REPORT ON THE DEPARTMENT OF BOTANY 

 IN THE IT. S. NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1892. 



By Dr. George Vasey, Honorary Curator. 



The report now presented constitutes my fourth annual report relat- 

 ing to the National Herbarium. 



The growth of the herbarium has been steady, although the per cent, 

 of increase has not equaled that of last year. The herbarium has 

 practically been rearranged during the past year. New genus-covers 

 and genus-labels have been substituted for the old ones. The labels 

 are printed either in black or red. The black label implies that the 

 genus belongs to North America north of Mexico; the red label 

 implies that the genus is foreign. These are divided into two groups: 

 Mexican and South American, and Old World. Each is placed in a 

 separate genus-cover. The native and foreign genera are not other- 

 wise separated. The species under each genus, as a rule, are arranged 

 alphabetically; in some American genera of which there are recent 

 monographs, the species are arranged systematically, with an alpha 

 betic index to the species. The Phanerogams have been arranged 

 according to Dmand's Index. 



The Ferns are arranged by genera according to Hooker's Species 

 Filicum. In the case of the Mosses, Liverworts, and Lichens the gen- 

 era are arranged alphabetically. 



The Fungi are represented by 10,397 specimens and contain 6,424 

 species. They are now kept in the Division of Vegetable Pathology, 

 Department of Agriculture. 



The Mosses aud Liverworts have all been remounted during the 

 past two years. These are kept in tight pockets. Six of these pockets 

 belonging to one species are glued upon a single sheet of the standard 

 size of mouuting paper and filed away, as ordinary herbarium speci- 

 mens. The number of pockets of Mosses in the herbarium at the pres- 

 sent time is 8,154, and of Liverworts 1,300. 



The mounted specimens are almost free from all kinds of herbarium 

 pests. Our duplicate collections, however, were threatened with 

 destruction by what the entomologist of the Department of Agriculture 

 considered a new genus of insects, probably introduced with specimens 



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