798 POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



Tropical conditions are presented at the center ; desert, arctic, and 

 aquatic conditions are arranged for at other parts. Experiments 

 are to be conducted to determine the effect of varying conditions 

 upon organs. One of the principal subjects hitherto pursued in 

 the field has been the determination of effects of varying environ- 

 ment. This field study is fundamental to, and directly suggests, 

 the experimental work to be followed in the greenhouse. The 

 building is supplied with an elevator which runs to the green- 

 house, so that material may be taken down with a minimum of 

 trouble to any floor where it is needed for laboratory work or 

 class-room illustration. The upper floor of the laboratory is de- 

 voted to plant physiology. The professor has a suite of three 

 private rooms one his own office, one a herbarium and library, 

 and one a laboratory. Similar suites of rooms are at the disposal 

 of each of the teaching force. The largest laboratory on this floor 

 is for general elementary work upon individual life processes. 

 Smaller laboratory and research rooms for special and advanced 

 students are numerous throughout the building. Everywhere 

 the work tables are set near windows, and each is supplied inde- 

 pendently with gas and water. The chemical laboratory, also on 

 the upper floor, is admirably arranged. On the third floor the 

 study of cryptogamic botany is pursued. The forms are studied 

 (a) morphologically, (b) taxonomically. The space is divided be- 

 tween two instructors, one devoting himself to algse and fungi, 

 the other to mosses and ferns. Each of these teachers has the 

 usual suite of rooms, while there are six absolutely independent 

 private research rooms. The second floor is occupied by Dr. 

 Coulter himself. Here is the seed-plant herbarium. There are 

 three large rooms for herbarium or taxonomic work, also the 

 library and reading room, club meeting room, and laboratory for 

 advanced work upon seed plants. Upon the ground floor are two 

 large laboratories crowded with students at elementary work. 

 Their purposes are (a) elementary morphology, (&) ecology. In 

 the present unsettled condition of the building those parts actu- 

 ally in use are overcrowded. One hundred and five students are 

 daily at work in the various laboratories and research rooms. 

 The Botanical Herbarium represents almost the whole collection 

 work of Dr. Coulter. It contains all his monographic material 

 and the type specimens of his Western flora. It was stocked up 

 by Dr. Gray for the work on the Rocky Mountain flora, and is 

 notably full and rich. The library presents two features of im- 

 portance in research work : (1) remarkable richness in complete 

 series of periodical and serial publications ; (2) unusual fullness in 

 the line of old taxonomic works. Most of these came to the uni- 

 versity in the Calvary purchase. In the early days of the uni- 

 versity it purchased a gigantic stock of books from a well-known 



