89 
3. An addition to the Laboratory Building. ‘he Garden has 
now quite outgrown the accommodations of this building which 
it was thought in 1910 would be adequate for all time. The 
library shelves are full to capacity, including the temporary 
wooden shelving that had to be provided in 1941; the herbarium 
has already expanded to the capacity of the two herbarium 
rooms: similar statements may be made with reference to the 
photographing room and the room for the storage and servicing 
of lantern slides and negatives. It is at times difficult to find 
room for visiting classes. The room for preparing each year 
more than 1,000,000 packets of seeds for school children is now 
wholly inadequate. A small auditorium, seating about 200 to 
250 persons, is a need that is constantly felt. 
The ground plan of the proposed extension of the building to 
the Washington Avenue street line, prepared by the architects 
of the original building, McKim, Mead and White, is shown in 
figure 4. The estimated cost for this addition, as of May, 1939, 
was approximately $200,000. 
— 
Personnel and Afaintenance 
The need for more gardeners would hardly seem to require 
elaboration after all that has been said in these reports for the 
past several years. While the plantations have grown steadily 
and the grounds have each year become more and more inten- 
sively cultivated, we have only the same number of men that 
we had twelve years ago—9 on the monthly payroll and 14 per 
diem men, a total of 23 men to care for some 50 acres of intensively 
planted gardens, with public conservatories, propagating houses, 
and nursery. ‘This is less than two men per acre. 
Better compensation for per diem men.—It is difficult to write 
of this with proper restraint. An injustice to these men is of 
long standing. For many years they have received less than 
the minimum per diem compensation in the Park Department 
and other regular City departments. 
Retiring allowances.—It is now nearly fifteen years since a 
plan which, at that time, could have been easily financed was 
presented to the Governing Committee by the director but never 
approved. A plan for retiring allowances in scientific and 
