548 SEIBERT 



security now than ever before. It would appear that where there is a will 

 there is a way^ — if the proper way is used for the particular community in 

 which the institution is located. The financial rejuvenation of a few arboreta 

 and botanical gardens, both public and private, in widely separated sections 

 of the country leads me to believe that in general the public approves of more 

 and better public gardens, and therefore the positive approach must be as- 

 sumed and refinancing must be faced, otherwise we must lose enthusiasm and 

 ambition on the part of the younger generation to work toward botanical-gar- 

 den careers. Just because a man or woman wishes to work in some capacity in a 

 botanical garden is no reason to assume that he or she should not receive a 

 salary comparable to "industry." Low and out-of-line salaries in this day 

 and age only force the interested and qualified into second-choice better- 

 paying fields of botanical sciences or completely away from plants entirely. 

 The administrators of some of our gardens, facing economic ruin, must seek 

 means of support which may sacrifice the appearance of their garden. The 

 appearance of the arboretum or botanical garden and the quality of its plants 

 and plantings must be kept first and foremost in the eyes of the administrators, 

 employees, and the public just as the quality of food and appearance of the 

 restaurant must be maintained at your favorite "eatery." Without that the 

 first requirement for public and private support is lost. 



Many of our public gardens, formerly surrounded by beautiful countryside 

 or fine residential sections, now find themselves in the middle of the poorer 

 section of town, off the beaten track, or in a pall of industrially polluted air 

 so bad that only certain human beings continue to live there. Regardless 

 of the location of any garden — if it is worthwhile seeing, people will come to 

 see it. An arboretum or garden should be considered a permanent part of the 

 community. Its surroundings will change from good to bad and perhaps even- 

 tually to good again. I think that a recent enlightening experience is worth 

 relating. On the island of Jamaica there exists a small but charming garden 

 called the Bath Botanical Garden in the town of Bath near the southeastern 

 corner of the island. This botanical garden, the first on the island, was started 

 in 1779. It is located in the center of a small crowded settlement of poor people 

 and poorly maintained houses — yet, through the turmoil of life, events, 

 generations, battle, hurricane, earthquake, and flood this garden shines out as 

 a splendid example of the love, appreciation, and value of a botanic garden. 

 Here, off the beaten track, in poor surroundings, and mellowed with age, it 

 is clean, beautiful, and respected by the residents as a shining example for 

 all botanic gardens. Furthermore, one sees the ornamental plants originally 

 introduced to Jamaica through this garden being used around the homes of 

 this community. The unattractive hovel has become a charming "native" hut 

 through the use of attractive ornamentals. 



Industrial and civic air pollution is a phase we are going through in rapidly 

 growing industrial and population centers. Some of the best factual evidence 



