To the Board of Managers of the New York Botani- 



Gentlemen: The past year has been a memorable one in 

 the history of the scientific work of the Garden, chiefly 

 because of changes rendered necessary as the result of the 

 death of Professor Underwood, and the resignation of Dr. 

 Gager, both of which events have been announced to you 

 in special reports. Toward the close of the year it seemed 

 for a time as though death would claim our learned and 

 talented Librarian also, but this great calamity has happily 

 been averted. 



Not only have the changes referred to deprived us of the 

 services of two most valuable officers, but they have in- 

 directly led to rather important modifications in the char- 

 acter of the research work being here performed. It is 

 always a matter of difficulty to replace a worker of such 

 ability and activity as Professor Underwood by another 

 who is devoted to exactly the same line of research. In the 

 present instance we have not as yet found it possible to 

 make any definite arrangement for continuing Professor 

 Underwood's work upon the ferns. A step in this direc- 

 tion has, however, been taken in arranging for a few weeks' 

 work on special subjects, upon the Underwood Fern Herba- 

 rium, by Mr. W. R. Maxon, of the U. S. National Museum. 



A further partial provision for continuing the general 

 line of cryptogamic investigation that occupied Professor 

 Underwood was made in the selection of Dr. Fred J. Seaver 

 as the successor of Dr. Gager. Dr. Seaver, as an accom- 

 plished student of plant pathology, is necessarily at home 

 in the field of cryptogamic botany. Since a knowledge of 

 plant diseases must rest upon that of plant physiology, we 



