The Jardin des Plantes was founded by Richelieu for the 

 study of plants used in medicine, under the direction of the King's 

 physician. Buffon took charge of the garden in 1739 and re- 

 mained there fifty years, during which time its extent and use- 

 fulness were largely increased. The menagerie was inaugurated 

 by Bernardin de St. Pierre, near the close of the eighteenth cen- 

 tury, and has remained an important and attractive part of the 

 institution up to the present time. The natural history museum 

 was organized in 1793, with the celebrated Jussieu, the founder 

 of the natural system of plant classification, as its first botanist. 



When my studies at the Jardin des Plantes were completed, 

 I visited Dr. N. Patouillard, probably the most distinguished 

 living French mycologist, at his home in Neuilly, one of the sub- 

 urbs of Paris. His herbarium contains about 10,000 species of 

 fungi, represented by over 30,000 specimens, many of which are 

 types. He has also 3,000 or more original colored drawings, 



rately and artistically shown. Dr. Patouillard is a pharmacist ; 

 but he keeps his plants in a room adjoining the shop and works 

 at them when he has opportunity. In August he leaves the 



France or Switzerland on a collecting trip. 



From Paris I went to Berlin, by way of Cologne, and spent 

 some time with Professor Hennings in the large mycological her- 

 barium connected with the botanical garden there. Although a 

 prolific writer, Professor Hennings seems almost overwhelmed 

 with the immense collections of new material brought in from 

 various parts of the world. His own types are numbered by 

 hundreds, and the collection also contains much valuable material 

 worked over by older authors. At Berlin I met Jaczewski, of 

 St. Petersburg, a splendid, vigorous, versatile man, with whom I 

 arranged important exchanges. Dr. Paul Magnus, professor of 

 botany in the university of Berlin, showed me every possible 

 kindness. With him I visited the new botanical garden in Dah- 

 lem to the south of the city, where most of the living plants from 

 the old botanical garden, now used as a pleasure park, have 

 been installed. 



