123 



was practically limitless ; the plants were not missed from the 

 bog and brought pleasure untold to many a New York class- 

 room where they were kept for months. 



The holly referred to was sent from South Carolina, while all 

 the club-mosses that the Committee has distributed have come 

 from Canada and Lake George. The barrels and boxes of ma- 

 terial that seem to have raised apprehension were quite innocent ; 

 with the exception of one barrel filled with daisies, they contained' 

 cones, nuts, various dried fruits and shells. 



The "twenty baskets a week sent to the vacation schools" 

 were filled almost entirely with garden flowers, the common 

 garden vegetables, showing manner of growth, and the common- 

 est wild flowers. These were what were especially requested. 



The Christmas ferns alluded to were merely the fronds, with- 

 out roots, as might be concluded from the time of year when 

 they Were distributed (December). As to the twigs, they are 

 small ones, not more than a foot or a foot and a half long ; the 

 only large branches we have received have come from the au- 

 thorities of Central Park, who have always taken the greatest in- 

 terest in our work and contributed most generously whenever 

 appealed to. 



We have gathered many of the " woodland flowers " referred 

 to, but, as they have been taken without roots and from various 

 localities, we fail to see any diminution of either plants or flowers 

 as a result, although the members of the Committee have had 

 many of the stations under observation for over ten years. 



As has been seen, a large part of the material we receive 

 comes from a distance, and is, in most cases, sent by intelligent 

 flower lovers to whom our work appeals. With very few excep- 

 tions, the collections made in the immediate vicinity of the city 

 are made by the Committee and as judiciously as possible. 



The Committee has carefully considered the question of the 

 preservation of our rarer wild flowers, and one reason for omit- 

 ting the annual botanical flower show at the Normal College last 

 year was that the rarer plants would naturally be collected for 

 that. We would also state that especial effort is made to educate 

 the various field classes, held under the auspices of the Commit- 



