last centur>' made one of the earliest collections of the native 

 plants of New Jersey. Dr. Knieskern's home for some years 

 was at the town we now call Lakehurst, so that his collecting 

 was done chiefly in the southern part of the state. In 1856 he 

 published a catalogue of the plants of Monmouth and Ocean 

 counties. After his death his collection passed through several 

 hands, tinally becoming the property of Dr. H, H. Rusby, 

 Dean of the College of Pharmacy of Columbia University, who 

 presented it to Rutgers. Just how many thousands of speci- 

 mens the collection contains it is impossible to say at present, 

 but an e.xamination of a few bundles shows that Knieskern 

 made e.xtensive exchanges with other collectors, thereby en- 

 riching his herbarium. But the most important feature of the 

 collection is that it forms an authentic record of the flora of 

 southern New Jersey. 



The Phi Sigma Society has announced that it will offer a 

 scientific program at the New York meeting of the A. A, A. S. 

 on December 27 of this year — a program which will be open to 

 junior research workers, whether members or not, in any field 

 of biological science. A prize of at least S50 is offered by the 

 Council of Phi Sigma for the most meritorious paper presented 

 on such a program by a non-member. Those wishing to present 

 papers should report their intention to the Secretary, Dr. C. I. 

 Reed, Baylor University, Dallas, Texas, not later than Nov. 

 15, 1928, and should submit a brief abstract not exceeding 250 

 words. Authors need not be present but may delegate the 

 reading of a paper to some one who will be in attendance. 

 Papers will be limited to 10 minutes. So far as possible all 

 papers of merit will be admitted to the program. 



A public hearing to consider the advisability of quarantining 

 New York State on account of the Woodgate rust, a dangerous 

 disease attacking Scotch pine and presumably other hard pines, 

 which has recently been established in various parts of that 

 State, will be held at 3 :30 p.m. on June 27, 1928, at Washington, 

 D. C, before the Federal Horticultural Board, United States 

 Department of Agriculture. 



The disease, which is apparently both new and dangerous, 

 was first found on Scotch pine at Woodgate, N. Y., and for 



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