REPORT ON THE DEPARTMENT OF FOSSIL PLANTS IN THE U. S. 

 NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1888. 



By Lester F. Ward, Honorary Curator. 



My own time has been almost exclusively given to my official duties 

 under the Geological Survey, principally in preparing the final mono- 

 graph of the Flora of the Laramie Group, iipon which T have been for 

 some time engaged. Under my direction Prof. Leo Lesquereux, of Co- 

 lumbus, Ohio, has made considerable progress in the work of identifying 

 the material collected by Capt. Charles E. Bendirein Oregon, which, as 

 mentioned in my last report, was sent him for study. The material 

 from the John Day River region has all been identified and returned to 

 the Museum, and Professor Lesquereus's report has been edited by Prof. 

 F. H. Knowlton and prepared for publication in the " Proceedings of 

 the U. S. National Museum."* Several new species were detected among 

 them. 



Professor Knowlton has given some time to the continuation of his 

 studies on the internal structure of fossil plants and has reached some 

 interesting results. He has examined the large fossil trunks at the 

 main entrance of the Museum building, and determined them to belong 

 to the genus Araucarioxylon. The species was thought to be new to 

 science and has been so described. The examination of the fossil wood 

 collected in the Yellowstone National Park was first begun near the 

 close of the year. This examination was hastily made, yet progressed 

 far enough to enable him to say that the collection contains species be- 

 longing to the genera Cupressinoxylon, Pityoxylon, Betulinium, etc. 



The papers which have been published during the year in reference 

 to the work and material of this department are noticed in the Bibli- 

 ography, section iv of the Report. 



No very important accessions have been received during the year. 



The routine work has largely consisted in caring for such miscellane- 

 ous material as came in and in labeling and arranging the specimens 

 returned by Professor Lesquereux. 



The exhibition series had also been begun early in February, 1888, 

 Five cases similar to those used in the department of minerals were 



* Professor Lesquereux's report on this inaterial (accession 10769) will appear in 

 volume XI. 



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