EDITORIAL. 
THE TRANSFER of the National Herbarium from the building of the 
Department of Agriculture to the care of the Smithsonian Institution, 
and its storage in the National Museum, is a movement that com- 
mends itself to every botanist. That this great collection should so 
long have been exposed to destruction by fire does not reflect much 
€redit upon our Congresses; and as the present arrangement seems to 
have been easily effected without any congressional action the long 
time exposure does not reflect much credit upon previous administra- 
tions of the Department of Agriculture. The Smithsonian Institution 
does not furnish more room, for the National Museum is already over- 
crowded, but it furnishes safety, and is the proper depository of gov- 
ernment scientific collections. In the transfer, the collections of the 
Divisions of Vegetable Pathology and of Forestry are not included, 
and the Department of Agriculture also wishes to retain the grasses. 
In our judgment all of these collections should pass under the care of 
the Smithsonian Institution, for the same reasons obtain for their 
transfer as for the transter of the other collections. The botanist of 
the Department of Agriculture retains his position of Curator, so that 
a transfer does not put any obstacle in the way of use. The collec- 
tions of the Division of Vegetable Pathology and of Forestry are in 
charge of other curators, so that it may be well to preserve their au- 
tonomy, but the great and in many respects unique collection of 
§rasses should certainly be included in the transfer. 
corps of competent investigators are due such a collection as the Na- 
tonal Herbarium. We trust that this matter will be taken up at every 
meeting of botanists, until the National Herbarium has a proper equip- 
ment of room and of men. 
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