125 



his catalog (Fig. 14). On page four of the catalog is a description 

 of the garden, quoted from the August (1828?) number of the 

 New York Farmer and Horticultural Repository. It is there re- 

 ferred to as a " delightful spot," and as marking " an era in the 

 history of our horticulture." " We do not know," the article con- 

 tinues, " of an instance where the several departments of the gar- 

 dener's labours are combined so extensively and with such scientific 

 skill : nearly 25 acres of ground are enclosed, and the inhabitants 

 of the vicinity, and those who recollect the original site of the 

 garden, now view with astonishment, in the short space of three 

 years, one of the most stony, rugged, sterile pieces of ground on 

 the whole island, which seemed to bid defiance to the labours of 

 man, now stored with the most luxuriant fruit and blooming with 

 the most beautiful flowers." 



Figure 13 shows the location of the Parmentier garden with 

 reference to existing streets in Brooklyn.* 



It is interesting, in this connection, to note the persistence of 

 the botanic garden idea on Long Island. The pioneer institution 

 was that established by William Prince at Flushing, L. I., in 1737, 

 and given the name " Linnaean Botanic Garden " in 1793. This 

 overlapped and outlived the garden of Mr. Parmentier. The next 

 was the abortive attempt to establish the " Brooklyn Hunt Botani- 

 cal Garden," in 1855. This was followed, in 1861, by the plan 

 for a botanic garden as one of the features of Prospect Park. No 

 attempt was ever made to carry this plan into execution. Finally, 

 in 1910, the plans for establishing the present Brooklyn Botanic 

 Garden became effective. 



The history above briefly sketched explains the expressions of 

 skepticism as to the probable success of the present Garden which 

 were voiced by some of the older residents of Brooklyn during 

 the first year or two of the Garden's existence. " It will not con- 

 tinue long," the writer was told, " it has been tried several times 

 before and has always failed ! " 



C. Stuart Gager 



* We are indebted to Mr. Edwin P. Clark, of the Title Guarantee and 

 Trust Co. (Brooklyn), for the map reproduced here as figure 13. This 

 gives the exact location of the Garden, which was only approximately indi- 

 cated in the footnote at the bottom of page 116 of the Record for October, 

 1922. 



