(16) 
not represented in the library otherwise, and he has con- 
sented to sell these to the Garden as funds may become 
available from time to time. A commencement of such 
purchases was made this year by the expenditure of $400 
from the income of the William R. Sands Fund, appro- 
priated for books. The rearrangement above described 
necessitated moving from case to case the entire Garden 
library of nearly 30,000 volumes, which was accomplished 
by the janitors. 
The library has become one of the most important col- 
lections of the literature of plants in existence, but a large 
number of rare works published prior to 1850 are still 
unrepresented in the collection. It appears probable that 
the close of the world war in Europe will throw many lib- 
raries upon the market, and probably no such opportunity 
to obtain rare books will ever again occur. It wou 
therefore be highly desirable to have considerable freedom 
of expenditure for the purchase of books during the coming 
year, and several thousand dollars could be used to advan- 
tage. This brings up again the desirability of obtaining a 
fund specified for library purposes, to yield an annual 
income of $2,000 or more. 
Reference is made to the reports of the Bibliographer 
and the Librarian hereto appended. 
Public Instruction and Information 
Continued attention has been given to requests for 
information by visitors, and the system of docentry estab- 
lished some years ago has been most useful. Most members 
of the staff have acted as docents on occasion, but the 
regular assignment to this duty for afternoons at three 
o’clock has been divided between Mr. Percy Wilson, 
Associate Curator, Mr. R. S. Williams, Administrative 
Assistant, and Mr. H. W. Becker, Foreman Gardener. 
Subsequent to public Saturday afternoon lectures, the 
lecturer has frequently escorted as many of the audience 
as desired to go, to points in the grounds and buildings 
