51 
site of the proposed laboratory building was brought in. Some 
of the area was sodded, but the larger part was seeded down. 
I had previously prepared a check list of all the plants grow- 
ing wild within 100 miles of Srooktyn which could be cultivated, 
and this served as the basis for work done in the way of bed 
arrangement and contents. For such plants as are of somewhat 
indifferent habitat-preference, 34 beds were made, arranged 
along both sides of the valley, with a grass aisle between. This 
arrangement has proved very effective and leaves considerable 
room for the enlargement of the collection later on. Much valu- 
able help was received from ‘Mr. H. A. Caparn, landscape archi- 
tect, in the arrangement of these beds. 
Many of our wild plants will not grow in ordinary garden 
soil nor in the open sunlight. For these a temporary planting 
was installed under the shade of the shrub screen along the 
Flatbush Avenue side of the grounds. A special mixture of leaf 
mould and rotted sods was prepared, and the result has justified 
the cultivation of these interesting woodland plants on a larger 
scale in 1912. Work has already been started on the construc- 
tion of a winding shady aisle along the top of the border mound, 
which, when completed, will serve as a congenial “home for 
masses of these native woodland plants, many of them rare and 
difficult of cultivation. Such plants as Wake-Robin (Trillium), 
Golden-Seal (Hydrastis), Cohosh (Cauwlophyllwm), May-apple 
(Podophyllum), many of the Lady’s-slippers, and scores ot 
others, will thrive only under such conditions as it is planned 
to create along this shady walk. 
Still others of our native plants grow only in bogs, and tor 
these an artificial bog of concrete was constructed. It is of 
irregular shape, about 43 feet long and from 5-9 feet wide. 
About 50 species were grown in this during the year, but the bog 
was not entirely satisfactory, as it leaked during the season, 
thus leaching out some of the soil acids essential to the proper 
cultivation of bog plants. At the end of the season it was 
cleaned out, preparatory to its being made water-tight. 
The area along the northern edge of this Section consisted 
originally of a rough tract, sloping upward to an unsightly em- 
bankment. ‘The embankment was pulled down into the valley 
and a more pleasing slope made. ‘This was done by the firm of 
