46 



Chagres River, and the flora of the rocky islands of Panama Bay, 

 A report covering some of these features of the lecture was 

 published in the Journal of the New York Botanical Garden for 

 February, 1910. 



The speaker justified a somewhat extended discussion of the 

 Panama Canal and its history by the general interest in the 

 subject both here and on the Isthmus. Among the photographs 

 shown were several of the Atlantic and Pacific entrances to the 

 Canal, the Gatun locks, a flood on the Chagres River, the Culebra 

 Cut, the Ancon Hospital, and the Taboga Sanitarium. The 

 success of modern sanitary methods in combatting yellow fever 

 and malaria was especially dwelt upon. The speaker alluded 

 also to incidents of interest in the romantic early history of the 

 Isthmus and in the building of the Panama Railroad. Photo- 

 graphs of the ruins of Old Panama, located about five miles 

 east of the present city, were also shown. 



Adjournment followed. 



Sereno Stetson, 

 Secretary pro tern. 



OF INTEREST TO TEACHERS* 

 College Botany Notes 



An interesting set of sheets giving some of the directions for 

 freshman and sophomore botany has been provided us by Pro- 

 fessor Clements of the University of Minnesota. Drawings form 

 quite a prominent part of the work as might be expected. It is 

 directed that the drawings be drawn to scale — a thing which is 

 more important than most of us realize. The following recom- 

 mendation is also made: "As a rule, write the answers to the 

 questions first, and make the drawings afterward." The pro- 

 cedure is often exactly the opposite, with the result that the 

 drawing shows but indifferently the characteristics of the plant 

 parts under consideration. Structure and function are too often 

 too widely separated — in time at least — even in general courses 

 in botany. In the work on plant cells and tissues given below 



* Conducted by Miss Jean Broadhurst, Teachers College, Columbia University. 



