74 DEPARTMENTAL REPORTS. 



Prantl, and the old and. much-worn genus covers have been replaced 

 by new ones. During the year 5,208 specimens have been added to 

 the herbarium, 1,776 of which were received through the National 

 Museum; 4,054 specimens of grasses have been determined, most of 

 these having been sent to the Department for identification; and 

 1,669 specimens have been distributed to educational institutions. 

 The herbarium forms the basis of the more technical investigations 

 carried on in the office of the Agrostologist, and the results of studies 

 of the collections during the past year have been made the subject 

 of two bulletins and six circulars. In these publications 77 new 

 species and varieties are described. The North American species of 

 the genus Stipa are now being revised by Mr. E. N. Wilcox, a scien- 

 tific aid in the office, and all our North American material of the 

 genus Paspalum is in the hands of Mr. George V. Nash, of the New 

 York Botanical Garden, who is engaged in a revision of that genus 

 under commission from this office. Preliminary work has been done 

 on a proposed index to the North American Gramineai, to include a 

 full synonymy, and at present about 3,000 cards have been completed. 

 Some work has been done on a monograph of the grasses of Alaska 

 for the report of the Harriman expedition, and a monograph of the 

 New England species of the genus Panicum has been prepared and 

 published in a New England botanical journal. 



One of the most valuable collections received during the year is a col- 

 lection of the grasses of Chile. This comprises some 500 species, repre- 

 senting the grass flora of that country, and especially the types or typical 

 material of nearly all the species described by R. A. Philippi. This 

 valuable collection is to form the basis of a monograph of the grasses 

 of Chile, to be prepared by the Agrostologist, and is to be returned 

 to the University of Santiago, Chile, on completion of this work. 



PUBLICATIONS. 



During the year this office has issued 6 bulletins, 6 Farmers' 

 Bulletins, 13 circulars, and 4 papers from the Yearbooks of the 

 Department. The bulletins, one of which is a reprint, revised, discuss 

 fodder and forage plants; studies on American grasses; and a revision 

 of the North American species of Bromus occurring north of Mexico. 

 The Farmers' Bulletins issued are reprints, for which large demands 

 have been made, and discuss Southern forage crops ; millets ; alfalfa, 

 or lucern; meadows and pastures; and cowpeas. The circulars dis- 

 cuss the following subjects: Turkestan alfalfa; agrostological notes; 

 grasses and fodder plants on the Potomac Flats; the grasses in 

 Elliott's "Sketch of the botany of South Carolina and Georgia;" 

 new or little-known grasses; bermuda grass; some Arizona grasses; 

 range-grass and forage-plant experiments at Highmore, S. Dak. ; 

 report of progress; the cultivated vetches; Aristida purpurea Nutt. 

 and its allies; publications of the Division of Agrostology; coopera- 

 tive grass and forage plant investigations; collection and distribution 

 of grass seed; and field work. The papers prepared for the Year- 

 books discuss grasses as sand and soil binders ; progress of economic 

 •and scientific agrostology; succulent forage for the farm and dairy; 

 and our native pasture plants. 



PAN-AMERICAN EXPOSITION. 



In addition to the grass garden established on the exposition 

 grounds and already referred to, the office has spent some time in the 



