72 REPORTS OF INVESTIGATIONS AND PROJECTS. 



mountain slopes come down to the dunes and in time of precipitation carry 

 their torrential floods directly against the sand embankment, where they 

 spread out and make great level play as with a characteristic vegetation. 



THE STAFF. 



Dr. Forrest Shreve, Professor of Biology in the Woman's College of Balti- 

 more, has been added to the staff, his appointment dating from May i, 1908, 

 Dr. Shreve has just completed the compilation of his survey of the plants of 

 Maryland, and will take up some special problems of the same nature with 

 regard to desert vegetation. Dr. B. E. Livingston was given leave of absence 

 at the beginning of the year and has visited a number of laboratories in 

 Europe in which investigations on physical physiology were being carried on. 

 The greater part of the year was spent in the botanical garden at Munich, on 

 some experimental investigations on relative transpiration. The Department 

 is indebted to the director. Prof. K. Goebel, for the privileges granted and 

 facilities provided for Dr. Livingston's work during his stay. 



Dr. W. A. Cannon resided. May to September inclusive, at Carmel, Cal- 

 ifornia, where he was provided with laboratory facilities by the Carmel De- 

 velopment Company. The location in question furnished conditions suitable 

 for work on the anatomy of hybrids and also for participation in the exam- 

 ination of Mr. Burbank's plants. The remainder of the staff have chiefly 

 centered their effort during the year, on work at the Desert Laboratory. 



EQUIPMENT. 



Shop. — A stone building 40 by 20 feet has been erected at the foot of Tu- 

 mamoc Hill, directly below the Laboratory, after designs by Mr. G. Sykes. 

 The walls are of stone, brick lined, the floor of extra rigidity, and the illumi- 

 nation designed especially with regard to the use of the apparatus and tools 

 with which it is furnished. The roof is of shingles, furnished with the ven- 

 tilating ridge roll which has been found so efficient in other buildings of the 

 Laboratory. A full complement of carpenter's and cabinetmaker's tools, 

 lathe, drill-press, band-saw, planer, forge, grinding-wheels, etc., with fittings, 

 have been put in place, and separate motors have been fitted to the larger 

 tools, current being secured from a power line leading to the Laboratory. 



Vivaria and Plant Shelters. — A shelter for the culture of introduced plants 

 has been constructed in the experimental grounds at the base of Tumamoc 

 Hill. This consists of a flat-topped skeleton frame with the walls and roof of 

 lath, placed to cover half of the space. Six vivaria, 6 by 6 by 4 feet, inclosed 

 by fine wire screens, have been made and set in position in the experimental 

 grounds. These are devoted exclusively to the climatic experiments with 

 beetles carried on for Prof. W. L. Tower. Pipe-lines have been extended to 

 the various parts of the domain, including the experimental grounds. 



