28 
But, turning to the brighter side, it is a great pleasure briefly to 
note here the year’s blessings and gains. Chief among these are 
new friends, a deepening and more active interest of old friends, 
larger opportunities for usefulness, increasing evidence of the need 
of a botanic garden in Brooklyn, and a substantial, though not 
large, increase in our resources. 
At the March meeting of the Board of Trustees the president 
announced the appointment, as chairman of the Botanic Garden 
Governing Committee, of Mr. Frank Bailey, a member of the com- 
mittee since June, 1920. For several years Mr. Bailey’s main 
avocation has been horticulture, and for this, as well as for other 
reasons, the Garden is to be congratulated on this appointment. 
n 1921, for the first time, the Board of Trustees adopted the 
definite policy of electing women to membership on the Board; as 
a result, the Botanic Garden Governing Committee has been 
strengthened by the appointment to membership on the committee 
of Miss Hilda Loines and Mrs. Lewis W. Francis. On April 28, 
1921, Miss Loines was also elected chairman of the Woman’s 
Auxiliary. 
Public Response 
The true indication of the extent to which an institution is meet- 
ing any real public need is the response of the community to the 
opportunities it affords and the increase of this response from year 
to year. The attendance figures for the Garden are given in detail 
in the appended report of the curator of public instruction (p. 56). 
The total general attendance, based upon the records of registering 
turnstiles at the entrance gates, was nearly 405,000, as against 
12,500 last year. The total attendance of adults and children at 
classes and lectures was over 63,100, as against 54,700 in 1921, an 
increase of over 15 per cent. 
The number of requests by telephone, mail, and in person for 
information and advice on matters pertaining to various phases of 
plant life—wild flowers, gardening, care of house plants and of 
trees and shrubs, of lawns and streets—has steadily increased, and 
has now reached a point where it would be difficult to meet any 
larger demands. Our popular Leaflets continue to increase in 
popularity and in circulation. 
