(Brai? Ibcrbarmm 



>0N, Curator CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A. 



14th October, 1911. 



Dear Dr. Kennedy: 



I think you ir.ay be interested to hear hov? the building opera- 

 tions are getting on at the Gray Herbarium. My report, put in a nutshell 

 so to speak, is that everything is going very well and satisfactorily, but 

 much lEore slo7?ly than r;e had hoped. ?ve have a good elderly Scotch contrac- 

 tor, who appears to be fair, honest, and capable, but niortal bIots. There 

 have, hoT/ever, been several sources of delay which were obviously not his 

 fault, lihen excavation vias made it was found that the foundation walls 

 between the central portion of the Ferbarium and the new wings were so de- 

 fective that they had to be reir^oved section by section and securely rebuilt, 

 a process which involved the skilful shoring of the icain building. However, 

 this was acco!Tipli shed safely and the foundations of both wings are now cotri- 

 pleted. In the second place the weather hss been unfavorable. One of the 

 foremen told rre that they had •' sd no less than fifty one rainy days since 

 the middle of July, ss least rainy encugh to Interfere with the work. 

 Finally there has been difficulty in getting workirien. It seeES that soTTie 

 portions of the Cambridge subway contrect sre belated and it Is said that 

 all available workir.en are being pressed into service there. 



The walls of the new library and lahorstories are now up beyond the sur- 

 face of the ground, - and the fonr.E sre being built for casting the first 



