12] 
looking ahead and expects to render a similar service to those 
returning from the present war. 
In every course, the attempt is made to obtain information 
directly from the living material wherever possible. “It cannot 
be over-emphasized,” said Dr. Gager, “that the study of botany 
is the study of plants, and not the study of what somebody says 
about plants.” One indication of the extent to which this is prac- 
ticed at the Garden is the fact that in 1936 it was estimated that 
43,000 plants were grown in the educational greenhouses by adults 
and children. 
Although attendance records in no way show the value of the 
educational work of the Botanic Garden, they are an indication of 
the extent of the Garden’s influence in the community. In 1940, 
about 1,700,000 persons visited the grounds, 53,000 of these com- 
ing over the week-end of May 11th to 13th to view the cherry 
blossoms and flowering crab apples. In the same year, 146,000 
visited the conservatories, 108,400 attended classes and lectures, 
and the total adult registration for courses was 1,359. In 1934, 
the registered attendance on the grounds of the Botanic Garden 
as shown by the turnstiles at the entrance gates was equal to 
nearly one-half the population of Brooklyn, and the actual edu- 
cational contacts reached a figure equal to more than one-third the 
Brooklyn population. In 1925, only a little over 500,000 persons 
visited the Garden (less than one-third as many as in 1940) and 
in 1922, total attendance at lectures and classes was only about 
63,000 (a little more than half as many as in 1940). 
Adult education is not limited to the scheduled courses at the 
Garden, but includes public lectures either at the Garden, at 
schools, « 
r at meetings of teachers, parents, and garden clubs. 
In these ways the Garden reaches out to many people, giving in- 
formation and offering the opportunity to come to the Garden for 
further study. These lectures are given by many members of the 
staff, and often cover a branch of applied botany such as_horti- 
culture or pathology. 
Public demonstrations and exhibits have been part of the Botanic 
Garden’s program for stimulating interest in plant life. There 
have been exhibits at schools, at the Garden, and at places such 
as the American Museum of Natural History, the International 
