S4 
2. Availability of seeds and plants of medicinal value, with 
reference to New England and New York State Nurseries. 
3. The sources and variety of herb teas obtainable in the eastern 
United States. 
4. Histo-pharmacological effects of caffeine upon the heart 
tissue of the turtle. (Begun in 1941, continued in 1942.) 
5. The effect of the purine complexes derived from plants 
upon the oxygen consumption of fertilized egg-cells. 
6. The effect of the plant alkaloid, caffeine, upon the cleavage 
rate of marine eggs. 
REPORT OF THE CURATOR OF PUBLIC 
INSTRUCTION FOR 1942 
To THe Drirecror: 
I submit herewith the report of the work of the department for 
the year 1942. 
ATTENDANCE 
Grounds.—The total attendance on the grounds was 1,660,046— 
somewhat less than in 1941 (1,753,381), but the drop is shght 
11¢ 
— 
eed if we take into account the gasoline shortage, the curtatl- 
ment of railroad transportation, and the shortage of leisure, caused 
by war conditions. 
Classes and lectures —Vhe combined attendance at classes for 
children and adults at the Garden was 59,544—smaller than the 
1041 total, chiefly because of the ruling, made early in the vear by 
the Board of Education, forbidding visits of school classes to public 
institutions. The subjoined table presents attendance figures 
month by month. 
ADULT COURSES 
The total adult class registration for 1942 was 1,296, larger by 
300 than that for 1941, and the largest of any year in the Garden's 
history except 1940. The largest registration was 246 persons in 
class A48, a free Victory Garden course, conducted by Mr. Free 
and Miss Dorward five Mondays in March and April. In the 
