27 
Support of Science and Education in Brooklyn 
Surely a community of such relative and absolute resources 
should be the most favorable environment imaginable for institu- 
tions whose object is to promote the educational and cultural 
welfare of the community. It is stimulating and inspiring to draw 
such comparisons as those quoted above in the realms of business 
and commerce. It is illuminating to draw similar comparisons 
- with reference to the support of science and education. The 
writer has made such comparisons. ‘This is not the place to re- 
port the results. The question is one, however, concerning which 
any Chamber of Commerce, and every citizen may well feel deep 
concern. Many industries have deliberately chosen to locate in 
a given city because of its generous park spaces and provision for 
the health and recreation of their employees; cities have been re- 
jected as sites because of their lack of such advantages. In other 
words, industry does recognize other than financial needs—the 
importance of factors not immediately concerned with the conduct 
of a business. 
Many individuals have chosen their city of residence, not be- 
cause of its bigness, or the mileage of its paved streets, or the 
bulk of its commerce, but because of the educational and cultural 
advantages it afforded. 
t may not be practicable for Brooklyn to have the biggest 
botanic garden in the world, but the facts given above clearly in- 
dicate that there is no reason why it should not have one of the 
best, so far as quality can be secured by adequate financing. 
Prosperity and Botany 
Few people realize the debt of industry and commerce to bot- 
any, and even to botanic gardens. For example, the extent to 
which Brooklyn (like every city) is profiting each year from the 
rich variety of first class fruits and vegetables on sale in its mar- 
kets, at prices within reach of all, places it under very definite 
indebtedness to botanical research. ‘These products are the result 
of botanical exploration, plant breeding, plant pathology, and 
other departments of botanical science. 
According to the United States Census for 1927 (the latest 
figures available), the value of bread and other bakery products 
3 
