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1887. | BOTANICAL GAZETTE. 9 
Columbia College Herbaria.' 
Nels BRITTON, 
The botanical collections ra Columbia College have been 
accumulating since about the year 1820, a few specimens 
indeed bearing still earlier dates. These oldest were amon 
the first plants collected by Dr. Torrey, and were the nucleus 
of the Torrey herbarium. During Dr. Torrey’s . 
with the College, from 1860 to his death, in 1873, specimens 
accumulated very rapidly, but were nearly all Slacied by 
him and mounted under his direction. “In 1874 the very 
extensive collection of the late Professor Meisner, of Basle, 
Switzerland, specially rich in South American, Asiatic and 
Australian cama and supplementing the Torrey herbarium 
to a remarkable degree, together with the herbarium of Dr. 
A.W. Chapman, of Florida, containing nearly all species 
described in the ‘‘ Flora of the Southern United States,’’ were 
purchased by Mr. John J. Crooke, of New York, and pre- 
sented to the college. At this time and until about three years 
ago the collections were under the care of Mr. P. V. LeRoy, 
who acted as curator. Nearly all his time was spent in 
t 
specimens obtained through purchase or exchange. About 
two years since the personal bryological collection of the late 
Mr. C. F. Austin was cost ga It contains all of Austin’s 
es of mosses and some of his Hepatic, though unfortun- 
ately the bulk of his bepatological material was allowed to 
leave the country. 
Until the autumn of 1878 the college herbarium was located 
ina buildin x on Madison avenue, which was occupied also 
by several of the professors. This was at that time torn down 
and replaced by a new building erected for the department 
of arts, and the botanical collections were transferred to 
another old building, where they remained until last autumn. 
Neither of these ancient edifices were fire-proof. Indeed, it 
was well known that nothing could save them in case of fire, 
and the utmost anxiety was felt by those who had the preser- 
vation of the vast botanical collections at heart. 
On the completion, last year, of the new library — 
one of its rooms was assigned to the botanical department. 
Its furniture was completed in November last, and the task 
1Read before the Botanical Club of the A. A. A. S,, Buffalo meeting, 1886. 
