"o the Board of Overseers of harvard College 



Gentlemen '• 



The Committee on Instruction in Botany .having visited 

 the Department of Botany and conferred with its members, beg to 

 submit the following report, which in their opinion sets forth the 

 needs of this important branch of instruction. They feel that these 



most unfavorably in their equipment with those of other univer- 

 sities, in which botanical instruction has been more recently 

 organised. 'Yhile it is not necessary or even desirable, that Harvard 

 College ohould endeavour to vie with Sew York or Chicago in the 

 architectural magnificence of their laboratory accomodations, it 

 appears essential that something should be done at once for the 

 improvement of our laboratories, if we are to hold our own in 

 competition with other universities for the better class of students. 



Chemistry, Physics , etc, the Botanical Department is without a 

 modern system of lighting. This is the more unfortunate because of 



Botanical laboratories . In these rooms on account of the low ceilings 

 and the resulting smaller windows, fully two thirds of the floor space 

 is of little or no use for teaching purposes .This feature too 

 results in a dingjness of aspect, which has become a matter of 

 comment .since some of the Botanical laboratories present a marked 

 and unpleaaing contrast to the higher studded and electrically 



The Botanical Laboratories of rarvard University compare 



very early day. 



Jnllke the Departments of ^oology, Coology, Mineralogy , 



