5. May 19, 1828. Mr. Alex Roper sent plant material 

 described in his letter as growing wild on the prairies 

 of Montgomery County. He referred to one of the 

 plants as the toothache tree and another as red root. 

 The Latin names are not given. However, judging 

 from Mr. Roper's description, the former is probably 

 Zanthoxylum americanum. The latter could be one of 

 several species commonly known as red root. This 

 letter is particularly interesting, since reference is 

 made to the medical value of the plants donated. 



6. Undated. The records include only a portion of this 

 letter which accompanied the following donations: 

 "100 oranges with scions, 12 cuttings of figs, 9 palmet- 

 to roots, dates with seeds within, 150 palmetto seeds, 

 50 cuttings of grape vines, barley, flax, and wheat 

 seeds." The letter stated that the palmettos and dates 

 were intended as an experiment for the southern 

 states. Also of interest is the following note written 

 beneath the list: "12 of the grape vines directed to 

 be sent to James Monroe, Esq." 23 



Numerous other letters are included among the In- 

 stitute's records, but plant names are not given. The 

 preceding probably represents only a small portion of the 

 donations given to the Botanic Garden. The Institute's 

 records also refer to plant material received prior to the 1827 

 circular, but unfortunately the specific names of these are 

 seldom mentioned. 



Although the Institute's records of the Botanic Garden's 

 role in plant distribution have not survived, the following 

 notice from the Intelligencer of May 22, 1828, clearly shows 

 that this was one of the Institute's primary goals. 



The Columbian Institute has just received from 

 Tangier, in Morocco, some Wheat and Barley which, it 

 is supposed, may form a useful addition to the stock 

 of those grains already in the United States, particularly 

 in the States and Territories South and Southwest of 

 Washington. The Institute has also received some seeds 

 and fruit of the date, which have been sent under a 



23 These letters are found in the Peter Force Papers, Series 8D, Item 24, 

 Manuscript Division, Library of Congress. 



10 



