MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 61 



"Men who have studied such matters tell us that sufficient 

 records have been found to prove the existence of some six or 

 eight great civilizations prior to the one in which we are now 

 living. They tell us further that each of these great civiliza- 

 tions was preceded and followed by periods of darkness ; that 

 they went through certain fairly well-revealed stages, the last 

 being the period of wealth. They tell us that as the period of 

 wealth develops there comes the fevered pursuit of artificial 

 pleasures, the rush to the cities, the desertion of the open coun- 

 try, and the consequent breaking down of character and the 

 lapse once more into the period of darkness ami despair. 



"If this, which we like to think of as the most advanced of 

 all civilizations, is to escape the fate of those that have long 

 since been sifted over by the sands of oblivion, we must profit 

 by the experience of those who have gone before. We must 

 keep our people close to Nature and to Nature's God ; for in no 

 other way can we implant in the young those great principles 

 which make for clear thinking and right living, without which 

 an enduring civilization is not possible. In such a task beauty 

 spots like this are invaluable aids. 



"Rich is the city which has at its door such a place for in- 

 spiration and study freely open to young and old, rich and 

 poor, great and small ; freely open to all who will come. And 

 rich is a city and a nation which produces citizens who are 

 willing to give of their time and their money to perpetuate in- 

 stitutions such as this." 



At the conclusion of this address, luncheon was served to 

 about three hundred specially invited guests. 



Music was furnished, both before the opening of the cere- 

 mony at the gate and during the luncheon, by Noel Poepping's 

 orchestra. 



HARDY EXOTIC PLANTS SUITABLE FOR THE OAR- 

 DENS OF MISSOURI AND ADJOINING STATES 



(Continued from April Bulletin) 

 IV. SHRUBS WITH INCONSPICUOUS FI OWERS 



Botanical name Common name . ff , , ' Habitat 



Acanthopanax 



pcntaphi/Uu.s Five-leaved aralia 3-6' Japan 



Alnus viridis Green alder 4-6' Northern 



hemisphere 



Bcrberis cmargiyiata. .Barberry 2-3' Europe 



Bcrberis ilicifolia Holly-leaved barberry 3-5' South America 



Bcrberis Thunbergii. .Thunberg's barberry 3-6' Japan 



Corylus Avellana European hazel 6-8' Europe, Asia 



