142 



family of Sir \\'illiaiii 'J\mii])1c as his sccrrtary. Sir W illiain's 

 interest in liorticultui'e and llic faiur of his i^'ardcn ha\a' Ijrconic, 

 in horticullnral circles, almost le,^en(lar_\-. As 1 have recently noted 

 elsewhere, it was he who Ud't instrnctions that \vhen he died he 

 should he huried 1)\' the side of his wife in Westminster Ahhey, 

 bnt, by his s|)ecial instructions, his hc^art was huried, not l)esi(le 

 his wife, hut in a siK'cr hox under a sundial in his j^arden. 



Tt was not straui^e that the future Dean of St. Patrick's, in 

 Dublin, absorbed some of his jiatron's enthusiasm for gardenin*^'. 

 l'akin<^" ad\-antage of the lirst o])|)orlunity that ofleri'd, be made 

 his sovereign. King William 111. accjuainted with the culinary 

 virtues of as])aragus. The King showed bis ai)])reciation of this 

 bv offering young S\vift the command ot a Iroo]) ol horse, d he 

 honor was declined, but it remains as jjcrhaps the most extravagant 

 recognition (W'er offei-ed in the realm of adult education. 



]h\t I believe the rewards of adult education are rarcl_\- as 

 spontaneous, and rarcA" \'ield such solid salistaction, as those 

 afforded in juvenile education by the bo_\s and girls thenrselves. 

 Xothing, ol coursi'. can he more un])ortant lor a community or a 

 nation than the education of its \()uth, and so, when the educational 

 program of the l-irooklvn P)otanic ( iarden was being elaborated, 

 a little o\'er twenlxdne x'cars ago, the underl_\-ing thought was 

 that if the (iarden was to render the grc'atest ])ossihle serxice to 

 the comnnuiity thai su])])orls it, educational oi)i)ortunities should 

 be ])rovide(l for the children, fn I'HO this was a new concei)tion 

 of the functions of a botanic garden. There were no precedents 

 to follow. It was necessar_\- to blaze a new trail. 



Xow a knowledge of the histor\- of ])e(lagogy, an understanding 

 of ])s\'c]iolog\-, a study of method in the teaclu'r's college or normal 

 school are important equipment for success in teaching; but the 

 most im])ortant re(|uircment for the greatest success is the i)er- 

 sonalitv of the teacher, and a natural endowment for the insjiira- 

 tion and leadershii) of boys and girls. This is i)articnlarly true 

 when a ne\v trail is to l)e blazed, and especially xvben, as here, the 

 attendance is not comjnilsory but wholly vohmtary. \'ou cannot 

 get a voluntary attendance of 50,{)()0 children a year, as at the 

 P)olanic (jarden each year, even to indulge a major enthusiasm, 

 if the l)o\-s and girls " don't like the teacher." 



But our Departmeni of i'demenlary Instruction has to deal, not 



