BROOKLYN BOTANIC GARDEN RECORD 
VOL. XXVII JULY, 1938 No. 3 
BOTANIC GARDENS OF THE WORLD 
MATERIALS FOR A HISTORY 
PREEBACE 1@ FIRST EDITION 
Several years ago the writer began to collect data concerning 
the history, organization, and work of the botanic gardens of the 
world. A blank questionnaire was sent to all gardens of record. 
Some of these were returned with full answers to all the ques- 
tions, others were given only meagre replies, and still others were 
never returned. This accounts in large part for the fact that 
the data are much fuller for some gardens than for others. 
Pressure of administrative duties makes it increasingly unlikely 
that time can be found in the very near future to make the record 
fuller and more accurate, and so it is offered as it is because of 
knowledge of increasing need of such data in the botanical world. 
Botanic gardens fall roughly in one of two categories—those 
that are themselves institutions, and those that are only planted 
areas, literally “ gardens,” serving as adjuncts to university de- 
partments of botany or other institutions. Both kinds are here 
included, but the following types of living plant collections, even 
though some of them may be loosely designated as “ botanic 
gardens,” are not included: Nature preserves or “ Wild flower 
sanctuaries,” Memorial groves, Public parks where the trees are 
labelled, Flower gardens in public parks, Private collections of 
trees and shrubs (with a few exceptions where these collections 
are open to the public). For the most part this is a list of insti- 
tutions, or of gardens organized primarily for botanical research 
or instruction or both. 
The choice of “ botanic” vs. “ botanical” appears to be purely 
arbitrary, with no distinction in meaning. The use of the plural, 
Copyright, 1938, by Brooklyn Botanic Garden 
