38 
The attendance at lectures has been 2,321 adults and 18,096 
children—a total of 20,417, as against 1,828 adults, and 16,850 
children (a total of 17,678) in 1922, a gain of 15 per cent. 
The total attendance at all classes and lectures has reached the 
highwater mark of approximately 100,000 (99,259)—an approxi- 
mate increase of 27 per cent. over 1922 and 37 per cent. over 1921. 
There has been no increase in staff to help carry this large increase 
in load. 
Bureau of Information 
As a part of our work of public education the Garden main- 
tains a Bureau of Information on all phases of plant life and gar- 
dening, the care of trees in streets and lawn, care of lawns, care of 
house plants, plant diseases, identification of specimens, possible 
economic uses of plants, and other items. The number of. re- 
quests received by mail, telephone, and personal visit increases 
each year. Requests are continually being received from commer- 
cial houses, importers, manufacturers, growers, advertisers, and 
others concerning various aspects of economic and applied botany. 
Not uncommonly we are told that information we have supplied 
has been sought in vain elsewhere. 
Public Lectures and Docentry 
In addition to the large number of lectures given to special 
groups, the Botanic Garden has offered two courses of nine lec- 
tures free to the public, five in April, and four in October and 
November. The details of these courses are given in the appended 
report of the curator of public instruction. The guiding of visi- 
tors about the grounds and conservatories is an almost daily oc- 
currence throughout the year, but no statistics have been kept for 
1923. 
Lenth Anniversary of Our Work of Elementary Instruction — 
In connection with the completion of ten years of work in Ele- 
mentary Instruction Miss Shaw, who has had charge of this work 
from the beginning, and who has made it such an outstanding 
success, gave a Public Lecture on Friday afternoon, November 2, 
summarizing the work and outlining its growth. This growth is 
expressed numerically by the attendance figures of less than 
