20 
years it has been won by P. S. No. 98, but this year P. S. No. 89 
carried off the first prize, P. S. No. 98 taking second. 
ELLEN Eppy SHAw. 
PROSPECTS FOR A NEW NATIONAL BOTANIC 
At the request of the chairman of the Committee on the 
Library, House of Representatives, in charge of the so-called 
botanic garden in Washington, the Commission on Fine Arts has 
prepared a report on desirable sites for a United States Botanic 
Garden in the District of Columbia. From this report we learn 
that the area now occupied by the botanic garden was granted in 
1820 to the Columbian Institution for the Promotion of Arts and 
Sciences, before any attempt had been made to develop the Mall 
as a park connection between the Capitol and the White House, 
as was originally intended. It is now the intention to restore 
this area to the uses first contemplated, and by act of Congress 
the memorial to Gen. Grant has been located there, thus forcing 
the garden out. That the Commission fully recognizes the need 
of a real botanic garden is evident from the following quotations 
from the Report (Congressional Record 58: 4495-4498. Aug. 23, 
LOLG)< 
“When comparison is made with the gardens of other cities 
and countries, the fact is disclosed that the United States Govern- 
ment has no real botanic garden in Washington. The present 
so-called Botanic Garden does not compare favorably even with 
gardens established in other cities in this country. The name is 
a misnomer. A national botanic garden in Washington was con- 
ceived in the early days of the century by broad-minded and far- 
seeing men. It was begun by the employment of Government 
vessels and a large appropriation for those days. The work was 
handled by a body of scientists. This garden, so wisely and ade- 
quately begun, now serves mainly as a distributor of plants and 
flowers. 
“The present area of the entire establishment devoted to both 
Botanic Garden display and propagating purposes for congres- 
