27 
no further progress in any direction; stand still we could not— 
we must either advance or go backwards. 
Meanwhile unprecedented conditions throughout the world, ag- 
gravated by the European war, the drain upon the finances of the 
city, owing to the enormous cost of subway construction and to 
other things, all combined to postpone any action by the Board of 
Estimate and Apportionment on our request for an appropriation 
of $128,000 for the construction of two additional sections of 
the building and plant houses (leaving two for’ later construc- 
tion). The request was before that body without action for over 
one year from January 23, 1914. 
Early in April the situation and the outlook were thoroughly 
reviewed at a conference between the chairman of the Committee 
on Botanic Garden and the Director, and on April 26, 1915, the 
chairman, Mr. Alfred T. White, sent the following communica- 
tion to the City Comptroller: 
“APRIL 26, IQI5. 
Hon. Witi1AM A. PRENDERGAST, Comptroller, 
New York City 
Dear Sir: 
The Brooklyn Botanic Garden comprises about forty acres of Park 
lands adjacent, as you know, to Prospect Park. Although these grounds 
ve been owned by the City for fifty years, they have been practically 
little used by the seo of Brooklyn until the Botanic Garden was ini- 
tiated, in December , through the lease of the lands to the Brooklyn 
Institute of Arts ee Sciences for that purpose. The assessed valuation 
corporate stock for improvement of the grounds and buildings. This 
amount has been expended in doing most of the necessary grading, a part 
of the top-soiling, the construction of the most necessary walks and the 
erection of the first sections of the instruction building and plant houses. 
These sections cannot, however, be used for the purposes for which they 
were intended without the completion of the buildings. It also remains 
to complete the grading and soil improvement, the construction of a 
siderable length of fence, ee and turnstiles, some additional walks aa 
much needed propagating house 
fter reviewing careful cane of the cost of the above work, I 
believe that it can be accomplished for $200,000; and realizing the many 
directions in eas the City is being pressed for the issue of corporate 
stock, I desire to propose to the Corporate Stock Committee that if the 
City shall scat half of the sum necessary for this expenditure, say 
Pu 
