NovEMBER 17, 1899. ] 
subdivision had best not be resorted to, 
‘since the larger the number of divisions the 
greater the probability of getting works, by 
accident, in the wrong class, and the greater 
the difficulty which the person not a spec- 
jialist will experience in knowing where to 
look for any given work, unless the most 
rigid care is taken in shelf-marking the cata- 
logue cards to the last degree. 
BOTANY. 
1. Works of miscellaneous contents, but of 
botanical interest, and treatises on several 
branches of botany. 
1.1 General treatises containing more or less 
matter of botanical interest, when these 
find place on the botanical shelves. 
1.11 Publications of societies, colleges, mu- 
seums, ete. 
1.111 Botanical gardens, parks, etc. 
1.12 Journals, excepting those restricted to 
some single branch of botany. 
These three classified geographically. In the li- 
brary referred to, the geographical sequence used is 
that of Dewey's classification, and the numerals 
adopted to indicate it are the essentials of his geo- 
graphical numerals as arranged, for example, under 
his 938-939, beginning with 38-9 Circum-Mediter- 
ranean region, including more than one continent, 
40 Europe, to 99 Antarctic region, the minuteness of 
the subdivision of any given geographical area being 
made to conform to the number of works on that area 
possessed by a given library. It is evident, how- 
ever, that the sequence adopted by Dewey is by no 
means a satisfactory biological sequence, and, were 
his system not in very considerable use, it would be 
far better to arrange a more logical sequence. 
1.13 Text-books, lecture-outlines, ete. 
Those restricted to special subjects would be sought 
under such subjects. 
1.2 Dictionaries and encyclopedias. 
1.21 Language dictionaries. 
1.22- Encyclopedias, technical dictionaries. 
1.23 Nomenclators, dictionaries of plant 
names, and purely botanical encyclo- 
peedias. 
Botanical encyclopzedias which are in the nature of 
synopses of the vegetable kingdom or certain of its 
parts would be sought in the special group, treated 
under Taxonomy. 
1.24 Bibliographic aids of general contents. 
SCIENCE. 
715 
1.25 Indexes to illustrations and exsiccate. 
1.3 Icones. 
A convenient class for botanical gardens and the 
like, but, when used at all, comprising works which 
would generally be distributed among monographs, 
floras, journals, etc., with greater propriety. 
1.4 Popular and economic botany. 
1.41 Botany of literature. 
1.42 General and miscellaneous economic 
botany. 
1.421 Botany of agriculture. 
Revisions of special groups of economic plants per- 
taining to this and the following entries might also 
be sought under Taxonomy. 
1,422 Botany of horticulture. 
1.4221 Fruits. 
1.4222 Vegetables. 
1.4223 Decorative plants. 
1.423 Botany of forestry. 
1.4231 Dendrologies, sylvas, etc. 
Local floras would also be consulted. 
1.42311 Winter manuals. 
Other seasonal manuals, seedling manuals, eto., may 
be arranged as other subdivisions of 1.4231, if desired. 
1.4232 Anatomical classification of 
woody plants. 
1.42321 Strength and properties of 
timber. 
1.424 Botany of pharmacy, food adult- 
eration, etc. 
1.4241 Poisons and toxicology. 
1.4242 Mechanical effects of vegetable 
substances. 
1.4243 Histological pharmacognosy. 
2. Biographies of botanists, and collected writ- 
ings of miscellaneous contents, whether purely 
botanical or botanical in part only. 
8. Nomenclature, taxonomy and descriptive 
botany. 
Under one or more of the divisions of this group it 
may be convenient to insert subdivisions for journals, 
proceedings of societies, etc. 
3.1 Spermatophytes (Phanerogams). 
The orders in numerical sequence, after Durand or 
Engler and Prantl. 
According to the needs of different libraries a 
greater or less withdrawal of works from this group, 
for distribution under Ecology and other heads, is to 
be expected. Memoirs on fossil plants would find 
place here. Geological and geographical considera- 
tions would go under local floras or Ecology if placed 
on the botanical shelves. 
