J)]']PAIITMENT REP(>IITS. 41 



"In the north part of the garden, a rustic foot-bridge, some seven feet 

 high spans the ravine. In several places rustic seats have been constructed. 



"The garden is divided into wards, each of which is numbered, and oppo- 

 site the numbers appear the names of the families occupying that special 

 area. 



"A label of locust wood stands near each plant. 



"The labor has all been done by students under my oversight." 



An alphabetical list of the plants closes my report for 1882. 



In my report for June, 1895, appeared a new map of the garden, then 

 containing 1,335 species, and varieties of plants, double the number grown 

 thirteen years previous. The excellent map was prepared by B. 0. Long- 

 year, then instructor of botany. 



I quote from this report: 



"In visiting this garden, a farmer can compare some of the newer untried 

 sorts of grasses or other forage plants by the side of his old favorites, or 

 he can see behind a label containing the name of some weed-pest that has 

 lately found its way into his neighborhood. The beekeeper looks for the 

 plants and their names where honey is gathered in most abundance. The 

 entomologist learns to look for certain insects on the plants of a certain 

 family or species. At a farmers' institute, last winter, no topic attracted 

 greater attention than the mention of a family of mints represented by 

 some sixty species in our botanic garden. Several present expressed a 

 determination to pay the garden a visit for the purpose of looking for some- 

 thing new and promising for distillation. They hoped we would extend the 

 list by introductions from other countries. 



"Many kinds of pretty wild plants are not well known by people in gen- 

 eral, especially since the woods have been cut away or pastured and the 

 swamps drained and placed under cultivation, or frequently burned over. 

 Even along the roadside, in many places the fences have been removed 

 and grasses, grains, and potatoes come nearly to the tracks of the wheels. 



"In the vicinity of a college or high school, the herbarium fiend ransacks 

 the wild places for choice plants which he removes root and branch in large 

 numbers. Sometimes the roots are removed to supply the eastern market. 

 By these methods the choicer plants are driven farther and farther over 

 the hills or back into remote swamps and small patches of forest. A botanic 

 garden of some extent is now becoming almost a necessity for supplying 

 students of school or college with suitable materials for illustration and 

 study." 



Under a lath screen raised six to eight feet above a rich bog, an effort 

 was made to grow mosses and a few seed-plants. My effort to grow mosses 

 was not crowned with success and the project was soon abandoned. I 

 grow successfully patches of a considerable number of bog plants near each 

 other, by diligently weeding out all suckers every week or two during the 

 growing season. Among such plants are arrow-head, bur-reed and 

 bulrushes. 



The garden at this date contains 2,200 to 2,300 species and varieties, 

 including no greenhouse plants, and no bedding plants. Most of the plants are 

 obtained by making excursions to the neighboring districts, but many are 

 purchased from nurserymen ranging from Colorado to Georgia, and a few 

 are obtained as gifts or by exchange. The directors of several botanic 

 gardens, including those of Kew, England, have sent me their catalogs of 

 seeds for free distribution. For seeds from these gardens we are very 

 thankful. 



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