Mle 
soon to be published, and one by Robert Brown to Sir Charles 
Lyell, geologist, and presented to the Garden by Lord Lyell and 
Lady Longman, the previous owners, are treasures of this group. 
The portraits are not only interesting, but of value when illustra- 
tions for botanical publications are needed. The interest which 
Dr. Gager had in the history of botany was a stimulus to the fur- 
ther collection of these items. 
The library has been enriched not only by the gifts and dona- 
tions already mentioned but also by the George C. Brackett Fund, 
J. W. Frothingham Bequest, John D, Rockefeller, Jr. Fund, and 
the Martha Woodward Stutzer Memorial Fund, the income of 
which is set aside for the library. 
Since the library is specialized, those who use it generally have 
special problems, and their number is thus small 1f compared with 
more general public libraries. However, for the year 1943 the 
total number of persons recorded as using the library was over 
3,200. Recent accessions are prominently displayed for those who 
wish to browse for a few minutes, while complete indices to vol- 
umes, pamphlets, and periodicals are available for those who must 
delve into an obscure research problem, Help is willingly given 
to the staff, to individual readers, and often to nationally known 
business firms in finding the answer to specialized botanical ques- 
tions. These questions may be for information regarding a prob- 
lem in horticulture, for early drawings of medicinal herbs, for 
photographs of plant parts, or for the most recent methods of plant 
propagation. Most projects planned by any department of the 
Garden require a certain amount of library research for their 
execution. 
To have available for use by interested persons a vast collec- 
tion of botanical information is a service which is enhanced only 
— 
ny special exhibits of material on a particular subject, which are 
presented with the thought and care necessary to arouse interest 
in that subject. Such exhibits by the library are regular features 
of Spring Inspection days. For the Twenty-fifth Anniversary 
Celebration of the Garden in 1935, an outstanding exhibit of books 
and manuscripts illustrating the history of botany was assembled. 
Among other exhibits were those for the Long Island ‘Tercenten- 
ary Celebration in 1936, the meeting of the American Rose Society 
