24 
On December 4 the Committee on Botanic Garden of the 
‘Trustees visited the Garden, and in company with the director 
and other members of the staff, inspected the work done during 
the past season, and that now in progress on the grounds and 
buildings. 
Owing to the unusually open character of the season during 
the past fall, it was possible to continue our gardening opera- 
tions to a much later date than last year. The per diem laboring 
force was retained until November 22, which was twelve days 
‘ater than last year, and the regular monthly force were able to 
continue bed-making and soil transfers until as late as Christmas. 
After an extended trip through the southern states and 
Cuba, Prof. de Vries returned to New York on December 5. 
He lectured before the New York Academy of Sciences on the 
evening of December 6, and at Princeton University on Decem- 
ber 7. On the afternoons of December 6 and 9, he conducted 
informal seminars at Columbia University, under the joint 
auspices of the university departments of botany and zoology, 
on “The mutation theory and its bearings on evolution and 
genetics.” These seminars were largely attended. Prof. de 
Vries sailed for Holland Tuesday morning, December 10, on the 
Nieuw Amsterdam. 
