64 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 
are ideal in every way. These are 18 inches deep, having one 
foot of 2-inch rock, four inches of %-inch rock and two 
inches of screenings. Each layer was thoroughly rolled and 
subsequent rain and use have made them smooth and hard. 
These walks, in most cases, do not cover the same route as the 
old ones, which, with a number of the smaller walks, have 
been dug out and filled with soil. The major portion of the — 
new walks are twelve feet wide, a few of the shorter connect- 
ing walks being eight feet in width. Beginning at the Flora 
Boulevard gate the main walk runs south to the Victory statue, 
thence west just north of the grove and again north in front 
of the new conservatories, turning east between the Linnean 
house and the old range and finally south to the main gate. 
In course of time this system of walks will be extended to con- 
nect all the important parts of the Garden. 
Formal Gardens——The area to be devoted to the formal 
gardens, while not less than in former years, will be concen- 
trated near the conservatories. It will consist of two parts, 
one in front and one in the rear of the new greenhouses. The 
former, now being installed, occupies almost the same ground 
as the old parterre, or sunken garden, and is intended primar- 
ily as a water garden for the growing of lilies and other 
aquatic plants. The long axis of this garden lies east and 
west and its outline is rectangular. The corners of the pool 
are indicated by four large American hollies that formerly 
stood around the old observatory to the south. Just out- 
side the walks, surrounding the water garden, are four large 
ginkgo, or maiden-hair trees, which were planted here this 
spring to increase the effectiveness of the formal design. At 
the ends of the pool a semicircular walk connects,on the one 
hand, the main gate and on the other the steps to the new 
conservatories. On each side of the pool, walks lead down to 
the edge of the water garden and furnish vantage points for 
the closer inspection of the water-lilies. The areas between 
the banks of the pool and the surrounding walks will be the 
only ones in the main garden this summer planted with 
formal designs of bedding plants. Reference to the accom- 
panying plan will make all of these details clear. 
Behind the main range and flanked by the two wings of the 
new conservatories will be located an elaborate formal garden, 
Italian in its general effect. Three exits from the new con- 
servatories lead down into this garden, and since all are ele- 
vated the effect produced by any plantations here will be more 
striking than in the old parterre, where only moderate ele- 
