150 
As noted under Docentry, poke 2 may be made for view- 
ing the plantations under guidance. They are open free to the 
public daily from 8 a.m. until dark; on Sundays and holidays from 
10 a.m. until dark. 
Conservatories 
The Garden conservatories contain a collection of tender and 
tropical plants. Of special interest for teachers of nature study 
and geography are the following useful plants from the tropics 
and subtropics: banana, orange, lemon, lime, kumquat, tamarind, 
West Indian cedar (the source of the wood used for cigar boxes), 
eucalyptus, Manila hemp, sisal, pandanus (source of the fiber used 
for making certain kinds of fiber hats), fig, grape vines from 
north and south Africa, date palm, cocoanut palm, chocolate tree, 
coffee, tea, ginger, bamboo, mahogany, balsa, cocaine plant, black 
pepper, cardamom, olive, pomegranate, logwood, durian, mango, 
sugar cane, avocado (so-called “alligator pear”), West Indian 
and other rubber plants, banyan, religious fig of India, and nu- 
merous others. 
The Conservatories are open April 1 to November 1, 10 am 
4:30 p.m. (Sundays, 2-4: 30); November 1 to April 1, 10 am— 
4 p.m. (Sundays, 2-4). 
Herbarium 
The Garden herbarium consists at present of over 184,000 speci- 
mens, including phanerogams, ferns, mosses, liverworts, lichens, 
parasitic and other fungi, algae, and myxomycetes. This collec- 
tion may be consulted from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m, by those interested, 
and specimens submitted will be gladly identified. 
Library 
The rapidly growing library of the Garden comprises at present 
over 9,950 volumes and over 6,600 pamphlets. This is not a cir- 
culating library, but is open free for consultation to all persons 
from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. (Saturdays, 9 to 12). Over 700 peri- 
odicals and serial publications devoted to botany and closely related 
subjects are regularly received. 
