276 PROCEEDINGS: BOSTON SOCIETY NATURAL HISTORY. 
connection of this gentleman with the botanical collections began 
in 1873-74. At that time the specimens were found to be in a 
precarious condition, and we should have lost a large part of them, 
if they had not received immediate attention. Mr. Cummings 
employed Miss Carter to assist him in 1874, and for many years 
also gave considerable of his own time to this work. During the 
last decade, however, he has been obliged to rely more and more 
upon the work of his assistant. The final results of more than 
twenty years of labor and generous giving to the cause of botanical 
science were given in the final report to the Society in May, 1895. 
In this the total of specimens and of genera and species was 
reported and the announcement made that the entire herbarium 
was accurately named. At that time the duplicates were not yet 
ready for a final report, the poisoning of all the preparations 
was not more than half done, and it still remained to complete the 
labeling of the Lowell herbarium with special labels. This result 
represents the expenditure of a large amount of time and money, 
and evinces on the part of Mr. Cummings and his assistant an in¬ 
terest in the subject itself that has laid all scientific men, and espe¬ 
cially this Society, under obligations that cannot be justly disregarded. 
It has been ascertained also that the assistant in this department, 
in order to complete the work of poisoning and labeling, has been 
for an entire year previous to the last official year doing the work 
gratuitously. The utmost that the Society can do with its present 
income is hardly more than what is needed to reimburse her for 
traveling expenses. The value of the collection is well known, 
and independently of this, and the danger of leaving it without a 
proper person in charge, it is obvious that its usefulness in the 
future will be greatly restricted unless means can be found to pay 
the salary of an assistant. It has been consulted by scientific men 
to the number of over twenty persons annually. These have been 
allowed access to the plants and have spent all the way from an 
hour to a number of days in the work room under the superinten¬ 
dence of the assistant. Another consideration of great importance 
is that this department, after so many years of labor, has been 
brought to a point at which it can be most useful to science and has 
but just gained the stage of development at which investigations 
upon the flora of New England can be begun. That these, like 
those that have made the reputation of our geological department, 
will be valuable and permanent contributions to the progress of 
