The Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Or.) 1862-1899, 1891-02-06
OREGON AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE.
DEPARTMENT OF BOTANY.

| 10 be a bOtan1St man must be untlrlng
in both mental and physical labor, and to
this must be added love for the science
| itself These qualifications are to be found
i'll Prof. g. r. Lake, graduate and instruc.
tor in botany in Michigan Agricultural
College, and professor of botany in the Ore
gon Agricultural College.
| The work here, although much has been
| done, does not appear as much as it really
| is.
The class work consists of instruction in
elementary phaenogamic and cryptogamic
botany.
The study of elementary botany is de-
signed to familiarize the student with the
more common forms of plant life. enabling
him to take the plant itself and by means of
botanical key work out both it's common
and scientific name, and thereby acquaint
the student with plant relationships.
Plant Physiology and Cryptogamic Bota-
ny studied for the purpose of more thor
oughly understanding the structure of
| plants and their manner of growth, hence
this work is largely microscopic. Particu-
| lar attention is paid to such plants as are of
economic Importance in agriculture. At
present the work of arrang ing specimens in
the herbarium, classifying species and max
ing arrangements as to be able to make
exchanges with Eastern botanists is receiv-
ing good share of the time.
This latter is very important item. In
| order to make exchanges it is necessary to
| classify those specimens intended for ex-
| change and issue catalogue giving this list
and also list of the plants desired. In
this manner the herbarium may be supplied
with specimens from different localities at
nominal cost of transportation. A plant
rare in one place is often quite common in
another, and botanists are only too eager to
make the exchange. Catalogues of the
| West are for the greater part very crude
! and it remains for this department to send
out one which shall be better than any
which have preceded it. Many specimens
must be rsarrangel, the names respeled
and recatalogued with view to exchanging.
| This list, when issued, is called desd era
tum, and is intended to be used by other
| botanists to select from. The desideratum
of this college will contain about 5000
species.
There are already mounted and to be
mounted in the college herbarium about
5000 species of plants, but this does not
| include about 1000 fungi, 2300 of which
are in bound Volumes Altogether there
are at least 5000 specimens. This work is
naturally slow, since it is comparatively
new to this section. 1t would take one man
three or four years to complete it.
OF the species already examined the pro-
fessor has discovered four new ones, and it
is possible that there may be some more yet
among the number not examined. Two
in particular are fungi, one of which affects
the horseradish, and the other the carrot.
Botauists both in the East and West to
whom specimens have been sent agree that
it is unknown to them.
Work in the study of the growth of
spores, (seeds of cryptogamic plants) and
kindred subjects has been much hindered
| by the delay in the arrival of microscopic
| outfit.
! OF the 400 samples of seeds, about one
third are already put mp and labeled in
regular one half pint specimen bottles.
| AS soon the students in the mechanical
department have progressed sufficiently far,
| they will be given the 600 samples of wood
to polish after which the samples will be
labeled and put up for exhibition.
| Another feature of this department de-
serving special mention is pho. .mcrography,
| an object too small to lie seen by the
naked eye is placed in the compound micro
scope aud a negative taken of it by means
OF camera similar 20 the ordinary photo
| graphic camera. From this negative prints
may be made or positives produced. This
| positive plate is placed in stereopticon or
magic lantern and an enlarged view thrown
on screen. Thus from specimen say one
one hundredth of an inch in diameter may
be produced likness ten feet across, hav-
ing the advantage over other forms OF repre-
seutation in that it is absolutely perfect
as can be produced by camera and micro
scope. This is particularly valuable in il
lustrating lectures at Farmers Institutes.
Nothing however, in this direction has
been done yet as only part of the neces-
sary outfit has arrived. 1t is new here and
always popular wherever introduced.
Much of the time of the professor is en-
ployed in correspondence snd State Horti-
cultural Society work.
Last summer he spent his vacation in
travelling over the state collecting plants
and visiting orchards. He was provided
with his camera and has pictures of objects
of interest to his department., particularly
of many Of the most important orchards in
the state.