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REPORT OF THE HONORARY CURATOR OF THE ECONOMIC 
COLLECTIONS 
Dr. N. L. Brirron, Direcror-1n-CuieEr. 
Sir: I have the honor to submit below my report for 
the year 1915. 
Work during the past year in connection with the 
economic museum has of necessity been restricted to 
receiving and caring for such materials as have been 
donated by friends of the Garden, and such as have been 
readily obtainable by ourselves. The additions to the 
collections consist almost wholly of rare food and drug 
products found in our eastern markets. 
There has appeared during the year in the Garden 
Journal a somewhat comprehensive article on the fiber 
products of the Philippine Islands which throws an impor- 
tant light on our exhibit of these products. 
I take this opportunity of again bringing to your atten- 
tion the great importance of some more systematic method 
in the building up of thismuseum. Ina botanical museum, 
the fundamental consideration is the vegetable kingdom, 
and our interest in useful products derived from it lies in 
their relations with individual plants and in the precise 
nature of such relations. While every effort has been 
made to establish and indicate these relations in connection 
with our exhibits, we have very often found it necessary 
to rely upon commercial information as to their sources, 
whereas the ideal method is that of having the relation 
of exhibits to species scientifically authenticated by both 
records and materials. 
In the early history of the Garden, such methods were 
pursued in relation to our local flora, which is therefore 
very well represented in the manner indicated. The same 
method has been pursued incidentally, in connection with 
other work, during various expeditions in this and other 
countries. It is now very desirable that a systematic 
attempt should be made to secure a reasonably complete 
