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This sub-series contains records that reveal the process of developing and establishing the graduate program at the School of Nursing.

This subseries documents the process of collecting plants. Notebooks number the plants found and these numbers are also marked on the botanical drawings so that the description and the image may be matched. Some photographs are also numbered and they are held in folders entitled "Plant Photographs". Other photographs and albums hold not only images of plants but also South American Indians, houses, markets, individuals and transport. Photographs that were loose in the back of albums were placed in a separate folder with the same title as the album. The Mexican album from the 1930s holds originals by Diego Rivera who was friend of Mulford Foster. The Palm Notebooks document Foster's work for Fairchild Gardens finding Palm species while the Venezuela and Jamaica Travel Notebook contains more information about possible contacts than about plants. Notebooks are embellished with comments by Racine Foster and Michael Spencer. Notes concerning D. J. McGhee of Marine Studios are in the loose materials from the Mexican Notebook. Colombia notes include a scribbled map of Colombia. Correspondence in this subseries documents travel arrangements and provides details of Mulford and Racine's travels to their families and friends. In 1935, Foster visited Mexico with Tibor Patake and correspondence with him may be found with the Correspondence subseries. Much of the research material consists of tourist information for the places visited, and the material continued to be amassed long after the visits to those countries. Items of memorabilia include a coco bag that is pictured in some photographs and the briefcase that Foster used in Colombia.

Mulford Foster collected a lot of information on plants much of which was kept on a series of card indexes and all these materials may be found in this subseries. Flyers, programs, notes, clippings, microscope slides and newsletters that provide information about plants especially bromeliads may all be found here. The notes include Mulford Foster's comments on Fosterella and Cryptanthus. Photographs form a large part of this subseries; the photograph album pages include images of several types of plant including bromeliads. There are many images of bromeliads taken in various places, such as, the field and in Foster's house and gardens, for a variety of reasons, such as, identification, record keeping or publication. The folder on Hohenbergia Salzmanii holds photographs of the plant "breathing". Most images were taken by Mulford or Racine Foster but some were taken by other individuals usually for publication or identification. Black and white prints, color prints, negatives, and slides may all be found here and are arranged alphabetically. Most of the images of bromeliads are arranged alphabetically by the plant's formal name, but a few folders at the end contain more general images of bromeliads. Images of gardens follow: gardens that are well-identified are held in separate folders arranged alphabetically. Images of non bromeliad plants are also held in this subseries. Publications include a variety of magazines and periodicals, and the negatives are images of rare books on bromeliads. The reason that some images were labelled "sample photographs" is unknown.