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acres. Pittsburgh and some other cities have botanic gardens in 
connection with their park system. 
“The problem is only half solved when provision is made for 
flowers for Members of Congress and for the present limited 
output of shrubs and cuttings. There is a demand for a real 
botanic garden, in which the public may examine living specimens 
of the enormous varieties of trees, shrubs, vines, and herbaceous 
plants native to this locality or capable of being grown here, 
freely, out of doors. These plants should be classified, and the 
public should be made free of the grounds for recreation and 
study. The people not only get direct enjoyment, but also they 
benefit by reason of the help in making selection of trees, shrubs, 
and other plants for home grounds and for street planting.” 
After an exhaustive search, including questions of soil, ex- 
posure, topography, and transportation, the Commission decided 
that a tract of land between the Bladensburg Road and the Ana- 
costia River was the most suitable. A report by the Agricultural 
Department indicated 32 different soils and a large variety of 
native trees and shrubs. The Geological Survey reported on the 
geology of the situation and it seemed to be the opinion of the 
experts in these two Departments that this was an ideal situation. 
The Government would acquire by the purchase of this tract the 
second highest elevation in the District, on a car line, two miles 
from the Capitol Building, and contiguous to the Anacostia Flats 
Reclamation project, a project authorized by Congress and now 
in process of development into a land and water park. The 400 
acres acquired in the Mount Hamilton tract, added to that avail- 
able in the Anacostia movement, would make a Botanic Garden, 
including land and water areas, of about 1,600 acres, with eleva- 
tion from water level to 260 feet, and with a frontage on the 
Anacostia River of about 9,000 feet. 
The tract is on the main highway between Baltimore and 
Washington, and with little difficulty, the Lincoln Highway could 
be brought along the shores of the Anacostia Park and thence 
by way of Maryland Avenue to the Capitol building, affording an 
entrance to Washington, as the report states, of unequalled beauty. 
—"y 
