(26o) 



The contribution of Mr. Carnegie was used for the pur- 

 chase of the collection of Mr. A. Vigener, of Wiesbaden, 

 Germany, rich in rare Mexican species and in plants of cen- 

 tral and northern Europe, including valuable series of sea- 

 weeds, lichens and fungi. The contributions of Messrs. 

 Sloan, Babcock, Bowdoin, Brown, Mills, Adams, Hopkins 

 and Stetson were used in securing a set of the famous collec- 

 tions of Chinese and Formosan specimens, nearly 8,000 in 

 all, accumulated by Dr. A. Henry, during several years of 

 exploration ; this gives us the best collection of specimens of 

 Chinese plants in America ; a somewhat more complete set 

 of Dr. Henry's plants has become the property of the Royal 

 Gardens, Kew, England. The contributions of Mrs. Herr- 

 man and Messrs. Walker and von Post have been applied 

 towards purchasing the collection of Prof. F. S. Earle, re- 

 cently appointed an assistant curator of the Garden ; about 

 $400 additional is needed to make this purchase complete. 

 The collection is of high scientific value, containing several 

 thousand specimens of fungi, including many type speci- 

 mens, a nearly complete representation of the flora of the 

 State of Alabama, and much material from various localities ; 

 it is hoped that means may soon be found to complete its pur- 

 chase. Additional data concerning work on the museums will 

 be found in the report of the Curator hereto appended. 



Laboratories. 



The laboratories supply ample and convenient space for 

 the investigations carried on by members of the staff and by 

 students. Their equipment with furniture and apparatus has 

 gone forward by meeting actual necessities as they have 

 arisen. Here, as in many other parts of the museum build- 

 ing, in constant use, the need of additional cases is great. As 

 shown by the appended report of the Director of the Labora- 

 tories, twenty-seven students have carried on work during the 

 year under the guidance of members of the scientific staff. 

 Each of these students has been assigned, or has chosen, a 

 special subject for investigation, and many results of scientific 



