that it became impossible to obtain any from the quarries towarc 

 the end of the season. Considerable sodding of the banks am 

 edges of this road was also carried out during November. 



An interesting collection of over three hundred numbers o 

 West Indian polypores, chiefly from, the Danish islands, was re- 

 cently sent here by the Copenhagen Botanical Garden for deter 

 mination. Messrs. C. Raunkiaer and F. Borgesen were the 

 principal collectors, though several other names frequently ap- 

 peared. The collection is of value in determining the abundance 

 and distribution of well-known tropical polypores ; while il 

 throws light upon a number of obscure species, particularly 

 those described by Fries from Oersted's collections in San Jan 



During the early part of the present year Mr. Wm. R. Maxon 

 of the United States National Museum, during a furlough from 

 that institution, visited, in the interests of the Garden, the Cen- 

 tral American republic of Costa Rica, a country almost unknown 

 as to its botanical features. His explorations were mainly in the 

 mountainous regions of the interior. An account of his explor- 

 ations in detail will be found in the Journal for August. Mr. 

 Maxon not only brought back an interesting lot of material foi 

 the herbarium, but his collection of living plants was an exten- 

 sive one. This collection was for the most part composed oi 

 members of the orchid, bromeliad, and cactus families, the satis- 

 factory study of which, except in a living state, is most diffi- 

 cult. The plants were carefully collected, properly prepared foi 

 shipment, and packed with care, as was evidenced by the excel, 

 lent condition in which they arrived. A number of the orchids 

 secured have already flowered, permitting of their definite deter- 

 mination, and of these three have proved to be additions to the 

 species hitherto known to science — one of them representing 

 the genus Zygostates, formerly known only from Brazil and Peru 

 in three species, but by this new fourth species brought withir 

 the limits of the North American flora. Only the flowering o 

 the other specimens will reveal what other treasures may be 

 contained in this collection. 



The total precipitation recorded at the Garden for Novembei 



