REPORT OF THE DIRECTOR I9I4 5 1 



Noteworthy contributions. The most important addition to the 

 State herbarium during the past year is the gift by Prof. Charles S. 

 Sheldon of Oswego, of his entire herbarium, numbering over 14,000 

 mounted specimens, in addition to a large quantity of duplicates 

 and unmounted material. Professor Sheldon's herbarium contains 

 collections from every state of the union, Canada, Mexico and 

 several European countries. The New York State collections, made 

 chiefly by Professor Sheldon between 1877 and 1895, alone number 

 1020 specimens. A more detailed account of this collection will be 

 found in the separate report of the Botanist. 



Mr Simon Davis of Brookline, Mass., has presented a collection 

 of 60 species of fungi native of the eastern United States. A large 

 number of interesting flowering plants and fungi have been re- 

 ceived from Dr W. Haydon, of Marshfield, Ore. 



Scientific investigations. The limited amount of time available 

 for field work was spent chiefly in a reconnaissance of the .vegeta- 

 tion and its ecological relations, about the eastern end of Oneida 

 lake, a region of extensive sandy barrens, swamps and bogs, in 

 addition to the interesting vegetation of the shores and shallow 

 waters. This study will be brought to a close during the coming 

 season. Observations were also made upon the vegetation of 

 several of the sphagnum bogs of central New York and it is to be 

 hoped that these observations may be brought together in a formal 

 way at some future time. New localities for certain rare species are 

 reported under " Notes on Local Floras," 



Exchanges. It has been found desirable to distribute as ex- 

 changes many of the duplicate fungi and flowering plants of the 

 herbarium, thus enriching our collections and making available much 

 valuable space heretofore occupied by the stored material. Ex- 

 changes have been effected with Mr G. Newodowski of Kiev, 

 Russia, from whom the herbarium has received a valuable collection 

 of fungi, chiefly parasitic leaf forms, native of eastern Europe and 

 the Russian Caucasus. From Brother Victorin, of Longueuil, 

 Quebec, has been received in exchange a large collection of flower- 

 ing plants representing the flora of our northern border. 



Condition of the collections. Further progress has been made in 

 the arrangement of the collections which, with minor exceptions, are 

 now in permanent form. Although there is on hand considerable 

 material, stored away in more or less inaccessible bundles, practically 

 all the valuable material has now been labeled and placed in proper 

 sequence in the herbarium and thus made available for study. This 



