THE BROOKLYN INSTITUTE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES 
BROOKLYN BOTANIC GARDEN 
RECORD 
October, 1915 No. 4 
THE BALLOT FOR NAMES FOR THE EXTERIOR OF 
THE LABORATORY BUILDING, BROOKLYN 
BOTANIC GARDEN 
The erection at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden of a building, to 
be devoted entirely to botanical work, offers an excellent oppor- 
tunity to give recognition to those whose devotion to the scientific 
study of plants laid the foundations of one of the most useful 
and important of modern sciences. Plans for the building, there- 
fore, have been made to include two sets of tablets, one set on 
the frieze and one under the main windows of the building, bear- 
ing the names of the founders of botany. 
The question at once arose as to how these names were to be 
chosen. Any botanist, of course, familiar with the literature and 
history of his science, could choose a list of names, great in his 
estimation and entitled to the proposed honor. Owing, however, 
to the high degree of specialization nowadays in all branches of 
science, few if any men would be likely to be thoroughly familiar 
with the work and comparative merit of those whose labors had 
been chiefly outside of their own immediate interests. 
The most satisfactory plan that suggested itself was to have 
the names chosen by a vote of botanists of the United States. 
As a first step in carrying out this plan, a list of names of 113 
botanists not now living was prepared and sent with a circular 
letter to twenty-eight contemporary botanists arbitrarily chosen, 
but with regard for geographical distribution and for securing 
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