72 
Concerning the seventh question above, it seemed to be the 
prevailing sentiment of the conference that the Public Education 
Association could to advantage serve as a central clearing house 
for outside cooperation between public schools and private or 
semi-private agencies. It was voted that the chairman, Mr. 
Mitchel, appoint a committee of nine from various outside or- 
ganizations to consider, in consultation with the proper repre- 
sentatives of the city, the questions of cooperation, and that a 
committee of three be appointed to make recommendations for 
membershi p on the committee of nine. 
The calling of this conference was a most admirable concep- 
tion, and ought certainly to result in more efficient cooperation 
between the public schools and the other organizations concerned. 
We give elsewhere in this issue, under the title “Phipps Hall of 
Botany, Pittsburgh,” a suggestion of how the Brooklyn Botanic 
Garden and local schools may become mutually helpful in the 
work of botanical instruction. Cee e 
—_— 
EFFECT OF THE PAST WINTER ON SHRUBS AND 
TREES IN THE GARDEN 
The Garden has been fortunate in not having suffered heav- 
ily from the effects of the severe winter just passed. From all 
over the eastern states reports are current of heavy losses of 
nursery stock and trees. 
The winter presents some interesting climatological data, some 
of which help to explain the loss of so many plants. December 
was the warmest it has been for 2r years, while January and the 
first part of February were colder than any similar season since 
1893, or perhaps since 1875. ‘This rigorous cold, following a 
particularly mild December, was undoubtedly a factor in the 
destruction of thousands of plants. 
In Brooklyn and in the climatically similar region along the 
coast of New Jersey the normal period between the first autumn 
frost and the last spring frost is 176 days. During the past 
winter the period between these frosts was 159 days. In other 
words, while extremely low temperatures were common during 
