MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 6 



investment for a permanent fence, and accordingly in the 

 spring of this year approximately 6000 feet of galvanized 

 steel and wire fencing, surmounted with three strands of 

 barbed wire, was erected. It also seemed desirable to add 

 three strands of barbed wire to the fence along Magnolia 

 and Alfred Avenues, and the Garden is at last enclosed in 

 a manner calculated to protect it in as adequate a way as 

 possible. 



The main entrance to the Garden was erected by Mr. Shaw 

 in 1858. While sufficient for all purposes during his lifetime, 

 this structure, with its accompanying rooms for office and 

 toilet purposes, has long been outgrown. The main axis of 

 Flora Boulevard, which was put through after the erection 

 of the gate, was some forty feet off from the center of the 

 gate atid has obviously needed correetion for years. This, 

 however, was a very minor matter compared to the inadequate 

 space for handling the large incoming and outgoing crowds 

 at the entrance and the inconvenience to which the increas- 

 ing number of visitors have been put during recent years 

 because of the lack of proper toilet facilities. When it is 

 realized that as many people visited the Garden during the 

 chrysanthemum show last year as in an entire twelve months 

 during Mr. Shaw's lifetime and for some years afterwards, 

 it is easy to appreciate the difficulties with which we have 

 had to contend. It is safe to say that for the past ten years 

 no one thing at the Garden has been so universally criticised 

 — even being the subject of newspaper editorial comment — 

 as the conditions at the main entrance, and, while the Board 

 was loath to incur the extra expense at this time, it seeined 

 as though this improvement could not be longer delayed if 

 the Garden were to continue to be kept freely open to the 

 public. Accordingly, plans were prepared which followed 

 almost exactly those of the original gate, with the exception 

 that the size of the entrance and accompanying buildings was 

 increased about two and one-half times. The old inscription 

 prepared by Mr. Shaw is to be incorporated in the new gate 

 and every effort made to preserve the same simple archi- 

 tectural features by which the original gate was characterized. 

 While, for a time at least, the contrast between the evident 

 newness of the new entrance and the old brick and iron and 

 stone gateway which had to be frequently painted will be 

 noticeable, the proper use of vines and accompanying plant- 

 ing, together with the weathering of the stone, will within 

 a comparatively short time blend this structure into its sur- 

 roundings in the same admirable way that the old gateway 



