THE HERBARIA OF THE SOCIETY. 103 



So far as I can learn, the above comprise all the collections of 

 dried plants that have ever been owned by the Society. At one 

 time some casts of fruit, which might be considered as coming 

 under the head of the Herbarium, were purchased, but proving 

 unsatisfactory and of little use, they were deposited elsewhere. 



In order to form some idea of the expense of collecting and 

 caring for a collection of dried plants, I have obtained a few data 

 from those in charge of the C4ray Herbarium at the Cambridge 

 Botanic Garden. This collection, which is not j^et complete, com- 

 prises over 250,000 specimens of flowering plants, besides the 

 Sullivant collection of mosses and plants of some other orders. It 

 requires a room as large as the Library Room of this Society for 

 their proper arrangement, besides two or three smaller ones for 

 work-rooms. It requires the constant labor of about three per- 

 sons, one of whom must be an excellent descriptive botanist, and 

 the cost of the paper used would alone amount to a large sum, 

 which with salaries and contingent expenses, would be increased 

 to fully four thousand dollars a year. The collection of the 

 Boston Society of Natural Historj^, though very much smaller than 

 the Cambridge Herbarium, requires the work constantly of one 

 person. The herbarium at Kew, England, is the largest in the 

 world, and that at Cambridge the largest in America. 



Every plant in an herbarium must be poisoned to prevent the 

 ravages of insects, attached to the paper upon which it is to be dis- 

 played, and the whole collection must be occasionally examined to 

 ascertain if free from insects and mould. After all this is accom- 

 plished, only such persons can be allowed to refer to the collection 

 as are familiar with the use of herbarium specimens, for the slight- 

 est carelessness in handling, or the disarrangement of the species, 

 gives endless trouble to those in charge to repair the damage to 

 the specimens or to rearrange the sheets. 



We have very near at hand the extensive collection at Cam- 

 bridge and the somewhat smaller one of the Natural History 

 Society in this city. To these collections, through the kindness of 

 those in charge, the members of this Societ}'^ have often referred, 

 and without doubt can do so in the future. Inasmuch as this is 

 a society for the promotion of horticulture, and not, except where 

 the two studies intermingle, for botanical work, it would seem in- 

 expedient to undertake, with the present accommodations and re- 

 quirements of this Society, to collect a general herbarium, especiall}^ 



