GARDENERS' CHRONICLE 



OF AMERICA 



THE OFFICIAL ORGAN OF 

 THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF GARDENERS 



Devoted to the Scienc-^; of I loriciiltme and Horticulture. 



THE AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF PARK SUPERINTENDENTS. 



D-n'oU-d to Park Dcveloinn.L-nt an! Rf rtatioual Tacilities. 



Vol. XVIII. 



OCTOBER, 1914. 



No. 6. 



The United States Botanic Gardens, Washington, D.C. ^^'««^ 



The old Botanic (iardens. nestling at the foot of the 

 Capitol of the United States, the pride of the late Will- 

 iam R. Smith, the first superintendent, and which may 

 soon be given acreage in beautiful Rock Creek Park, for 

 there is a strong movement in Congress to bring this 

 about, were conceived by George Washington and are all 

 that remains of a grand scheme of a national college and a 

 national church. It was he who selected the site which 

 they now occupy, and this in face of the stubborn oppo- 

 sition of one David Burns, who wanted this part of the 

 city for himself. In 1822, a botanical society was formed 

 and some planting was done on the dryer portions of the 

 reservation. This society published what is now a very 

 rare book, entitled Prodomus Columbiana, in which was 

 contained a list of the plants in the District of Columbia. 



To this collection, John D. llreckinridge, one of the 

 foremost botanists of his time, added large quantities of 

 interesting material. In 1(S5C Congress made an appro- 

 priation for the building oi a conservatory and at about 

 this time the plants that had been collected by the Wilkes 

 Expedition, on a trip around the world, which had here- 

 tofore been placed in a greenhouse in the Patent Office 

 Square, were placed within the gardens. Air. Breckin- 

 ridge was employed to look after the gardens and with 

 him was associated Dr. Asa Gray, an expert botanist. 

 Lack of funds stunted the gruwth of the gardens, fur dur- 



ing the }ears from IS.^l to 18,^4 all exiienditures were paid 

 from the funds accredited to the Wilkes Expedition. For 

 a number of years previous to this time influence was 

 brought to bear on Congress to properly appropriate 

 moneys for the gardens, and it was mainly through the 

 efforts of the late Hon. James Alfred Pearce, then chair- 

 man of the Joint Library Committee of Congress, that the 

 national body in 1835 enacted legislation "For the support 

 of the public greenhouses, including the pav of horticul- 

 turist and assistants THERE THOUSA.X D DOLLARS." 

 Cireat credit indeed must be given to Mr. Pearce, for the 

 Library of Congress, including the Botanic Gardens, the 

 Smithsonian Institution, the Coast and Geodetic Survey, 

 and our exploring and scientific expeditions, all experi- 

 enced his fostering care and found in him an advocate 

 and a friend. 



It was during these troublous times of the garden's life 

 that the late \\'illiam R. Smith began his great work, for 

 it wa^ in the year 1853 that he assumed the title of super- 

 intendent. At that time, at the best, the gardens were 

 for the most part a miserable ague-breeding swamp, the 

 filling in of which required some 500,000 yards of ma- 

 terial for the first operations. The work was necessarily 

 slow, but the results have proven themselves well worthy 

 of the labor. 



The efforts of Mr. Smith are well known to everv stu- 



EXOTIC BED, U. S. BOTANIC HARDENS, CONTAINING MANY. VARIETIES OF ECONOMIC AND ORNAMENTAL PLANTS BROUGHT 



FROM ALL PARTS OF THE WORLD. 



