24 



Before the first section of our building was ready for occupancy 

 (September 24, 1913) courses of instruction, under Botanic Gar- 

 den auspices, were begun by the director on October 15, 1910. 

 The classes met in the science room of the Brooklyn Institute, in 

 the Academy of Music building. This work was continued in the 

 spring of 1911. In the meantime requests from teachers for in- 

 formation, study material, and docentry'^ service began to increase 

 in such a way as to leave no room for doubt that the Botanic 

 Garden was a nnich needed institution in Brooklyn, and was begin- 

 ' ning to meet an important educational want, not otherwise pro- 

 vided for. In November, 191 2, a botanical seminar was started 

 for teachers and others for the discussion of questions of botan- 

 ical science and education, and the response of high-school teach- 



hcld 



the 



ers was very encouraging. These meetnigs were ncia ni 

 Brooklyn Museum through the courtesy of the then director, Dr. 



F 



F. A. Lucas. 



On account of grading, initial planting, and other operations, 



the grounds were closed to the public until May 13, 191 1, the 

 . 204th anniversary (old style) of the birth of the father of mod- 

 ern systematic botany, Linnaeus. ^ ' 



The first course of instruction offered to adults in the new 

 building was on Indoor Plant Culture, in October, 1913. Forty- 

 .slx persons registered for the course. During the same month 

 the first high school classes came to the Garden for instruction, 



J 



Instruc- 



tion of children in the new building began in December, 1913. 

 The children's gardens were opened in ]\Iay, 1914, on the site 

 now occupied by the laboratory building. The first Prospectus of 

 lectures, courses of instruction, and other educational opportuni- 



J 



1914. The educational work of 



the Garden in cooperation with the public schools is, therefore, 



only seven years old. 



Numerical Results, (a) Attendance. — AVhat are the numerical 



results of the first ten years? First, the general attendance has 



,000 



509 



normal conditions incident to the war. The grand total for the 

 ten years is over 2,043,800. The total attendance at classes and 



