JOURNAL 
OF 
The New York ,Botanical Garden 
Vor. IV. September, 1903. No. 45. 
REPORT ON A TRIP TO FRANCE AND HOLLAND 
BY MISS A. M. VAIL, LIBRARIAN. 
Dr. N. L. Britton, DirEcToR-IN-CHIEF. 
Sty; In accordance with your instructions dated April 21 
directing me to proceed to Paris, France, to attend the auction 
sale of the botanical library of the late Professor Alexis Jordan, I 
sailed from New York on April 22. Owing to a very stormy 
voyage I did not reach London until May 1 and thus was unable 
to make a trip to the Royal Gardens at Kew as you had requested 
me to do. I did however make a short call at the Herbarium 
of the Natural History Museum at South Kensington, where 
with the kind assistance of the Curator, Mr. James Britten, I was 
able to consult some books in an endeavor to settle some bibli- 
ographic questions. 
I reached Paris the next day and the following week was en- 
tirely given up to the auction sale, which took place daily at 8 
P The books were on view every afternoon and after in- 
specting them, I made some changes in the list of prospective 
purchases. 
I was able to obtain between four and five hundred volumes 
and pamphlets, the majority of which are the gift of Mr. Andrew 
Carnegie, the remainder having been purchased with Garden 
unds. Among the most interesting of the books procured are 
copies of Horae physicae Berolinensis ; Rafinesque, Specchio delle 
Scienze; Brunfels, Herbarium vivae icones, 1530-31; Lonicer, 
Naturalis historiae opus novum, 1551; Jacquin, Hortus botanicus 
Vindobonensis ; Pallas, [lustrationes ; Fuchs, Commentaires, 1549 
141 
