77 
Boulevard, the area was used as a dump ground by the Park De- 
partment where, almost daily, bonfires of rubbish were burning. 
The question of how best to utilize this not too attractive ex- 
panse of unimproved park land was, of course, uppermost in his 
mind. As he viewed the situation and drew upon his background 
and experience, he envisaged plantations containing trees, shrubs, 
and herbs of botanical interest, and groupings of horticultural 
varieties illustrating the progress in their development, as well as 
their utilization in beautifying the grounds. Interwoven with 
these plans was the idea of popular education in the field of botany 
and horticulture for the people of Brooklyn, and the need for 
contributions in botanical research fitting to an institution such 
as he wished to create. 
Most fortunate was the young Director of the Garden to have 
associated with him Mr. Alfred T. White, Chairman of the Botanic 
Garden Committee. On the one hand, the technical knowledge, 
training and experience in botanical science of the younger man, 
on the other, the generosity, interest, and kindly understanding of 
the older man, combined with the vision, enthusiasm, and ability 
of both, laid a perfect foundation for the harmonious building of 
an Institution—‘All that we have done at the Brooklyn Botanic 
Garden either could not have been done at all, or could not have 
been done so promptly and efficiently save, not only for the mate- 
rial contributions, but for the time and thought and sympathy 
which Mr. White put into it.” Such was the tribute of Dr. Gager 
to Mr. White after the latter’s death in 1921. 
Today that same land, with an additional eleven acres, presents 
a sharply contrasting picture—the fulfillment of the Director's 
vision—a Botanic Garden of great beauty which contributes to 
botanical science the world over through research and which offers, 
from the plantings, library, and herbaria, educational, recreational, 
and cultural opportunities to the people living in or near Greater 
New York. 
In his first Annual Report, Dr. Gager presented a list of types 
of plantations which might be established. These included sec- 

tions on the systematic arrangement of plants, a local flora (her- 
baceous and woody plants growing within a radius of one hundred 
miles of New York City); plantings illustrating the variations in 
