(78 ) 
The tree labels referred to above are of a new design. 
The zinc label designed for this purpose with black letters, 
which has been in use in the Garden for several years, has 
met the requirements of a tree label better than any previ- 
ously seen. It was lacking in certain requisites, however, 
and it had been my desire for some time to experiment along 
the line of a new tree label. Miss Elizabeth Billings, a Gar- 
den member, who was also one of our students, learning of this 
desire on my part, kindly offered to defray the expenses of 
such experimentation. These experiments have been going 
on during the summer, and the resulting product, embodied 
in the labels referred to, promises to be a distinct gain over any 
label for this purpose with which I am familiar. The basis of 
the label is sheet lead. In this the letters are impressed with 
steel dies, and the impressions filled up with white lead paint. 
The first cost of manufacturing these is greater than that of 
the zinc labels previously used, but they promise to be much 
more lasting. This label also presents a much neater and 
more elegant appearance, the lettering is more legible, and 
the label itself at a distance dissolves into the general color 
of the landscape. 
Accessions numbers 19,938 to 21,949, inclusive, have 
been registered during the year, making a total of 2,012: ac- 
cessions. The total number of plants received from all 
sources has been 5,617, of which 476 were purchased, 641 
donated, 1,142 collected, 597 acquired by exchange, and 
2,761 derived from seeds. 
The herbarium of cultivated plants has been increased by 
2,555 specimens; these have been mounted. The drying 
and mounting, a work hitherto done by the museum aids, 
was performed this year by a garden aid, considerably add- 
ing to the work of this department. 
Size of the Collections 
The following table gives the approximate number of 
species and individuals in each collection, and the total num- 
ber, both wild and cultivated, growing within the grounds: 
