97 



REPORT OP^ THE HORTICUJ.TURTST FOR 1938 



To THE Director: 



I sul)niit herewith m\- report for the vear ending Deceml)cr 31, 

 1938. 



Personnel 



The number of gardeners and lal)orers on the regular force has 

 remained the same during the past tliree years in spite of in- 

 creased work due to the installation of the Horticultural Section, 

 the Medicinal and Culinary Garden, and the Rose Arc. Three 

 additional trained gardeners are an urgent necessity if the collcc- 

 tions and grounds are to he properly maintained. 



Of the twenty-two gardeners and laborers three are assigned to 

 the Conservatories ; two to the Ex])erimental Plot ; one to the 

 Ja])anese Garden. Time lost to garden work from using laborers 

 as guards amounts to 223 days ; time off of gardeners in lieu of 

 ]iay for Sunday duty in the Conservatories, 95 days ; vacations 

 about 290 days ; and sick leave 52 days — a total of 660 da\s. 

 Thus for the actual work of caring for the garden we have only 

 about fourteen men working forty- four liours per week. This is 

 not enough adequately to take care of more than 50 acres mostly 

 under intensive cultivation. The work that has to be done each 

 year includes: the erection of nearly 5000 feet of temporary wire 

 guards to protect 1)ulb jjlantings, etc. ; the shearing, three times 

 during the growing season, of over 758,000 square feet of hedge 

 siu'face; the raising of plants in tens of thousands for the Con- 

 servator}' Plaza, and the Horticultural and Systematic Sections ; 

 planting, pruning, digging, plowing, cultivating, and mowing; and 

 spraying and dusting for insect and fungus pests. 



Labor Paid for by Government Relief Organi:;ations 



Works Progress Adminislralioii 



Junior agronomists (2) "l 



Senior laboratory technician ' ,nr i ^ i m i 



Laborer : ^^^ ''^>'^ 4,110 hours 



Clerk J 



National Youth Ad))iinistralion 

 32 youths 1 ,234 clays 9,872 hours 



Student Observi:rs 

 Five young men worked as Student Observers for a total of 478 days with- 

 out pay. 



