[Vol. 2 



26 ANNALS OF THE MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN 



That the Missouri Botanical Garden was fortunate in its 

 founder, I have tried to indicate early on this anniversary 

 occasion, and it is not necessary, even if it were possible, for 

 me to add anything to the appreciative words which have been 



spoken at this table. 



I do feel, however, that perhaps not enough emphasis has 

 been placed upon the fact that it is the organization of the 

 Board of Trustees which furnishes the real reason for this 

 anniversary, and that in honoring Mr. Shaw and in praising 

 the courage and skill which he displayed, we are apt to forget 

 the prolonged efforts of those men who have unselfishly given 

 of their time and thought to make the dream of Henry Shaw 



come true. 



You botanists present know that he who would keep up his 

 scientific fire must also have the means of keeping up his ma- 

 terial woodpile. Certainly no place in this country has a trust 

 been so closely and so successfully administered as by that 

 body of men who, from the very first, have labored without 

 remuneration or recognition from those they served, the Board 

 of Trustees of the Missouri Botanical Garden! 



Every citizen of St. Louis, every visitor to the Garden, every 

 botanist or individual who may have been assisted by the fa- 

 cilities of the Garden, library or collections, has reason to echo 

 the words of George Washington, which, slightly altered, are 

 just as applicable to the Board of Trustees of the Missouri 

 Botanical Garden throughout its existence, as they were to 

 Benjamin Franklin: 



"If to be venerated for wisdom, if to be admired for talents, if to 

 be esteemed for service, if to be loved for devotion, can gratify the 

 human mind, they must have had and have thepleasing consolation 

 that they had not and will not have lived in vain." 



In the long run, which is a sort of mathematical name for 

 Providence, such services have their reward, but every twenty- 

 five years, I think the Board of Trustees as a body — for the 

 individuals wouldn't permit such a thing — should at least be 

 entitled to a public statement of the facts. 



We are grateful to all who, through their active participa- 

 tion or by their presence at the sacrifice of valuable time and 

 by long journeyings, have contributed to the success of this 



