DEPARTMENT OF BOTANY AND FORESTRY. 37 



In addition to this, during one or more terms of the year, there have been 

 four resident graduates, or special students, pursuing some studies in botany. 

 Some dozen or more students are each collecting specimens and giving 

 special attention each to one order of plants. Quite a large number call in 

 to be assisted in some special topic which they prepare for the natural his- 

 tory society or for some one of the literary societies. 



So far as appears, some improvements are made each year in the course of 

 instruction. It is customary for many prof essors in a college to try to get all 

 the time possible in a course of study for the students in their own department, 

 regardless of what may be left for other profess >rs. During my connection 

 with this college, since 1870, the time allotted to the study of botany has been 

 five-sixths of a collegiate year of daily work. During this period botany has 

 made wonderful progress. The plan of using compound microscopes in the 

 study of physiological botany has become quite general, and is very popular. 

 This takes one term of the year, and occupies time formerly given to sys- 

 tematic botany — the study of the natural orders which are most interesting 

 or the most useful. During the term in which students can now elect still 

 more botany, they can study forestry, fungi or the grasses. There is no 

 denying the fact that however valuable may be the term devoted to physiolog- 

 ical botany by the use of compound microscopes, teacher and students feel 

 the lack of the "old fashioned " analysis of plants in which they learn the 

 names and uses and the habitats of many native plants. 



The museum is constantly receiving additional specimens, mainly from 

 my own efforts in collecting them. The arboretum has received perhaps a 

 dozen new species, and the botanic garden has received about as many as 

 have died during inclement winters or summers. I have spent more time 

 this summer than ever before in studying the interesting flora of this neigh- 

 borhood, and have made large collections for our local herbarium. 



1 attended and lectured at two of the six college farmers' institutes last 

 winter — three others by special request; also, the meeting of the State Dairy- 

 mens' Association held at Flint. Numerous other requests to lecture were 

 declined, that I might find some time during the winter vacation for the 

 study of grasses and the completion of my book on Grasses of North 

 America. The first volume has been printed and contains about 470 pages. 

 The favorable comments by teachers in Agricultural Colleges, the agricult- 

 ural press and journals of science have been very gratifying, and better than 

 I had reason to expect. The preparation of bulletins, lectures in the chapel 

 to students and professors, answering numerous questions by letter, have 

 occupied not a little time during the year. Full reports on preceding years 

 seem to make a lengthy one unnecessary at this time. 



DONATIONS. 



Frank Kellogg, Agriculhiral College: 



A small bottle in which grew root-stocks of quack grass. 

 R. B. Hough, Loiuville, N. Y.: 



'^0 simples of business cards made of red and silver maple. 

 W. Hilhert, N. Lansing, Mich.: 



2 bunches of grass. 



Ben. Haines, 41 Maine St., Netu Albany, Ind.: 

 2 sorts of Linaria Vulgaris. 



