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20 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN. 
in time to receive very little attention, so that much recon- 
structive work must be done to put them in proper condi- 
tion for even casual inspection. Reference has already been 
made to draining and subsoiling about one-fourth of the 
Fruticetum, which will be planted as a nursery. It is 
proposed in due time to improve the remainder of this tract, 
and the vegetable garden, in the same manner, and with 
this work will come a gradual renovation of the neglected 
walks, fences and trellises, so that those parts of the Garden 
which are closed to the public will be as neatly cared for 
ultimately as those that are open; but this is obviously of 
less immediate importance than bringing the latter into 
proper condition. 
While it is open to the public, the Arboretum likewise 
has received in the past less care than the Garden proper, 
and, as it is entirely undrained and much too closely planted, 
it has for some years been rendered unsightly by the ac- 
cumulation of dead and dying trees and branches which have 
increased more rapidly than they could be removed. Dur- 
ing the last winter men were constantly employed in the 
removal of this dead wood, and this work has been continued 
the present season, so that it is now nearly completed. 
The planting of this inclosure, as I have stated, is altogether 
too crowded for the good of the trees, and, being in straight 
rows, renders the production of good landscape effects diffi- 
cult. But as time goes on, a proper system of drainage 
will render many of the trees more thrifty; and by the re- 
moval of trees at suitable points the others will be given a 
better opportunity for development, and the landscape 
effect considerably improved. It is not proposed, however, 
nor was it ever Mr. Shaw’s intention, to give the Arboretum 
the polished appearance of an English garden; and a con- 
siderable amount of wildness and seeming neglect will 
probably always be maintained here, as refreshing to Visi- 
tors who have walked through the Garden and wish to get 
into the woods, and asa means of preserving in their natural 
surroundings some few of the wild flowers of the region. 
