 equipped in botanical material, literature, or personnel thor- 

 oughly to cover the Philippine field, and the few European insti- 

 tutions so equipped are busy with the floras of other regions. 

 The results of our systematic work, so far as the flora of the 

 settled regions is concerned, are given in A Flora of Manila. 



In connection with this work, botanical exploration is abso- 

 lutely necessary, in order that we may determine what plants are 

 found in the Philippines, whether they are of wide distribution 

 or are of local occurrence, their habitats, and other important 

 data. So far as practicable, it is planned to send collectors into 

 regions that are little known botanically; that is, where no com- 

 prehensive botanical collections have previously been made. A 

 great amount of botanical material is thus secured each year, 

 of which the first set is deposited in the herbarium of the Bureau 

 and the duplicates disposed of to other institutions in exchange 

 for botanical material from other countries. Botanical explo- 

 ration must precede practical application. 



36. Botanical identifications. — Identifications of botanical ma- 

 terial are made amounting to some thousands of specimens an- 

 nually for the Bureaus of Forestry and Education and the 

 College of Agriculture, and to a limited extent for the Bureau of 

 Agriculture. It is impossible to estimate the financial value of 

 these identifications. The privilege is open to all bureaus. 



37. Mycology. — These investigations are most important from 

 an economic standpoint. They include the collection and deter- 

 mination of the diff'erent kinds of fungi, and the special branch, 

 vegetable pathology, which comprises the study of the fungi 

 causing the diseases of plants and methods of preventing and 



