Exploiting new fields in botany along the recently completed 1,500 mile Alaskan Military Highway, two botanical expeditions under the auspices of the University's Arnold Arboretum collected 28,000 specimens, announced Elmer D. Merrill, Arnold Professor of Botany and Administrator of the Botanical Collections, in his annual report issued yesterday.

The territory opened by the road was previously inaccessible and had never before been explored from a botanical standpoint. Construction from Dawson Creek, Alberta, to Fairbanks, Alaska, was completed in 1942 by Army Engineers.

Raup Leads Expeditions

In 1943 and 1944, two expeditions examined the newly-opened region. Leader of the project, which collected 28,000 specimens, was Hugh M. Raup, Assistant Professor of Plant Ecology.

The first expedition, in 1943, covered the area between Dawson Creek and Whitehorse while the second expedition, starting in May of 1944, explored the country between Whitehorse and Fairbanks. The members of the party included Raup, his wife, and their two sons, S. K. Harris of Boston University, John H. H. Sticht, glacial geologist, and Frederick Johnson, archeologist.

Other specimens recently acquired by the University come from Mexico, China, Australia, Fiji, Belgian Congo, the Philippines and Borneo, bringing the collection total to 617,944.