( 426) 
tion with the contractors and officials of the Park Depart- 
ment, and a presentation of the conditions to President 
Thompson, I very reluctantly ordered the collections in 
conservatory range 2 transported to conservatory range I, 
a step which I had been considering for some days. It 
seemed to us wisest to save the collection in this way, be- 
cause a snowstorm at this time might have blocked the 
roads and would certainly have caused the loss of the whole 
collection, as we had less than three days’ supply of coal 
in the bunkers. Although moved during very low tem- 
peratures (lower than 12° F. most of the time), the plants 
were transported without serious loss, except the large and 
elegant vines which festooned the walls; of these plenty of 
cuttings were taken, so we do not expect to lose any species, 
and all their roots have been deeply mulched with fresh ma- 
nure in the hope that they may remain alive. The plants 
were loaded on spring wagons in the cellar of range 2, 
packed in straw, covered by blankets, and rushed to the 
cellar of range I, a distance of just about a mile. The 
roads were extremely icy and horses’ shoes had to be kept 
sharpened continuously, but we had enough animals to 
make this possible. ‘The Garden is indebted to Mr. Nash, 
Head Gardener, to Mr. Corbett, Superintendent of Build- 
ings and Grounds, to Mr. Finley, Foreman Gardener, to 
Mr. Willey, Head Driver, to Mr. Radlein, Gardener in 
charge of range 2, and to the gardeners, drivers, and laborers 
concerned, who all worked to the limit of endurance. 
Fortunately, a small additional amount of fuel was de- 
livered by contractors during the period of moving. 
Perhaps no such emergency will occur again, but it 
emphasizes the necessity for greater coal storage capacity 
than we now have. Reference has been made elsewhere in 
this report to our failure to obtain during 1917 the enlarge- 
ment of the coal bin planned at power house 1; I now re- 
gard it as.desirable to enlarge the bins at both power houses 
during 1918. If it could be made possible to purchase and 
store at least half the coal necessary for winter during the 
summer, safety would probably be secured. 
