KEPORT OF THE SECRETARY AND LIBRARIAN. 351 



count was made in 1884, and showed 4,800 books and 1,350 pam- 

 phlets. The extraordinary increase in pamphlets is due to the large 

 number of Agricultural Experiment Station Bulletins collected ; 

 to a large number of pamphlets contained in the donation from the 

 famih" of our late President, Charles M. Hovey, received last 

 year, and mentioned in my last report, and to a large number 

 received as a donation from the New England Historic Genealogi- 

 cal Societ}^ Besides the six thousand books and nearly six 

 thousand pamphlets previously mentioned, the collection of 

 Nursery, Seed, and Florists' Catalogues has been arranged alpha- 

 beticall}^, and after rejecting duplicates, numbers nearly four 

 thousand. Among them are some of the earliest catalogues of what 

 is now the house of Joseph Breck & Sons, established in 1822, and 

 the first Seed Catalogue issued by Hovey & Co., in 1835, 



The most valuable books added to the Library this year are 

 Gallesio's " Pomona Italiaua " in three folio volumes with colored 

 plates of the highest excellence, which was the greatest desider- 

 atum in the pomological department of the Library, and Hooker's 

 "Flora Novae Zelandiae," a very scarce and valuable work, which 

 we have for years been seeking as a companion to the '' Flora Ant- 

 arctica" and " Flora Tasmanise " of the same author. 



The work of cataloguing the Librai'y was begun immediatel}' 

 after the arrangement was completed. The first thing was to 

 change the shelf numl)er in the books, and the greater portion of 

 this work is done. The next work will be to write on cards the 

 name, description, and shelf number of each book. 



In my report for 1887 I mentioned, as an indication of the rapid 

 increase of books, that the record book of Library Accessions 

 (other than those purchased from the Stickney Fund) which was 

 begun in 1867, was filled in October, 1882, requiring a period of 

 nearh'^ sixteen years. Another book of the same size was then 

 procured, which was filled at the end of November, 1887, a period 

 of five years, showing that the additions to the Library therein 

 recorded had averaged fully three times as many as in the first 

 period. A third book of the same size has now been filled in 

 three years, showing that the rapidity with which books are added 

 to the Librar}', by donation and exchange, continues to increase. 



Robert Manning, 



Secretary and Librarian. 



