Annual Meeting.] 308 [May 5, 



ing the Guide to the collection of Comparative Mineralogy, and 

 with Miss Carter's assistance, has entirely revised and renumbered 

 the specimens of this division. Professor Crosby and Miss Carter 

 have also carefully, as a final step, rearranged and numbered 

 the systematic collections, which now comprise over three thou- 

 sand specimens. A large portion of Professor Crosby's time has 

 been expended in writing the Guide to the Systematic Collection 

 and in revising proofs of both sections of the guide, which has 

 been alluded to in previous reports. This is now wholly in print 

 and will soon be issued for public use. 



One hundred specimens have been added to the collection during 

 the year and these have been catalogued and mounted by Miss 

 Carter. 



Geology. 



Professor Crosby has selected and prepared nearly all the speci- 

 mens in the collections of this department, which are suitable for 

 the illustration of the important and difficult division of dynamical 

 geology which is to be shown in the introductory collection. He is 

 now engaged in completing this collection, which will necessarily 

 contain quite a number of preparations and illustrations requiring 

 more or less time and study, and also in writing the guide relating 

 to this section of the introductory collections. 



Miss Carter has catalogued and mounted the accessions, which 

 number one hundred and twenty-five specimens. 



Botany. 



The unsolicited generosity of Mr. John Cummings still continues 

 to relieve the society from any anxiety with regard to this collec- 

 tion, and has considerably assisted us in other departments of the 

 Museum, in which the services of his assistants have enabled us 

 to make progress not otherwise practicable. 



Miss Carter under Mr. Cummings' direction has continued the 

 review of the herbarium with relation to the synonymy, and has 

 nearly completed the phenogamous plants. 



The supplying of deficiencies among the endogens is not quite 

 finished and the full report is, therefore, postponed until next 

 year. The ferns have been revised, and the work of perfecting 

 the New England Herbarium by supplying it with the best speci- 

 mens from all genuine New England localities has been begun. 

 Miss Carter has also spent considerable time in the necessaiy work 

 of poisoning plants. 



