clitious  of  much  scientific  interest  to  certain  as  yet  unexplored  por¬ 
tions  of  Newfoundland,  to  the  northern  parts  of  Labrador,  and  even 
to  Baffin  Land,  a  vast  territory  thus  far  scarcely  glimpsed  by  the 
botanist.  Each  of  these  journeys  has  to  be  planned  with  the  utmost 
care  and  detail,  not  merely  to  overcome  great  difficulties  of  trans¬ 
portation  and  many  dangers  in  the  wild  regions  traversed,  but  to 
secure  the  maximum  scientific  efficiency. 
Publications. — The  publications  range  from  floras,  technical 
monographs,  and  extended  bibliographies  of  high  excellence  to  semi- 
popular  accounts  of  discoveries  of  surprising  diversity,  such  as  the 
soil-preferences  of  plants,  the  historic  development  of  floras,  botanical 
evidence  as  to  the  site  of  the  early  Norse  settlements  in  America, 
proofs  of  post-glacial  land-bridges  along  now  submerged  portions 
of  the  Atlantic  coastal  shelf,  and  the  presence  of  relic  floras  in  non- 
glaciated  areas. 
Relations. — As  one  of  the  major  botanical  establishments  of  the 
world  the  Gray  Herbarium  stands  in  relations  of  mutual  helpfulness 
to  such  well-known  institutions  as  the  Royal  Botanic  Gardens  at 
Kew,  the  British  Museum,  the  Museum  of  Natural  History  at  Paris, 
as  well  as  similar  establishments  at  Geneva  and  elsewhere.  In  recent 
years  it  has  been  cooperating  particularly  with  the  New  York  Botani¬ 
cal  Garden  and  the  U.  S.  National  Museum  in  various  enterprises 
of  tropical  exploration.  It  should  be  remarked  that  of  all  these  great 
botanical  establishments  the  Gray  Herbarium  is  almost  the  only  one 
which  does  not  enjoy  governmental,  state,  or  municipal  aid. 
To  the  Patrons  of  the  Gray  Herbarium. — The  new  endowment 
fund,  recently  and  very  gratefully  received  by  Harvard  University, 
while  of  the  utmost  importance  in  permitting  an  increase  in  the 
salaries  of  the  teaching  staff,  does  not  supplement  in  any  way  the 
capital  of  the  scientific  establishments  except  in  the  case  of  a  few 
specially  restricted  gifts  none  of  which  aids  in  the  support  of  the 
Herbarium.  During  the  past  two  years  thirty-two  friends  of  the 
Herbarium,  by  subscriptions  to  the  Asa  Gray  Memorial  Fund,  have 
together  contributed  about  $14,400  to  its  further  endowment. 
This  brings  a  measure  of  relief  which  is  much  appreciated.  How¬ 
ever,  the  income  of  the  Herbarium  has  since  1914  advanced  less  than 
10  per  cent,  while  the  cost  of  specimens,  instruments  and  other 
equipment,  mounting  paper,  chemicals,  and  all  supplies,  books, 
periodicals,  and  printing  have  advanced  from  30  to  more  than  100 
per  cent.  Under  these  circumstances  it  will  be  readily  understood 
that  in  spite  of  cautions  management  the  unavoidable  expenses  of 
the  establishment  have  now  reached  a  point  at  which  it  will  be  need¬ 
ful  to  curtail  the  normal  growth  of  the  collections  and  restrict  in  im¬ 
portant  ways  the  undertakings  of  the  staff  unless  its  work  can  have 
somewhat  increased  support.  Many  persons  have  in  the  past  aided 
the  Herbarium  by  annual  contributions.  Without  this  assistance  it 
would  have  been  impossible  for  the  Herbarium  to  have  undertaken 
many  scientific  enterprises  in  exploration  and  publication  which  have 
been,  with  such  aid,  brought  to  successful  and  gratifying  completion. 
At  this  time  scientific  investigation  in  Europe  is  seriously  crippled. 
This  brings  to  American  establishments  an  exceptional  opportunity 
for  important  service  in  carrying  forward  work  on  problems  of 
much  interest  and  iu  many  of  their  aspects  of  considerable  signi¬ 
ficance  to  human  welfare.  From  these  considerations  it  is  believed 
that  the  patrons  who  have  in  the  past  aided  the  Gray  Herbarium 
will  feel  willing  to  continue  and  where  possible  increase  such  assist- 
ance  during  the  present  year,  and  that  others  may  be  inclined  to 
contribute  to  maintain  at  its  highest  efficiency  the  work  of  this 
notable  establishment. 
Certain  patrons,  desiring  to  perpetuate  the  assistance  rendered 
by  their  annual  gifts,  have  capitalized  them  by  legacy,  thus  conferring 
lasting  and  greatly  appreciated  benefit  upon  the  establishment. 
Proper  form  for  such  bequest  is  as  follows  : 
“I  give  and  bequeath  to  the  President  and  Fellows  of  Harvard 
College  the  sum  of . dollars,  the  income  of  which 
is  to  be  applied  to  the  maintenance  of  the  Gray  Herbarium.” 
NATHANIEL  T.  KIDDER,  Chairman. 
WALTER  DEANE 
MISS  KATHARINE  IIORSFORD 
EMILE  F.  WILLIAMS 
JOSEPH  R.  LEUSON 
JOHN  E.  THAYER 
JOSEPH  A.  CUSHMAN 
MISS  SUSAN  MINNS 
FRANCIS  W.  HUNNEWELL 
MRS.  RICHARD  C.  CURTIS 
Members  of  the  Visiting  Committee 
of  the  Gray  Herbarium . 
Boston,  April  1.2,  192G. 
Remittances  should  he  addressed  and  checks  drawn  to  the  Gray  Herbarium., 
Cambridge,  Mass. 
