24 CARNUGIE; institution of WASHINGTON. 



This department is engaged on a series of problems whose elucidation can 

 not fail to be of the greatest interest and value, whether applied to the re- 

 stricted field of botany or to the broader domain of biol- 



Department of q„ gy ^neans of observation, experiment, and meas- 

 Botanical Research. i^J J , . i 



urement it is proposed to determme, as nearly as may be, 



the conditions of development, growth, distribution, migration, and variation 

 of desert plants. Thus, in addition to systematic studies of the forms and 

 distribution of these plants, there must be carried on studies of the factors of 

 temperature, rainfall, evaporation, soil moisture, and anatomical and physio- 

 logical adaptability. The location of the desert laboratory in a country 

 aflfording a wide range of plant-forms, as well as a wide range of conditions 

 in altitude, temperature, soil-moisture and soil-composition, presents une- 

 qualed opportunities for such studies. 



Along with these lines of work, the anatomical, physical, and physio- 

 logical researches of the department staff have already resulted in note- 

 worthy contributions to biological science. Among these, reference may be 

 made especially to publication No. 8i, in which Director MacDougal gives 

 an account of the production of a new species of plant by an application of 

 chemical fluids to the parent plant seeds during the period of germination. 

 This remarkable achievement must be regarded as one of the noteworthy 

 advances in modern biology. Mention may be made here also of the im- 

 portant contribution of Professor Lloyd, formerly an associate of the depart- 

 ment, on the Physiology of Stomata, now in press as publication No. 82 of 

 the Institution. Scarcely less important and promising in their ultimate 

 applications are the descriptive studies of the desert flora by Professor 

 Spalding, the investigations of the physics of plant life by Dr. Livingston, 

 and the histological researches on hybrids by Dr. Cannon. In the last- 

 named work Dr. Cannon has derived valuable assistance from Mr. Burbank, 

 whose unrivaled production of hybrid plants furnishes ample and varied 

 material for the histologist as well as for the horticulturist. 



As may be inferred from its name, this department includes a wide range 

 of work and requires a correspondingly large corps of collaborators. During 

 the past year 185 individuals have participated in its work. 

 n?Xlnrs?clobgy. l*^ investigations are under the following titles: Popula- 

 tion and Immigration; Agriculture and Forestry ; Mining; 

 Manufactures ; Transportation ; Domestic and Foreign Commerce ; Money 

 and Banking ; The Labor Movement ; Industrial Organization ; Social Legis- 

 lation ; Federal and State Finance, including Taxation ; The Negro in Slavery 

 and in Freedom. 



The names of the experts in charge of these divisions and the abstracts of 

 progress given in the report of the director afford a sufficient guaranty of 

 an abundant harvest from these varied fields of research. Many preliminary 

 results have already been published and many more are forthcoming. 



