In the evening an audience of over two hundred had the 
pleasure of listening to a lecture by Professor de Vries in the 
lecture hall of the Academy of Music, under the joint auspices 
of the Garden and the Department of Botany of the Institute. 
The lecturer was introduced by Professor Henry E. Chapin, 
President of the Department of Botany. 

LETCHWORTH PARK AND ARBORETUM 
Those who have been interested for the past few years in 
matters pertaining to botanic gardens, forestry, and conservation, 
will recall Mr. William Pryor Letchworth’s remarkable gift 
to New York State, in 1907, of a strip of land extending for 
three miles along both banks of the Genesee River, in New York 
State, and comprising about 1,000 acres. This region is not only 
of intense interest in connection with early Indian history, but 
is one of surpassing natural beauty, including, as it does, the 
three falls of the Genesee, known as the Portage Falls, and the 
beautiful gorge below. On the west bank of the river, opposite 
the middle fall, is the home where Mr. Letchworth lived for 
nearly fifty years. 
It was Mr. Letchworth’s original intention to build on his 
property an institution for afflicted and needy children, and at 
one period children were frequently invited to enjoy the hospi- 
tality of the home in large numbers. With the development of 
inventions for the electrical transmission of energy, water-fall 
sites throughout the country were eagerly sought, and in many 
cases secured, by so-called power companies, for the location of 
power plants. ‘The Portage Falls were seriously menaced in this 
way about 1907, and it soon became evident that, so long as the 
land remained in private ownership, the preservation of the falls 
and of the adjacent valley would become increasingly difficult, 
if not, indeed, quite impossible. 
After careful consideration and consultation with the officers 
of the American Scenic and Historic Preservation Society, Mr. 
Letchworth decided to deed his entire property to New York 
State, to be maintained in perpetuity as a public park, on the 
condition, among other terms, that the falls and other natural 

