OVERVIEW

The Feed, Seed, and Fertilizer Control Department (FSFC) Botanical Collection consists of over 10,000 botanical specimens of seeds, and fruits gathered over the last 100 years. In 1990, the collection was moved from the FSFC Department, to room E-14 in Machmer Hall, where it is now under the care of Archaeological Services in the Department of Anthropology. The collection is divided into vials for flowers, 2oz. bottles for trees and shrubs, 8 oz. bottles for cultivated/agricultural plants, and large jars for corn. In addition to the botanical samples, the collection includes a selection of books on soil and botany as well as the original catalog cards. These cards list each sample by family, genus, species and common name. In addition, both the place and date of collection are listed for most samples. The family, species and common names from the original card catalog are listed below.

The Anthropology Department is not able to loan or give out seeds for research at this time. We are now in the process of creating an adequate inventory and collections policy for the seed collection. It is possible to view the seeds at our laboratory in Machmer Hall, however we do not have the proper photographic equipment if you require images of some part of our collection. We do hope to make this collection more accessible in the near future.

If you have further questions please contact the Archaeology Laboratory Coordinator at the Anthropology Department: (413) 545-2221.