103 
tures and for illustrating the publications of the Garden as well 
as filling requests coming from publishers and others who are 
seeking copies for reproduction. Portraits received as gifts dur- 
ing 1931 are acknowledged in Appendix 1, page 124. 
Use of the Library 
There has been a noticeable increase in the public use of the 
library, especially by owners of private gardens and by teachers 
— 
and students from the botany departments of local colleges. As 
usual, there were many requests for illustrations and descriptions 
of particular plants, or directions for their culture. 
The following are some other special subjects studied, given in 
the order in which they were recorded from day to day: Iris paint- 
ings by Korin, longevity of seeds, medicinal use of herbs in olden 
times, spraying apple trees, chestnut blight, national program of 
— 
forestry, diseases of asters, illustrations of pollen grains, “ nature 
printing,” miniature gardens, cold frames, white pine blister rust, 
gardening on a small country estate, edible mushrooms, eradication 
of poison ivy, Spencer as a biologist, views of the Alps showing 
vegetation, cross-pollination, wild flower gardening, color of hy- 
drangeas with relation to soil acidity, chemical composition of 
sweet corn at different periods during storage, natural resources 
and agriculture of Florida, tung oil industry in Florida, agricultural 
conditions in North Carolina, plans for laying out a garden of 
perennials, tree planting in connection with the George Washing- 
, 
ton bicentennial, scientific names and history of the “ York” and 
‘ Lancaster 
3 
roses as mentioned in Shakespeare, internal structure 
(longitudinal section) of the seed capsule of Paris quadrifolia. 
A lawyer secured information from lbrary books regarding the 
propagation of willows by means of cuttings, for use in a law-suit. 
A teacher wished the names of flowers which bloom in July, for 
use in a play she was writing. A director of a Y. M. C. A in 
New Jersey came several times for advice regarding planting of 
wild flowers on a tract of land to be used as a summer camp. A 
list of references on the vegetation of the Sargasso Sea was com- 
piled for the library of another institution. 
A lady who has been making frequent use of our early herbals 
