eight different colors, used for species, indicate at a glance the world geo- graphical region in which the species was collected. The cryptogams are split up into fern, moss, hepatic, etc. collections housed in separate rooms. Just says the collections are especially strong in cryptogame. The best geographical representation is in North American and South American plants. There is a special palm herbarium in which bulky specimens are stored in cardboard boxes, with photos, drawings, descriptions, etc. The palms are the chief present interest of Delgren, who is now making studies in germination of palm seeds, involving field trips in Cuba. A collection of about 40,000 photographs of types, made in European and other herbaria, is a notable feature. There are several botany exhibition halls. Like the others I saw in the museum, these are very large, of modern design, and by no means full to capacity. The pride of the botany halls is the famous reproduction of a forest of the Carboniferous age. A magnificent piece of work. Another is the Telswitschia group, finished quite recently. One hall holds reproductions, models and actual specimens of the major families of plants, and some families of special morphological interest. Another holds palms and economic plants and plant products. There is one hall of North American woods, another of woods of the rest of the world. It will take years of work, and much money, to fully develop these botany halls. The same applies to the bird and mammal halls, which I saw only briefly, with Rand. Splendid work is being done in making reproductions of fossil plants and plant accessories for exhibition groups. In this Chicago seems far ahead of the American Museum. I have never seen such painstaking, accurate detail. Much of this work is done in plastics, a medium in use here many years. The painted backgrounds of the groups do not approach the high standards of the American Museum. In Rand's office I met Dr. Francis Harper, who arrived in Chicago today on his way home to Philadelphia after a six months collecting trip in Kewatin. Harper works independently and peddles his collections for funds to carry on his researches. He is well known for a book on extinct mammals. Said to be a hard man to get along with. I should not be surprised. Very scholarly, overly intense, and perhaps too critical of others, in a puritanical way which to me seems pretty much warped. Coming from the far north, and taking of it to men he had never seen before, he soon got on to tales of the shocking record of Stefenson and Camsel in mixing stirring halfbreed children. Further on it developed that he, Harper, had gone into the north on this trip with only three months' supply of food. For the other 3 months he lived on trappers and traders. This in the beginning of winter. I wondered what Stefenson and Camsel would have thought of that, and whether in their opinion what they got was more expendable. Rand got a very poor salary in Ottawa. Since he has come to Chicago the Canadian Government (Defence Dept.) has offered him $7,000 to do a volume on Canadian mammals. The Army wants it for a basic information series for use in "survival" training. Rand will do the job in his spare time. He is thoroughly familiar with the literature and most of the mammals. It is possible that next year he will make an expedition to Upper Burma - the Stillwell Road country. The museum has been offered the funds by some wealthy person - have forgotten his name- who has not done anything like this before. This person wants to go on the trip himself. Had dinner with the Rands in town and left Chicago on the "San Francisco Overland" train at 8 pm.