44 REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1889. 



Department of Botany. — Dr George Vasey, of the Department of* Ag- 

 riculture, has beeu appointed Honorary Curator of this department, and 

 in that capacity has control of the collections both in the Department 

 of Agriculture and in the National Museum. A brief statement of the 

 early history of these collections, and of the resulting conditions which 

 led to this combination of the two collections, is given on pp. 19 and 

 20. By this union of interests in the development of the National Her- 

 barium, a great many good results will undoubtedly be effected. 



There are already in the Department of Agriculture arranged on 

 shelves, in wall cases, occupying altogether a wall space of about 85 

 running feet, not less than 120,000 sheets of botanical specimens. The 

 general catalogue of the combined herbarium has not yet been made. 



The Department of Agriculture has employed for a part of the year 

 three agents to collect botanical specimens and information respecting 

 the vegetation of little known regions. One of these agents has oper- 

 ated in western Texas, one in California (southern and lower), and one 

 in Washington. From these agents we have received a large quantity 

 of botanical specimens. 



Among the additions to the herbarium received during the year 

 through the Smithsonian Institution, have been a collection of plants 

 from South America and Alaska, made by officers of the U. S. Fish 

 Commission steamer Albatross. Several packages containing plants 

 and pertified wood were collected by Lieut. Pond in Lower California 

 and the adjacent islands. A valuable collection of four hundred species 

 of Japanese plants has been received from the Tokyo Educational Mu- 

 seum. Five collections of duplicate specimens have been distributed 

 to foreign herbaria. The number of specimens received during the 

 year has been estimated at 459. 



Fossil plants. — Prof. Lester F. Ward, Honorary Curator, has been 

 able to devote but little time to the work of the department, owing to 

 the pressure of his duties as paleontologist of the Geological Survey, 

 but as far as his time permitted he has been engaged in the study of the 

 fossil plants of the Laramie group. He is preparing a monograph of the 

 flora of this group, and hopes to complete it before very long. 



During the field season, between July and the latter part of October, 

 Prof. F. H. Knowlton, Assistant Curator, visited the Yellowstone Park, 

 where he made a collection of fossil plants and fossil woods which filled 

 twenty-one boxes. After his return to Washington the boxes were 

 opened, and the assortment of the collections was begun. Considera- 

 ble time was spent in the study of this material, as well as upcn the 

 material obtained during the previous season from the same region. 



Professor Lesquereux, of Columbus, Ohio, has completed the identifi- 

 cation and elaboration of the large collection of fossil plants belonging 

 to the National Museum, and collected by Capt. Charles E. Bendire in 

 John Day Valley, Oregon. The material is very interesting, and con- 

 tains many new species. 



