42 



that additional provision would be made for the establishment of 

 this new department in perpetuity, and on a scale commensurate 

 with its scientific and economic importance. 



Improvements and Replacements. — Perhaps the most urgent 



B 4 



i^eplacement needed is a new^ unclimbable fence to enclose the 

 entire garden. Attention was first called to this need some three 



L 



years ago, but the City authorities have not yet granted our an- 

 nual requests for an appropriation for this purpose. Three flights 

 of wooden steps and two wooden bridges, built six years ago 

 (1914) as temporary structures, have become both unsightly and 

 unsafe and should be replaced at once. The conservatory plaza, 

 with lily pools, brought to its present stage of development by a 

 gift of private funds, should be completed, as should also the ad- 

 jacent area in front of the laboratory building. Plans have been 

 tentatively approved for a rose garden adjacent to the esplanade 

 on the west, and it is desirable to construct this garden as soon as 

 funds can be secured. Its aesthetic and educational value, and its 

 effect on attendance will be comparable to that of the Japanese 

 garden in 191 5, the rock garden in 191 6, and the iris garden in 



The need of additional land outside the present boundaries of 

 the Garden, but easily accessible for a nursery and experimental 

 plot, has been noted in several preceding reports, but has not yet 

 been met. It will not be long before the lack of such a plot will 

 greatly impede our research work and restrict the development 



and maintenance of our plantations. 



Sabbatical Year and Pensions. — The desirability of providing 

 for retiring allowances for all, and a sabbatical year for curators, 

 mentioned several times in preceding reports, is here reiterated. 

 During the year figures have been subniitted to the Committee by 

 the director, showing the cost of a contributory plan of retiring 

 allowances. 



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Acknowledgments 



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A list of gifts and donors is given in Appendix i (pp. 68-71). 

 These gifts have all been reported to the Botanic Garden Gov- 

 erning Committee during the year, and have been received with 

 the thanks of the Committee. It is a pleasure to record here, 



t 



