608 
Personalnachricht. 
Shaw Estate have been compelled to administer their trust on a 
maintenance basis, seeing approximately a quarter of their gross 
income absorbed in general taxes and nearly as much more claimed 
for Street improvements, sowers and similar purposes, a large part 
of which were entailed by the possession of extensive tracts of un- 
improved real estate within the city limits. Meantime, the revenue 
of the School of Botany has sufficed for scarcely more than meeting 
the undergraduate needs of the University. Nevertheless maintenance 
of the Garden has been made to include the Provision of a good 
equipment in living plants (11,464 forms), herbarium (618,872 speci- 
mens) and librarv (58,538 books and pamphlets). A part of the time 
of otherwise indispensable employees has been given to botanical 
investigation, the results of which are published in a series of annual 
reports begun in 1890, and fifteen graduate degrees have been 
earned in the School of Botany. 
Though a continuation of high special taxes is anticipated for 
the next few years, the trustees of the Garden hope to see the end 
of this bürden before a great while, and in co-operation with the 
University authorities they are now prepared to make larger re- 
search use of the equipment on hand and begin to provide for 
graduate instruction to a greater extent than has been possible 
heretofore. Last year a well designed fireproof building of about 
12,000 square feet of floor space was put up. A part of this is 
being furnished in Steel for stock purposes, and the remaining (and 
larger) part is being equipped for laboratory use. It is now an- 
nounced that a definite Step toward the fuller development con- 
templated bv the founder and planned by the director has been 
taken in the establishment of the post of plant physiologist at the 
Garden, and the creation of a professorship of plant physiology and 
applied botany in the Shaw School of Botany, with Provision for 
two research fellowships in botany: in addition to the Engelmann 
professorship held by Dr. Trelease, the assistant professorship 
held by Dr. Coulter, a teaching fellowship to which Mr. C. D. Learn 
has recentty been appointed, and the honoraiy post of plant patho- 
logist at the Garden held by Dr. von Schrenk. 
With this equipment and staff, which are to be gradually in- 
creased and are likely to be much enlarged in the near future, it 
is intended to develop research and graduate instruction and to 
establish in the broadest sense a course in applied botany, in addi¬ 
tion to giving the undergraduate instruction needed in Washington 
University. 
To the new professorship, Dr. George T. Moore has been 
called, as possessing to an unusual extent the desired combination 
of established reputation, breadth of view and expert appreciation 
of the economic applications of botany. The research fellowships are 
open to capable graduate students, and are believed to offer unusual 
opportunities for the productive use of talent in investigation. The 
library, herbarium and garden furnish the necessary facilities for 
the most advanced investigation, and the work in the School of 
Botany is to be so planned that the individual needs of students 
engaging in research will be met in everv way possible, while 
leading to the customary degrees. 
Ausgegeben: @ Juni 1909. 
Verlag von Gustav Fischer in Jena. 
Buchdruckerei A. W. Sijthoff in Leiden. 
