194 
With the liberal policy followed by the Sec- 
retary of Agriculture and the Regents of the 
Smithsonian Institution, there are here many 
opportunities for profitable work along different 
lines. In spite of the crowded quarters in 
which all the men in these ‘divisions’ are 
compelled to work, they are willing to make 
room for botanists who wish to study with 
them. With a little encouragement it is prob- 
able that a system of ‘tables’ will be arranged 
for the benefit of investigators who wish to 
take advantage of the collections, libraries, 
laboratories, and more than all—of the men to 
be found here. When we remember that there 
are from thirty-five to forty trained botanists in 
the government service, we can realize some- 
what better what it may mean to most teachers 
of botany (generally isolated from their kind) 
when the opportunity is open to spend a couple 
of months in botanical study in Washington. 
So also with the lonely experiment-station bot- 
anist, puzzling over the problems that come to 
him, a few months of personal contact with 
these experienced workers in Washington would 
be of the greatest service. Without reflecting 
upon the work of the marine and other aquatic 
laboratories, it is safe to say that for most botan- 
ical teachers and experiment-station botanists a 
few weeks of study in the ‘divisions’ in Wash- 
ington would be of more value. 
In this connection it is well to emphasize the 
fact that the scientific ‘divisions’ in the De 
partment of Agriculture should have more and 
better rooms for the trained men who are at 
work in them, as well as for the preservation of 
the collections, libraries and laboratories. Con- 
gress should not hesitate to grant the moderate 
sum asked by the Secretary of Agriculture for 
increased laboratory facilities. Hventually 
there should be a fire-proof building for the 
department, so planned that it may furnish ad- 
equate laboratory facilities for all the ‘divi- 
sions,’ and complete protection to the priceless 
collections of specimens and books, at the same 
time providing for the enlarged uses referred to 
above. 
CENTRAL MASSACHUSETTS FORESTS. 
In an interesting paper in Rhodora (Vol L., 
No. 8), Professor G. E. Stone discusses the 
SCIENCE. 
(N.S. Von. XIII. No. 318. 
forest conditions of central Massachusetts. In 
the course of his discussion he says: ‘‘The 
characteristic forest trees in this locality are the 
pine, chestnut, oak and birch. The pine and 
chestnut are especially adapted to this region, 
as is shown by their great abundance, both of 
these being more common in central Massachu- 
setts than in’any other portion of the State. 
The pine is especially abundant here, because 
of the fact that it can adapt itself to a great va- 
riety of conditions.’’ A little later in his paper 
we find that ‘‘ the principal forest trees at pres- 
ent are the pine, chestnut, oak, birch, maple, 
alder, poplar, willow, ironwood, hickory, hem- 
lock, ash, cedar, spruce, beech. Their pre- 
dominance follows quite closely after the order 
named. ‘This order is not, however, the same 
as that which occurred in the primitive forests. 
The hemlock, beech and canoe birch have de- 
creased, and other species have taken their 
places. The pine was always, and is to-day a 
valuable and prominent tree in this region, and 
undoubtedly is holding its own. The amount 
of young pines now in central Massachusetts is 
considerable. There is in fact no tree which 
takes so readily to the old and neglected pas- 
tures as does the pine, and they are gradually 
becoming filled with this species. This is a 
most fortunate occurrence, as these old pastures 
are practically worthless for other purposes, 
and it is by this means that the pine holds its 
own so readily, and compensates for that loss 
which occurs in consequence of rotation with 
hardwood where forests of this tree have been 
cleared.’’ Professor Stone concludes from a 
study of the historical records of the forests 
that ‘‘on the whole, the climatic conditions 
have probably not changed very much, though 
undoubtedly local effects have been brought 
about by the removal of the forests, and also 
from industrial activities.”’ 
CHRYSANTHEMUM RUST. 
Dr. J. C. ARTHUR, of the Indiana Experiment 
Station, has given the results (in Bulletin 85) of 
his experiments on the rust which affects the 
chrysanthemum. Thisisa true rust (Uredineae), 
and to it the name of Puccinia chrysanthemi has 
been given (1900) by Roze, a French botanist. 
It has been known in this country and Europe 
