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• Box of colour slides from the area of the Flora Zambesiaca

1 presentation drawing and elevation of how the new library interior could look, dated November 28th 1962, though eventually superceded.

3 Oak survey notebooks relating to oak specimens collected by J.Cousens in the 1960s which are now in the Herbarium

Letter dated 1955 (or later) with Historical Note filed with “Fletcher, H.R.” papers under “Garden Society”

medal with University of Edinburgh crest on one side and Botany (Medical) Patricia M. James 1954-55 inscribed on the reverse in a box by Alex. Kirkwood and Son.

One Field diary produced by the Wild Flower Society in which wild flowers are listed. Judith Basden has filled in dates and locations for ones she has found giving us a botanical record for the area mainly around Bonnyrigg.

The letter, dated 11/11/1947, is from Felix Eugen Frisch (1879-1954), who was Professor of Botany at Queen Mary College, University of London between 1924 and 1948. He is writing in response to a parcel sent to him by Miss Muriel J. Hay, Room 39, Dept. of Botany, RBGE, EH4. She was a student at RBGE and obtained a 2nd class, BSc Hons, Botany in July 1948. He criticises the way she packaged up the slide and tubes of material she wanted him to identify, as the slide was completely broken and one of the tubes was cracked, but he was able to identify one of the specimens as Coelosphaerium naegelianum, and asks her to send more as it would repay detailed study.

•Hand written letter dated 11 Jan 1945 to: Davis, Peter Hadland

The book contains numbered sessions of creating microscope slides. The plant subject is listed along with the process used to create the slides and, in many cases, the slides' recipients. According to RBGE microscopist F. Christie, looking at the notes it appears to be plant fixation and histology prior to the preparation of microscope slides for light microscopy. Each part of the plant would need to be treated differently according to how easy it was to slice. The notes refer to the whole process of preparing the slides so for example, some of the samples didn’t cut very well first time but when soaked overnight produced better sections. This information would have saved a lot of experimentation in the future if the process was to be repeated.
The book was thought to By Matthew Young Orr's but his dates at RBGE do not match up with the dates of staff receiving the slides: John Anthony, Jimmy Keenan, Mr Roberts, Dr Blyth, Douglas Henderson, John Macqueen Cowan, Mr Lyle, P. Davies (Peter Davis?), Alexander Nelson, Dr Burns, Mr Green (Peter Green?), B.L. Burtt and Andrew Grierson. The book may have been created by Orr? But perhaps more likey Heather Prentice, Ella Stott, Willie Dickson or Archie McLeod?
The book was an unused 1941 diary.