8 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 
“The Missouri Botanical Garden has left the deepest impression 
on my wife and myself. I have never seen such a perfect collec- 
tion of botanical specimens anywhere else. The obvious intelli- 
gence of the care given to these flowers and plants speaks well for 
the vision of whomever founded the Garden.” [Barcelona, Spain.] 
“The beauty of arrangement and the many wonderful flowers 
found at Shaw’s Garden make it the most striking in the world.” 
{Bismarck, North Dakota.] 
The question is often asked how the Missouri Botanical 
Garden ranks in comparison with similar institutions through- 
out the world. Because of the unique character of the Gar- 
den, it being neither a part of a park system nor connected 
directly with an institution of learning, it is difficult to make 
any just comparison. Until the out-of-town garden is estab- 
lished, the area is considerably smaller than some other botani- 
cal gardens; but in its appeal to the casual visitor as well as 
to the student of plants, it possesses certain features not to 
be duplicated elsewhere. It is obviously impossible to com- 
pare a garden located in the middle west of North America 
with a similar institution to be found in the tropics, and yet 
it is only fair to say that considering the limitations imposed 
by climate as well as the restricted income (much less than 
that available for many other gardens) it is the greatest of 
its kind in the world. As was pointed out at length in my 
report for 1921, the only source of income for the Garden is 
from the estate of Mr. Shaw. With similar institutions re- 
ceiving increasing amounts each year from the city or the 
state or the nation, to which are frequently added private 
gifts of large amounts, it will easily be seen how difficult it is 
to maintain the high standard set by Mr. Shaw in competition 
with other gardens. This is further complicated by the fact 
that the Garden pays taxes on all its revenue-producing prop- 
erty and is still deprived, as it has been for the past thirty- 
five years, of any revenue from the two-hundred-foot strip 
which Mr. Shaw expected would considerably augment the 
Garden’s revenue. 
THE SCHOOL FOR GARDENING 
As definitely provided for in Mr. Shaw’s will, instruction 
is given at the Garden to regularly enrolled pupils in subjects 
calculated to give them a wide knowledge of plants. General 
floriculture and horticulture, together with such special topics 
