14 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN • 



July 



reconstructed 



the grounds at the rear of the herbarium building. 



In the early part of July, the garden was visited by an 

 unusually severe hail and rain storm, four inches of water 

 falling in about an hour and a half, — most of it within 

 half an hour. Though the hail entirely destroyed the 

 foliage of the larger leaved plants, no glass was broken. 

 The most severe damage was done to the walks, for, not- 

 withstanding the abundant drains and silt pits of the main 

 garden, the water collected to a depth of about three feet 

 in the extreme northern end of the garden, where it was 

 held by the stone and brick walls, backing up from there 

 nearly to the gate, and completely filling the sunken par- 

 terre. The rushing of this volume of water over the walks 

 quite denuded them of gravel, but the foundations laid 

 some three years ago were not injured, and within a few 

 days the walks were in nearly as good condition as before 



secure 



comp 



r* 



its and extreme alternations of winter tem- 

 perature each year since I have been in charge of the 

 garden have told not only on the lawns, on which it has 

 been necessary to expend much labor each year, but also 

 on the woody plants, especially the evergreens. The 

 Norway spruce, in particular, has suffered from these 

 causes, and it will be but a few years before all of the older 

 trees of this species have disappeared from the Garden. 

 The old red cedars arranged along the walks of the garden 

 proper, which for many years have been a striking feature 



of the Garden, are also succumbing, and it has been found 

 necessary to remove many of them during the past two 

 years, and also a considerable number of arbor vitaes. I 

 observe from the last report of the Director of the Botanic 

 Garden of Harvard University that the same loss of ever- 

 greens has been experienced there, from the same causes. 

 While it is a matter of regret to lose any well grown tree, 

 the garden and arboretum have been overcrowded because 



