16 
and walking in the botanic garden. My interest has not been con- 
fined to European plants alone, but to their relatives as well, in 
Asia, Africa, and America; and of the plants which I have come 
to know, I have always been greatly interested in Liriodendron 
tulipifera, 
In the old botanic garden in Breslau there was a very fine speci- 
men of this tree which aroused my interest while I was still a 
student in that university; for one rarely finds in Europe a tree 
as interesting as Liriodendron in form of foliage and in flower. 
here was also in the old botanic garden at Berlin a wonderful 
specimen of this tree which blossomed profusely each year. I 
regret that this specimen will no doubt be destroyed, now that the 
old garden has been abandoned.f Possibly it is gone now; I have 
not visited the locality in some years, but you see I have always 
had considerable interest in Liriodendron. 
Doubtless some of youmay know that in the new Berlin garden, 
I have arranged phytogeographical sections, and have devoted 
considerable space to the flora of North America, represented in 
characteristic formations; and here, among other species, we have 
included the Liriodendron. 
It had never occurred to me that I might some day be invited to 
plant a specimen of this tree in North America, and to do this has 
been a source of very great pleasure. It is my wish that this 
Liriodendron may grow well; and not the tree only, for I wish 
for a vigorous growth and evolution for the Garden as a whole. 
The fact that botanic gardens are becoming more numerous 
than formerly is a good sign of increasing interest in botany. In 
Europe, and especially in Germany, we have botanic gardens in 
university towns, and more recently they have begun to be devel- 
oped in other cities also. It is well for every large town to have 
parks for the refreshment of the public, and such parks can often 
be given a botanical character. It is not always necessary to have 
greenhouses, which are expensive, for one can do much in the way 
of a natural arrangement with good scenic effects out of doors. 
In many of the large cities, and also in the smaller towns of 
yIt will be recalled that the site of the Berlin garden was transferred 
about three years ago to a new and more favorable location at Dahlem, 
a suburb of Berlin. 
