(43i) 



Upon the invitation of the Government of the Island of 

 Jamaica, Mr. F. S. Earle spent about two months toward 

 the close of the year, in an investigation of the fungus and 

 bacterial diseases of economic plants, in company with 

 officials of the Department of Botany of Jamaica, at the 

 same time collecting several thousand specimens of fungi, 

 and some herbarium specimens of other plants. This in- 

 vestigation promises to lead up to economic results of value 

 in tropical agriculture, and to the making known of many- 

 species of fungi hitherto undescribed. Mr. Earle also 

 secured, through the cooperation of the Jamaica botanists, 

 45 living trunks of tree-ferns, representing about 15 species, 

 most of them new to our collections ; these were received in 

 good order, planted, and will be a most noteworthy addition 

 to the fern collections in house number 9 of the public con- 

 servatories, where some of them are already on display. 



At the end of the year, upon an invitation from Mr. 

 Martin Lippman, of this city, who is establishing a planta- 

 tion in Honduras, Mr. Percy Wilson was sent to accompany 

 him to that country for the purpose of making collections. 

 Inasmuch as the flora of Honduras has been heretofore very 

 little studied, it is anticipated that Mr. Wilson will secure 

 much information, and many specimens of value and im- 

 portance. 



In the early summer of 1901, upon the invitation of gentle- 

 men representing Sir Martin Conway's concessions from the 

 Bolivian Government for the manufacture of india rubber 

 in that country, Mr. R. S. Williams, who had been serving 

 the Garden for some months as a Museum Aid, was detailed 

 to accompany an expedition arranged by Sir Martin Con- 

 way, for the purpose of exploring the region, he being em- 

 ployed by the Bolivian company, and passing temporarily 

 out of the employ of the Garden. It was arranged with the 

 Bolivian company that sets of all the specimens secured 

 should become the property of the Garden, on condition that 

 Mr. Williams was given facilities to study his collections 

 here on his return, aided by members of our stafi. Mr. 



