(218 ) 
(a) Synoptic Collection. This is designed to illustrate 
the plant world. A series of characteristic objects is 
installed as a basis for illustrating each plant-family. 
These specimens are accompanied as far as possible by 
plates, drawings or photographs, while on the shelves are 
arranged additional objects, such as flowers, fruits, woods; 
specimens of fossil plants, and models of various organs of 
plants, all intended further to illustrate the structural 
characteristics of the different groups. This collection is 
arranged according to the most natural and thus far most 
generally satisfactory interpretation of the interrelation of 
the plant-families; it may be considered as falling into 
two main series, namely, the flowerless or spore-bearing 
plants and the flowering or seed-bearing plants. 
The flowerless plants fall into three phyla or subkingdoms: 
(1) the Thallophyta, in which the plant-body is not dif- 
ferentiated into stems and leaves, as represented by the 
slime-moulds, the bacteria and other micro-organisms, 
the seaweeds, the fungi, and the lichens (2) the Bryophyta, 
represented by the mosses and their immediate relatives; 
and (3) the Pteridophyta, including the ferns and the 
fern-allies. 
The Thallophyta (cases 1 to 36), may be defined as 
plants without true roots, stems, or leaves; but notwith- 
standing their simple structure they exhibit an infinite 
variety of form and color. 
The Myxomycetes or slime-moulds (case 1), standing 
at the bottom of the plant-scale, occupy the first exhibition 
case placed at the right hand side of the stairway from 
the main floor, They are thallophytes, having neither 
chlorophyl nor (in their vegetative condition) a cell-wall. 
These very simply constituted plants usually grow upon 
and derive their nourishment from decaying organic sub- 
stances. They vary greatly in size, some being exceedingly 
minute, others assuming the form of relatively large ir- 
regularly shaped masses spreading in all directions as they 
grow. Most of the plants are small, and the structure is 
