6 WORCESTER COUNTY HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. [1894. 



easily duplicated, and yet there are many works of a more or- 

 dinary character on special subjects relating to Horticulture, 

 which it" called for by investigators of those subjects we should 

 be unable to produce. We have not by any means as yet a com- 

 plete working library. 



Hardly any addition to our library of greater value could be 

 made than a complete set of the publications of the Agricultural 

 Experiment Stations, with an index or catalogue. These publi- 

 cations, printed by the Government, might be had presumably 

 for the asking, and a key to a subject-index of this literature 

 could be obtained, on the same terms, of President Goodell of 

 the Agricultural College. 



Of hardly less value are the Smithsonian reports relating to 

 botany and horticulture, and the entomological works of C. V. 

 Riley published by the Government. Most, if not all, of this 

 literature could be obtained through our Congressman or Sena- 

 tor, and would be, properly and systematically arranged and 

 cared for and catalogued, of inestimable value. 



A card catalogue should be made, not only of subjects and 

 authors of all the books, but of all the plates as well. A library 

 without a catalogue is like an army without a system of military 

 tactics. These plates of plants and flowers upon our shelves, con- 

 tained in the Floral Magazine, Curtis's Botanical Magazine, the 

 Revue Horticole and the many other series of books, are an exact 

 reproduction from nature, in color, size, and form, accompanied 

 with a history and description, and yet are of little practical 

 value, because they can be found only by a long and tedious 

 search. Such a catalogue of plates would ofier an incentive to 

 an increase of membership, which should go a long way towards 

 defraying its cost. 



Under the new course of study just adopted in our schools, 

 elementary instruction in natural history, especially botany, is 

 recommended — beoinning; with the lower o-rades. Our teachers 

 would find these plates, if made accessible by a catalogue, of 

 invaluable service. 



But primarily they should be made of service to our own 

 members, and if thus made accessible, they should create or 



