qo Boston Society of Natural History 



in separate cases. The flowering plants are arranged according to 

 the sequence followed by Gray's Manual of Botany, edition 7, and 

 are filed by states, counties, families, genera, and species. Descrip- 

 tions and pictures are useful for the identification of plants, but a 

 collection of actual mounted specimens for comparison furnishes 

 an invaluable aid to the serious study of botany. 



The herbarium is open to members who are sufficiently familiar 

 with dried specimens to receive benefit from their study, and to 

 visiting botanists, research students, and authors, many of whom 

 have drawn valuable information from the collections. 



In addition to the herbarium, there is an excellent popular ex- 

 hibit of selected, pressed specimens, painted in their natural col- 

 ors. These plants are in the wall cases, on the gallery of the third 

 floor, and in the rail cases bordering that gallery. The coloring was 

 done by Mr. Frederic W. Grigg, and the arrangement is both 

 useful and artistic. 



A Review of the Collection of Mollusca 



THE department of mollusca was also blessed in the early days 

 of the Society by having as officers two of the leading con- 

 chologists of that time, Amos Binneyand Dr. A. A. Gould. The work 

 of these men, combined with the generous bequest of Miss Sarah P. 

 Pratt, made the collection a very fine one for that time (1867). To 

 this were added in 1891, the E. R. Mayo collection, and in 1899, the 

 E. W. Roper collection. These, with other additions, bring the cata- 

 logue number at the present time to 26,809. From this number was 

 selected the beautiful exhibit shown in the six glass cases in the 

 synoptic room. A prominent feature of this exhibit is a series of 180 

 Blaschka models of cephalopods (squid, etc.) and nudibranchs (sea 

 slugs). These, together with models of other marine invertebrates, 



