ment was prepared and adopted by the Board, and the first 
Botanic Garden committee* appointed. 
Little progress was made toward establishing the garden and 
arboretum for several years. At a meeting of the Board of Trus- 
tees of the Institute, held in June, 1905, a communication was 
received from Mr. Alfred T. White stating that some friends of 
the Institute had authorized him to offer to it the sum of $25,000, 
to be used in equipping a scientific botanic garden, whose primary 
purpose should be the teaching of botany to students in the public 
and private schools in the city and to the general public, provided 
such a garden be established on the grounds adjacent to the Mu- 
— 
seum. 
This was the final impetus for the establishment of the Garden. 
A bill, introduced in the State Legislature, authorizing the City 
to establish and maintain a garden and arboretum in Institute 
Park, was approved by the New York State Legislature and 
signed by the Governor on May 24, 1906. 
On December 28, 1906, the first offer made by Mr. White was 
changed to a subscription of $50,000, made under the same con- 
ditions, and in the spring of 1907 a form of agreement between 
the City and the Institute was prepared, and approved by the 
Board of Park Commissioners of the City of New York in Decem- 
ber. Finally, on June 24, 1909, it was approved by the Board of 
Estimate and Apportionment, and a contract was entered into be- 
tween the City and the Institute on December 28, 1909, thus com- 
pleting the necessary legal steps for the establishment of the 
Garden. 
Of the many men who sponsored the movement for the estab- 
lishment of a botanic garden in Brooklyn, chief credit must be 
given to Professor Franklin W. Hooper and Mr. Alfred T. White. 
The conception of a botanic garden was due to Professor Hooper, 
and it was as the result of his energy and enthusiasm, supported 
by the government and influential citizens of the City, that legis- 
lation was obtained, setting these lands apart for use as a botanic 
garden. The idea of having the Garden administered by the Trus- 
tees of the Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences was Mr. 
White’s, and it was he who secured the initial endowment of 
$50,000, required by the City as a condition of entering into a 
oo arrangement with the Institute for its establishment. 
* Low Palmer, Eugene G. Blackford, Col. Robert B. Woodward, 
Julian < Sees aa Horace J. Mor 
