13 
only valid justification for celebrating the progress of an institu- 
tion from epoch to epoch. Not in a spirit of boastfulness or self- 
congratulation, not to bask in the plaudits of others, not to em- 
phasize what has been done, but what is being done; to call attention 
to the undertaking as one of prime importance to the community, 
and to the progress of civilization, and worthy of generous support ; 
to multiply friends and supporters. If the exercises in celebration 
of the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Garden have not accom- 
plished these results, they have failed of their purpose. However, 
we have every assurance to the contrary. 
WuatT THE City Is DoING FoR THE GARDEN 
How the Botanic Garden is supported, and what the relation is 
between the Garden and the City are two of the questions still 
It may not seem amiss, there- 
frequently asked about the Garden. 
to make a brief 
fore, at the close of our first quarter century, 
statement in reply to these questions, summarizing the nature and 
extent of the cooperation between the City and the Garden. 
The Municipal Government of New York City has a remark- 
able and almost unique record to its credit in the cooperation it 
has extended for more than sixty years to private boards of 
trustees of its citizens in the establishment and maintenance of its 
science and art museums, its zoological park, its aquarium, and its 
two botanic gardens. It is probable that no city in the world has 
ever been more generous or broad-minded than New York in the 
support of such institutions, which supplement and enrich the 
work of its public schools and municipal colleges, promote the 
general intelligence of its citizens, and make substantial contribu- 
tions to the advancement of science, art, and culture. And not 
only within and for the City. The institutions just mentioned are 
among the largest factors that make the City of Greater New York 
an educational and cultural center whose influence is felt, not only 
throughout the State and Nation, but throughout the civilized 
world. 
For the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, as for the other and older 
institutions, the city provides the site, makes contributions to the 
cost of the necessary buildings, retains ownership of the plant, 
and exempts the entire property from taxation. 
