50 REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1908. 
and 88 from the Office of Experiment Stations. Among the pur- 
chases were 305 Mexican plants from Dr. C. G. Pringle and 769 from 
Dr. Edward Palmer, 400 Guatemalan plants from Baron Henry von 
Turckheim, 499 Californian plants from Mr. A. A. Heller, and 544 
plants of the northeastern United States and Canada from Mr. M. I. 
Fernald, Mr. W. W. Eggleston, Mr. J. Macoun, and Mr. W. H. 
Blanchard. The herbarium of Mr. J. W. Toumey, containing 887 
specimens of cacti and many types, was also purchased. The princi- 
pal acquisitions of American plants by exchange consisted of about 
2,000 specimens, including many from the West Indies and some 
living specimens of cacti and Crassulacee, from the New York 
Sotanical Garden; 636 Texan plants collected by Lindheimer, one of 
the older American botanists, from the Missouri Botanical Garden 3 
206 specimens from Indiana and Illinois, from Mr. V. TH. Chase ; 349 
specimens from Nevada, from Mr. P. B. Kennedy: 300 specimens 
from Illinois and Wisconsin, from Mr. F. C. Gates; and 280 speci- 
mens from Guatemala, from the Ohio State University. The foreign 
exchanges were mainly conducted with the Royal Botanical Museum, 
Berlin; the University of Lausanne, Switzerland; and the Albany 
Museum, Grahamstown, South Africa. The associate curator, Dr. 
J. N. Rose, collected about 2,000 dried specimens and 500° living 
plants while engaged in field work in the southwestern United States 
and northern Mexico. 
The rearrangement of the herbarium on the system of Engler and 
Prantl was completed during the year. The genera of flowering 
plants have been given serial numbers corresponding with those of 
Della Torre and Harm’s Genera Siphonogamarum, and an alpha- 
betical reference card catalogue of this work was prepared. There 
were stamped and incorporated in the permanent series 12,379 speci- 
mens, making the total number so disposed of since the return of 
the herbarium to the Museum 332,361. The number of specimens 
mounted was 10,336. The additions to the stack consisted of 15 
wooden unit cases, 3 half-unit cases and 1 steel case, comprising 420 
pigeonholes and increasing the total number of the latter in use to 
10.858. 
The investigations conducted were mainly in continuation of those 
of the previous year—Dr. J. N. Rose on the cacti, Mr. W. R. Maxon 
on ferns, Mr. E. S. Steele on the genus Laciniaria, and Mr. J. H. 
Painter on water lilies. Mr. Maxon, on the invitation of the director 
of the New York Botanical Garden, edited the manuscript on ferns 
left by the late Dr. L. M. Underwood. The director and three other 
botanists of the New York Botanical Garden spent some time at the 
herbarium, Dr. N. L. Britton working with Doctor Rose on the 
eacti, Dr. J. K. Small examining material in the preparation of a 
