V7 
and preparation of materials for use in the study of botany and 
biology in the schools. During the past year, study material has 
been furnished for 156,619 pupils, compared with 109,011 in 1927, 
and 91,300 in 1926. In this work we have as usual had the co- 
operation of the Department of Elementary Instruction. 25 high 
schools and annexes in Brooklyn have been supplied, 8 in Queens, 
1g in Manhattan, and 10 in the other boroughs. 18 junior high 
schools, 4 training schools for teachers, and 11 colleges and uni- 
versities, as well as 110 elementary schools in Brooklyn and 38 
in other boroughs have been assisted in this way. There should 
be added to this list 25 private and parochial schools. ‘The in- 
creasing demand for our agar medium, which is used for the study 
of molds and bacteria, is attested by the fact that during 1928 Miss 
Rusk prepared 3,231 petri dishes and 24 flasks of agar—an average 
of more than 300 a month for each of ten school months of the 
year. The number of petri dishes distributed compares with 
previous years as follows: 
Ee COLO pt re Meererten rece eee orn ma CRM eae er eee ae ee 1,067 
IOP Pass on ete eck eecrin eis oe eet ced Cae Eee ee 2,338 
SPMRIRL O20 Gi erat cone eects cheat eal apeiah acai s op Sors ale eee cutee 2 oe 2237 
Besides carrying on this work Miss Rusk has assisted in doc- 
entry, in editorial work, in the preparation of demonstrations for 
adult classes, and has conducted the Saturday morning laboratory 
classes as well as occasional field classes. 
Class for Student Nurses 
For ten weeks in the spring, beginning April 4, I gave an ele- 
mentary course in botany to the student nurses of Prospect Heights 
Hospital, Miss Mary E. Corcoran, Instructor. In the fall it was 
arranged to join the student nurses of the Swedish Hospital, 
Rogers Avenue, Brooklyn, with those of the Prospect Heights 
Hospital into one class—making 21 students in all. . The purpose 
of this course was to combine, as far as possible, instruction on 
plant life, including especially drug plants and the care of flowers, 
with recreational features such as trips through the Garden to see 
the different plants in flower, and visits to the conservatories. 
This novel course in botany for student nurses was described in 
