Report of the Second Glass, in the Second Department 

 {Botany). By Charles H. Peck, A.M. 



[Read before the Institute, Feb. 6, 1872.] 



Mr. President and Gentlemen of the Albany Institute : 



In behalf of the Second Class of the Second Department, 

 I have the honor to submit the following report : 



In taking a retrospective view of the year now passed, 

 we find very few important additions to the botanical litera- 

 ture of our country. The most notable is the volume on 

 botany issued in connection with the Report of the United 

 States Geological Exploration of the Fortieth Parallel. 

 This volume contains descriptions of all the species col- 

 lected by the expedition, save such as are described in our 

 botanical manuals. Among these are many hitherto unde- 

 scribed. It is illustrated by forty uncolored but beautifully 

 executed plates, the whole being a rich contribution to our 

 knowledge of the plants of our western territories. No 

 new manual of botany has been published and no exhaustive 

 treatise on any special botanical topic has come to our 

 knowledge. The year, big with the issues of political 

 events, does not abound in the issue of botanical works. 

 That modest little monthly, the Botanical Bulletin, still 

 lives. Long may it survive and thrive. We desire to 

 direct attention to the large number of illustrated catalogues 

 now issued annually by our leading nurserymen, seedsmen, 

 and florists. They frequently give the botanical names of 

 plants, and much information respecting their habits, treat- 

 ment and culture. They unquestionably indicate great 

 activity in floricultural and horticultural pursuits, and give 



