ARBORETA AND BOTANICAL GARDENS 549 



that we have to prove the presence of air pollution may be found at the 

 botanical gardens situated in such conditions. As we gather our evidence and 

 the force of the pubHc's opinion gathers weight, air pollution will become 

 as bad an offense as polluting water and milk. Measures have been taken, can 

 be taken, and will be taken to clean it up — the botanical garden can help a 

 great deal by assisting our authorities in proving the damage caused to plants 

 grown in the presence of polluted air and by further publicizing specific 

 damage to specific plants to the gardening public. 



Many gardens suffer the constant pressure of encroaching civilization and 

 the march of the bulldozer preceding highways, subdivisions, and what not. 

 The encroachment of civilization on the privacy and serenity of the botanical 

 garden is one of our most serious problems. We all realize that we cannot 

 prevent the advance of civilization— but by the same token there is no excuse 

 for the planner to point his finger at the botanic garden with an "it's got to 

 go" attitude. Public opinion is the best tool by which this attitude might give 

 way to fair consideration. There is no way in which the valued specimens of 

 many a threatened garden can be replaced, except by bodily moving many of 

 the time-honored specimens to a new location. I'm sure that were the public 

 authorities forced to dig up the funds for such operations, they too would look 

 upon the value of a botanic garden or arboretum in a much different light. 

 Arboreta and botanical gardens, in summary, are contributing their share 

 to human welfare: 



1. They are the basic source of plants and information about plants for 

 that vast army of Americans who have made home gardening their No. 1 

 hobby. 



2. They are the basic source of new information concerning plants which 

 seeps into every level of education concerning the hundreds of thousands 

 of plants known to science. 



3. They serve as training grounds for our future plant scientists and 

 gardeners. 



4. More than a serene site of relaxation for "tired businessmen," they can 

 always add to the facilities available for passive, educational, cultural, and 

 meditative recreation. 



5. It is to be observed that the trend of most of our park departments in 

 this country is to make playgrounds out of more of our parks. The average 

 person who formerly took a walk in a park because of the beautiful trees and 

 other plants must now fear being hit by a baseball, run down by a charging 

 herd of humanity, or finding some man-made structure where formerly stood 

 a majestic tree. Our botanical gardens and arboreta must, in addition, serve 

 a purpose for which much of the city park was originally designed. 



