118 



this connection can be completed and the road thrown open for 

 use by midsummer. The stone for the telford foundation of this 

 road was all excavated from the quarry behind the museum 

 building during the winter, and hauled into place. 



At the conservatories, in house no. 13, will be found an odd 

 plant, now in full bloom. Near the oleanders, on the north side 

 of the house, the large showy leaves of this plant form a con- 

 spicuous object. The plant referred to is Gunnera manicata, 

 originally introduced into cultivation from Campos de Lages 

 in southern Brazil. It belongs to the family Gunneraceae, to 

 which belong also some of our common aquatic plants here in 

 the north, such as the mermaid-weeds, and the water milfoils. 

 The large bracts, which are cut into long lobes and often richly 

 colored, form a sort of sheath about the bases of the petioles, 

 and it is from this character that the plant derives its specific name. 

 The species is said to attain a size fully twice that of the plant now 

 in flower, which was raised from seed secured from the botanic 

 garden at Leiden, Holland. The leaves in this specimen are 

 fully three feet in diameter, and have the petioles and the principal 

 nerves on the lower surface densely furnished with spines, the 

 upper surface of the blade being very rough. The curious in- 

 florescence has much the shape of a large cone, with a length of 

 eighteen to twenty inches and a diameter of about six inches, the 

 apex being abruptly narrowed into a sharp point. 



The total precipitation at the Garden for the month of Feb- 

 ruary was 1.89 inches. Maximum temperatures of 45° on the 

 1st, 43 on the 5th, 48 on the 14th, and 57 on the 20th were 

 recorded ; also minimum temperatures of 6° on the 3d, 4" on 

 the 6th and 7th, 9.5" on the 15th, 25 on the 23d and 24th, 

 and 1 3. 5 on the 28th. 



The total precipitation in the Garden during March, 1906, was 

 4.15 inches. Of this amount 2.71 inches fell during the rain of 

 March 4 and 5. The precipitation on the 13th and 14th was 

 snow (5.50 in.), also on the 19th (5.50 in.), making a total 

 of 1 1 inches snowfall during the month. Maximum tempera- 

 tures of 48 on the 3d, 54 on the 9th, 42" on the 16, 37° on 

 the 2 1 st, and 54 on the 29th were recorded; also minima of 



