FOURTEENTH ANNUAL REPORT 57 



India had a published flora as early as 1832, and it is but 

 fifteen years since Hooker's Flora of British India was published. 

 Flora Australiensis was published in 1860-75 ; Flora Hongkong- 

 ensis, 1865; Flora of the British West Indies, 1862; Flora of 

 Ceylon, 1890-1900; Flora of the Malay Peninsula, 1885-date; 

 Flora von Nederlandisch Indie, 1855-60; Flora Capensis (South 

 Africa), 1865-date; Flora of Tropical Africa, 1870-date; Flora 

 de Indo-Chine, 1905-date. The Germans, the French, and the 

 English are industriously turning out floras of their respective 

 colonies, and even the Japanese are doing relatively more work 

 on the flora of Formosa than the Philippine Government is 

 doing on the flora of the Philippines. 



Mr. Merrill has worked for twelve years on the flora of the 

 Philippines, and his accumulated knowledge is worth much to 

 this Government. It is improbable that any one else will ever be 

 so well fitted for the preparation of a flora of the Philippines. 

 I recommend that the personnel of the Bureau of Science be in- 

 creased and so adjusted that he can devote a considerable unin- 

 terrupted time to the preparation of such a manuscript, in order 

 that his knowledge of Philippine plants and of the literature 

 relating to them will be in permanent form. 



Year by year I have pointed out the need of funds for a new 

 wing to supply adequate quarters and against possible destruction 

 by fire of our scientific collections, funds for a soil survey, for 

 the investigation of the subject of animal diseases, of insects 

 injurious to agricultural products, a water survey, the purchase 

 of books necessary to complete sets now in the central scientific 

 library, reissuing of exhausted editions of certain publications, 

 and enlarging the scope of our present work on the fish and 

 fisheries of the Philippine Islands. These things are more and 

 more urgently needed as time goes by. 



Tables, showing the routine work performed and supplies 

 manufactured and disposed of during the calendar year 1915 

 by the Bureau of Science, and the financial statement, showing 

 the appropriation and how it was expended, are attached hereto. 



Respectfully submitted. 



Alvin J. Cox, 

 Director, Bureau of Science. 



To the Honorable, 



The Secretary of the Interior. 



