30 REPORT OF NEW^ JKRwSEY STATE MUSEUM. 



Aluch field work lias l)ecn planned and carried laii in connec- 

 tion with the preparation of this report, which has resulted in 

 the addition of many thousands of specimens to the herbaria of 

 the Philadelphia Academy and the writer, and added greatly 

 to his understanding- of the several botanical regions hei^e con- 

 sidered and tlieir relationships. 



At the time of Dr. Brinton's weekly field trips, certain historic 

 localities were visited year after year, wuth the object of obtain- 

 ing special desirable species known tO' occur there. The distribu- 

 tion of the various plants appealed more especially to the writer, 

 and he realized the necessity of broader field work in order to 

 secure data for this line of study. He therefore made efforts to 

 visit as many new localities each year as possible, selecting spots 

 that from their location on the map looked promising. This 

 work was ably seconded later by Messrs. S. S. Van Pelt and 

 Bayard Long. Some oi these excursions proved barren of 

 results, but the majority added many additional stations for 

 plants hitherto knowai from only a few localities. The collecting 

 of common species was prosecuted quite as diligently as the 

 search for rarities, since the herbaria w'ere lamentably w-eak in 

 their representation of w^ell-known plants. The collecting of 

 series of specimens of the same species was not considered de- 

 sirable in the old days, and the writer w^ell remembers his good 

 friend and preceptor, Mr. John H. Redfield,* conservator of the 

 Academy's botanical collections, carefully examining the herba- 

 rium to see if there miight be room on- a sheet to mount an 

 additional duplicate that had been recently obtained. If there 

 were not, the specimen was generally rejected rather than use up 

 a new sheet of mounting paper. One cannot but wonder what 

 the older botanists would have thought oi the vast herbaria of 

 to-day, in w'hich "genus covers" have been supplanted by "species 

 covers," so rapidly has material accumulated. 



The accompanying map will show approximately the countiy 

 covered bv the field work of Messrs. Van Pelt. Long and the 



* 1815-1895. To ]\Ir. Redfielcl's generous care the preservation of the many 

 valuable herbaria at the Academy is largely due. He devoted many years of 

 his life gratuitously to their care and arrangement at a time .when such 

 attention was imperative. Cf. Torrey Bull. XX. 162 for sketch of his life. 



