530 



BOTANIC GARDEN 



BOTANIC GARDEN 



pons, for nliilo on ihc J;i\:i east coast there is a 

 lirouglit se;»son of three to four months, there is no 

 lironplit sejison at BUitenzorg. Tlie total animal 

 precipitation is between ISl) and 2(10 inelies, or approxi- 

 mately five times that of New York State. The ince.s- 

 eant r:uns are aeeomiianiixl by a general lowering of 

 the tempenitiire. and this makes po.ssible tlie eultiva- 

 tion of phuits fmni tlie higher altitudes. The altitude 

 of Buitenzorg is IHX) feet. There are in reality three 

 gjinlens: First, thebotaiiie garden jiroper, in the center 

 of the city, with an area of Si) acres. Kach division of 

 tliis garden has a blanket label, giving a list of the 

 genera it contains, and each species is reijresented by 

 two sj>ecimetis, one of which bears a label, giving the 

 scientific nsune, the common name, if there is one, and 

 usually the economic pnxlucts of the plant. The climb- 

 ing plants are arranged systematically in a group by 

 tliemselves. The vsist majority of plants are arbores- 

 cent, !Uid there are about 10,000 species cultivated. 

 The garden is open day and night. The second division 

 is the agricultural garden, about a league from the 

 center of Buitenzorg, and having 173 acres. Only 

 plants of economic importance, including medicinal 

 plants, are grown here. 'l"he third division or garden is 

 some distance from Buitenzorg, on the slopes of the 

 volcano of Gede. Its area is 74 acres, and its altitude 

 is 5,000 feet, thus making possible the cultivation of 

 plants that cannot be grown in the other two gardens. 

 There is a museimi building in connection with the 

 garden prooer at Buitenzorg. 



"The Annals," the well-known publication, was 

 founded by the third director, Scheffer. 



Atncrican gardens. 



1. Bartram's Garden (1728). The first botanic gar- 

 den in America was that of John Bartram, established 

 in 1728, and still existing, although in a greatly modified 

 form. At about the same date (1725), Robert Prince, 

 one of the early settlers on Long Island, began to raise 

 a variety of trees for the purpose of ornamenting hia 

 own grounds, and this activity soon developed into a 

 nursery, ultimately well known, not only in America, 

 but throughout Europe. Such a venture was favored 

 by a growing interest in ornamental and edible plants 

 resulting from the importation of various French 

 fruits by the Huguenots, who settled at New Rochelle, 

 New York, and along the north shore of Long Island. 

 This nursery continueil under the supervision of the 

 same fiunily for five generations (130 years). For a 

 number of years the proprietors confined their atten- 

 tion to fruit trees. The institution was visited by 

 President Washington, and on August 29, 1796, after 

 the battle of Long Island, the British General Howe 

 placed a guard around the garden to protect the trees 

 and plants until all danger was passed. In many old 

 English gardens today are numerous native American 

 plants derived from the Prince nurseries. In 1793 the 

 nursery was christened the Linna-an Botanic Gar- 

 den, and a catalogue of plants here grown passed 

 through more than twenty editions. The mahonias, 



603. Entrance to a botanic garden for arboretum), showing the utilization of natural features and woods as well as planted specimens. 



I'nder the directorship of M. Treub, the garden 

 became a rnecca for investigators from all over the 

 world, (ync large laboratory is reserved entirely for 

 the use of visiting botanists. In the herbarium the 

 Bhr«t8 are not kept in folios as ordinarily, but in tin 

 boxes, a necessary protection against insects and exccs- 

 wve moisture. TTiere is a librarj' of several thousand 

 volumr*. The director distribut(« annually, under the 

 authority of the government, and free of charge, seeds 

 and plants of useful vegetables. 



described in some of the earlier manuals as "from Ore- 

 gon," are said to have been first grown in the Linna'an 

 garden, being one of the many novelties received from 

 the Lewis and Clark expedition. One of the plant- 

 houses was devoted to camellias, one to azaleas, one 

 to oranges and lemons, one to African and Asiatic 

 plants, and two to miscellaneous collections. The pro- 

 prietors were ever alert for novelties, and at the time of 

 the potato famine in Ireland, Prince paid S600 for less 

 than a pint of bulbs of Dioscorea Batatas, for the pur- 



