+ MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 
During the summer plots of farm crops of all sorts were 
shown, as well as collections of flowering plants, vines, etc. 
This garden as a whole is now taking on a finished appear- 
ance and is proving extremely valuable as a demonstration 
of what may be grown in the vicinity of St. Louis. 
Many improvements have been made in other parts of the 
Garden, the two most notable being the construction of a 
house for the engineer and the building of a pit for the stor- 
age of coal. The engineer’s house, completed in November, 
is a six-room brick structure, with all modern conveniences. 
A great amount of filling was necessary to bring this site up 
to grade, but the house, while facing Shaw Avenue at the 
west end of the stone wall, is very near to the boiler house, 
thus adding both to the convenience of the engineer and 
safety of the Garden. A new water connection was brought 
in from Shaw Avenue to supply this house, as well as to 
provide much-needed additional water for the propagating 
houses. A storage pit with a capacity of 25 to 30 cars of 
coal has been practically completed during the year. The 
construction of this pit has been a slow process, since it is 
all of reinforced concrete and was built in sections. 
Much time has been devoted to the building of new walks 
where they seemed desirable. The main conservatories have 
been painted both outside and inside, and the stone wall on 
Shaw Avenue has been pointed. In the fern house a new 
concrete bridge with porous rock trim has been built, re- 
placing the rustic bridge, which had become unsafe. The 
interiors of the new shops and other service buildings have 
been completed, involving the construction of benches, lock- 
se racks, and necessary fittings in paint and glass storage 
ouses. 
Articles in the February, April, and May BULLETINS on 
back-yard gardens and window boxes, vegetable gardens, 
canning, drying, and storage of vegetables, created an un- 
precedented demand for these numbers. Over 40,000 copies 
of the February number alone have been reprinted and 
distributed by the St. Louis Art League and the National 
Clean-Up Association, while articles from the April and May 
issues were widely pes et by other publications throughout 
the country. In addition to this means of assisting the 
public, members of the staff and the garden pupils devoted 
much time, during the summer, to superintending school 
vegetable peiees and those promoted by the Food Con- 
servation Committee, as well as answering many calls for 
information along these lines, by mail and telephone. 
Opportunity was given early in the spring to employes of 
the Garden to raise vegetables for their personal use on plots 
*, 
