This collection contains papers of Arthur Ballard Massey, a botanist at Virginia Tech from 1918 to 1959. Included are materials relating to Massey's research and instruction. The collection contains a small set of correspondence and a notebook full of observations made by Massey while in the area of Clemson University, as well as several studies and essays written by him. Among these are pieces on identification of evergreens, wild flower conservation, livestock poisoning, and trees of the Virginia Tech campus. Also among Massey's writings are working copies of three publications: "Legumes in Virginia," "Gramineae in Virginia," and "Grass Identification." Several issues of Virginia Wildlife housed within the collection also contain pieces by Massey.

The collection also includes numerous laboratory course outlines from Alabama Polytechnic Institute and a number of uncredited notes and bibliographies, including a piece titled "Plant Suggestions for Food Patches on V.P.I. Farm and at Mt. Lake." Also included is a 1930 research paper by Charlotte Buckland titled "The Vegetation of Mountain Lake, Virginia" and a syllabus for a conference on fruit diseases (sponsored by the Advisory Board of American Plant Pathologists) in portions of Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania.

Also found within the collection is a large set of photographs of trees on the Virginia Tech campus, taken in 1902. (Descriptions for the individual photos may be found in a separate folder within the collection.) The collection also contains several photos of tree removal during the construction of the Alumni Mall in 1950, and a few campus scenes from the 1920s. A small set of miscellaneous printed materials completes the collection and includes, among other items, a 1910 University of Florida promotional booklet and an article about botanist Thomas Walter.