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Preservation of Native Plants 
A grant of $200 from the income of the Caroline and 
Olivia Phelps Stokes Fund for the Preservation of Native 
Plants, was made in the spring to Mr. Charles Louis Pollard, 
Secretary and Treasurer of the Wild Flower Preservation 
Society of America, to enable him to deliver a series of illus- 
trated lectures in ten cities and towns in New Jersey, New 
England and Canada, his illustrations being mainly drawn 
from the Van Brunt collection of colored lantern slides, the 
property of the Garden. Mr. Pollard has published an ac- 
count of these lectures in the August issue of our JouRNAL, 
and there is no doubt that much interest in the subject was 
aroused by them. 
Administrative 
The detailed oversight of the maintenance of grounds, 
buildings, collections and plantations, has been ably accom- 
plished by Dr. William A. Murrill, First Assistant, who has 
also been entrusted with the direction of the Garden at inter- 
vals during my absence from New York. As recommended 
by the Scientific Directors, the Board of Managers at their 
October meeting re-established the position of Assistant Direc- 
tor, and Dr. Murrill has been appointed to that post. Mr. 
Percy Wilson, Administrative Assistant, has continued in this 
capacity throughout the year, acting immediately under my 
own instructions and those of Dr. Murrill. My own time 
has been largely given to the general direction of the work 
of the institution, to the continuance of construction opera- 
tions and to the increase of the collections; as much of it as 
could be spared has been devoted to the study of collections 
brought in by the several exploring expeditions and to the 
preparation of manuscript for ‘‘ North American Flora.” I 
have also completed, with the assistance of Dr. J. A. Shafer, 
Museum Custodian, a descriptive work on North American 
trees which will soon be published, and my studies of Cac- 
taceae, in codperation with Dr. J. N. Rose of the United 
States National Museum have made progress. 
