26 
tablished and would also fail to fulfill the terms of its Agree- 
ment with the City; furthermore, it would fail to measure up 
to its largest opportunities and obligations as a botanic garden— 
fail to render, in character and extent, the service to the com- 
munity, to science, and to humanity which every such institution 
ought to render. Nothing could be more disastrous to the best 
interests of the Garden than failure to recognize the vital impor- 
tance of research and our clear obligation to carry it on. 
I am pleased to submit the following brief summaries of the in- 
vestigations under way during 1923. 
The subject of the diseases of trees is particularly important for 
a municipality like New York owning thousands of acres of forest. 
The public parks of Greater New York have a total of 8,196 acres, 
of which 1,320 acres are in Brooklyn. Of 50 miles of tree-shaded 
parkways in the Greater City, 30 miles are in Brooklyn. Most of 
the drinking water of New York City falls as rain on the Ashokan 
watershed. This watershed has an area of 15,000 acres, about 
one-half of which 1s wooded. The city has planted there over two 
million trees, including more than one million pines ot several 
species. 
In view of these facts it will be recognized that no state or 
county has more reason to be vitally interested in the question of 
tree diseases than has New York City. The importance of this is 
further emphasized when we recall that, since the chestnut tree 
disease was first discovered in 1904 in the New York Zoological 
Park, the City has lost tens of thousands of trees having a mone- 
tary value of several million dollars. In Brooklyn alone as many 
as 17,000 chestnut trees have been destroyed by this disease, and 
it is now no longer possible to grow chestnut trees in the City 
parks. 
Many of the million or more pines planted at great expense on 
the Ashokan watershed are threatened with death from the white 
pine blister rust disease now rapidly spreading throughout the 
eastern United States. 
ity has not only a financial and selfish interest in this 
can but should also recognize some obligation to the country 
at large. If the nature of the chestnut tree disease and its control 
