160 ' AGRICULTURAL REPORT. 



Two small packages of California plants from Mary E. Pulsifer Ames, 

 of Taylorsville, California ; very interesting specimens and in excellent 

 condition. 



Several packages of Florida plants collected by Mr. Charles V. Powell, 

 Saint John's County, Florida ; valuable because from a locality little 

 represented in the herbarium. 



Two parcels of the plants of Alabama, from Mr. William Harvey, 

 Mobile, Alabama ; also interesting and valuable from their rare occur 

 rence in the herbarium. 



A package of interesting -western plants from Professor H. H. Bab- 

 cock, of Chicago, Illinois 5 and a i)ackage, mostly of specimens of a rare 

 species of willow, from the shores of Lake Michigan, near Chicago, pre- 

 sented by Mr. H. A. Warne, of Maywood, Cook County, Illinois. 



A set of the plants collected under Mr. Clarence King's exploration of 

 the fortieth parallel, being the types of the descriptions given by Mr. 

 Sereno Watson and others in the fifth volume of the report of said ex- 

 ploration. This collection has great scientific importance, not only from 

 being a very ample representation of the flora of that uev/ region, but 

 from the authentic identification of the species and the general excel- 

 lence of the specimens. The botanical report of this expedition is one 

 of the most valuable scientific publications of the day, giving as it does 

 a systematic description of the vegetation of the northern and central 

 portions of the great interior basin of the countrj^ — information which, 

 so far as published heretofore, had to be sought in the pages of a number 

 of rare and hardly accessible scientific journals and reports. 



The set of specimens belonging to the herbarium has been carefully 

 mounted and classified, and will for the present be kept as a special col- 

 lection for ready reference, and will prove an attractive feature of the 

 herbarium to all persons interested in the peculiar vegetation of that 

 region. 



Finally, the botanical collection made the past year by Mr. Coulter, 

 botanist of Professor Hayden's expedition in Montana, has recently been 

 received, and although largely a duplication of the collection of Mr. S. 

 Watson, contains many interesting and valuable additions. Mr. Coulter 

 has displayed more than usual skill in the preparation of his specimens, 

 a circumstance the more to be valued, because for the want of such skill 

 many collections are almost worthless. 



The work of classifying the duplicate specimens of plants in the col- 

 lections of the Department is progressing as rapidly as possible, with a 

 view to their early distribution — first, to such foreign societies and in- 

 dividuals as have already contributed to the herbarium ; and, secondly, 

 to such of our own institutions of learning, and scientific bodies, as it 

 may be possible to supply. 



During the past year an effort has been made toward a collection of 

 sections of our native trees and large shrubs. Sections of over one hun- 

 dred different species have been obtained. These sections are about 8 

 inches in length, and made from trees or litnbs not over 6 inches in di- 

 ameter. They show the bark in its natural state ; and it is designed to 

 make longitudinal sections, to show the character of the grain and its 

 appearance when polished. The purpose is, further, to have each speci- 

 men accompanied by its seed or fruit, and numbered to correspond 

 with specimens of the leaves and flowers in the herbarium. It is de- 

 sirable that this effort should be continued until a representation, as 

 complete as possible, of all the forest-trees of the various portions ot 

 our country shall be obtained ; and it is believed that such a collection, 



