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NOTES, NEWS AND COMMENT. 
Professor F. S. Earle, assistant curator, started for Jamaica on 
October 16 in company with the fee Fawcett, Director 
of the Public Gardens and eee ce the purpose of making 
an investigation of the diseases of logwood, banana, cocoanut, 
ginger, pineapple and other economic plants of the island. 
investigations in question were undertaken at the request of the 
Government of Jamaica and every facility has been provided 
which might insure the successful prosecution of the work. 
Visits will be made to all of the important plantations in com- 
pany with Mr. Craddock, an ee lecturer in the service 
of the g t. The g the fruit companies and 
the planters are eeopevdtine in Pisiesoe Earle’s investigations. 
Dr. M. A. Howe, assistant curator, is making an extensive 
survey of the algal flora of the Florida keys and several ship- 
ments of preserved specimens have already been received at the 
Garden from him. 
Dr. W. A. Cannon, who has recently received the degree of 
doctor of philosophy for his researches upon the embryological 
characters of hybrids has been appointed assistant in the labora- 
tories of the Garden. 
Mr. John Shafer, curator in botany at the Carnegie Museum, 
Pittsburg, devoted the entire month of September to the selection 
of ten thousand specimens from the duplicate herbarium of the 
Garden to be added to the collection now being built up in the 
Carnegie Museum. In addition he secured seeds of several 
hundred species from the herbaceous and shrub collections. 
A contract for the construction of additional cases for all the 
museums, and for the herbarium, library and laboratories, to- 
gether with other needed furniture for the Museum Building was 
awarded by the Commissioner of Parks to Thomas Dwyer on 
October 23d. 
Owing to the crowded condition of many of the beds in the 
herbaceous grounds, due to the vigorous growth of the past sea- 
son, and to the necessity of providing more room for the incor- 
