15 
In collaboration with the Missouri Botanical Garden | com- 
pleted an extensive account of the Cyperaceae of Panama, pub- 
lished in September, and during the year determined North 
American and South American Cyperaceae for a number of 
institutions. I have nearly completed the Cyperaceae for the 
North American Flora in collaboration with the New York 
Botanical Garden. Due to travel difficulties no field work | 
been carried on during the past vear. 

1as 
REPORT OF THE CURATOR OF PUBLIC 
INSTRUCTION FOR 1943 
Po tut AcTING DIRECTOR: 
Grounds.—The total attendance on the grounds was 1,465,790, 
less than last vear by 194,256. This drop is not surprising, 
considering the stringency in transportation facilities and the 
general changed conditions due to war activities. In his report 
of last year (B.B.G. Record 32: 45) Dr. Gage r showed that other 
public and semi-public institutions of N. City have reported 
a decrease in attendance—some of these to a much greater extent 
than at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. 

For one month only the attendance exceeded all past records, 
namely, February, with an attendance of 88,383. The nearest 
previous figure was in 1939—86,925. The reason for this record 
attendance was evidently the unusual warm weather of the Wash- 
ington’s Birthday week-end—the three day period including 
Monday, February 22. For this week-end the attendance was 
37,683, not far from half of the whole February attendance. The 
thermometer hovered around 60°, and this and the blooming of 
the snowdrops and oriental witch hazels were the principal reasons 
for the throngs of visitors. 
Conservatories. The yearly attendance at the conservatories 
—152,.578—was much greater than for many years—in fact 
only once (in 1935, 154,659) has it been exceeded. The exhibits 
of rubber-vielding, beverage, and fiber plants early in the vear, 
the magnificent display of Chrysanthemums in November, and 
the blooming of more than 200 Poinsettias in December, as well 
as the generally improved arrangement of plants in all the ranges, 
no doubt account for a large part of the increase. 
