10 



AMERICAN FORESTRY 



Comparing the United States with other countries in 

 respect to the number of botanic gardens, it is found that 

 Great Britain and its colonies have 65, Germany 35, 

 France and its colonies 25, Italy 23, Russia and Serbia 

 17, Austria 13 and the United States 12, with all other 

 countries falling below. The first botanic garden was es- 

 tablished at Padua, Italy, in 1533 and the second at Pisa 

 in 1544. In France the oldest garden was started at Paris 

 in 1597, and the Oxford garden in England was begun 

 in 1621 with an initial area of 5 acres. The famous Kew 

 Gardens in London have been in process of develop- 

 ment since 1760. Largest in the world are the Rio de 

 Janeiro gardens, with an area of some 2,000 acres. 



The plan for the development of a great national ar- 

 boretum and botanic garden at Washington is backed 

 strongly by the National Commission of Fine Arts and 

 various scientific arid other bodies. It consists, first, in 



Under existing plans for the improvement of Wash- 

 ington, provision is made for an Anacostia River Park 

 as an integral part of the general park system that is be- 

 ing developed. The changes in this plan that would need 

 to be made in order to provide for the Botanic Garden 

 consist essentially in eliminating extensive and very cost- 

 ly filling and reclamation of tidal river flats and in re- 

 taining the wild rice lands, partly as a bird refuge and 

 partly for conversion into water gardens along lines 

 that will prove entirely harmonious with the develop- 

 ment of the adjacent uplands. If carried out this plan 

 will make possible one of the world's greatest arbore- 

 tunis and botanic gardens. Incidentally, the saving in 

 cost due to the proposed change in the present plan of 

 river improvement has been calculated as sufficient to 

 cover the cost of purchasing the entire Mount Hamilton 

 tract. 





'HtLSENT BOrAf/(c\t^^^'i SmXiJ\\. CAPITOL ST.^ 

 ARDeNS.AhC:A-l-\^ If l| A ^t=z: 



CAPITOL. 



NATIONAL ARBORETUM AND BOTANIC GARDENS 



Map showing the location of the proposed National botanic gardens and arboretum, including Mount Hamilton and Hickey Hill 

 and lands adjacent to Anacostia River in the Northeast Section of the District of Columbia. 



bringing about a radical change in the present approved 

 plan for the improvement of about 400 acres of low- 

 lands owned by the Government lying along the Anacos- 

 tia River, and secondly in the addition by purchase of 

 a hill known locally as Mount Hamilton together with 

 surrounding lands. The proposed addition has an area 

 of about 367 acres and adjoins the Government land for 

 a distance of some 9,000 feet along the Anacostia River. 

 The entire tract of some 800 acres in turn adjoins other 

 lands under government ownership along the Potomac 

 and Anacostia Rivers, so that approximately 1200 acres 

 of continuous park area will be available. 



The site lies in the northeast section and just within 

 the boundary of the District of Columbia, two and one- 

 quarter miles from the Capitol building. From the latter 

 it may now be reached directly over Maryland avenue- 

 The lands, as shown on the accompanying map, includ- 

 ing Hickey Hill and the intervening section occupy the 

 central area between Benning and Bladensburg Roads 

 on the south and west, and the Pennsylvania railroad 

 tracks and Anacostia River on the North and east sides, 

 respectively. The tract lies, it may be added, on the main 

 highway line between Baltimore and Washington. The 

 Lincoln Highway could with little difficulty be brought 



