VII. INSTITUTIONS CONNECTED WITH 

 AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION 



a) The Belgian State Botanic Garden 



The Botanic Garden of Brussels was founded in 1829 by 

 an association of amateur horticulturists known as the 

 Royal Societ3' of Horticulture of Belgium. The object 

 of this Society was the sale of new or interesting plants. 



In 1870 the Society handed over the Garden with its 

 botanical collections to the Belgian Government, and it 

 was then called the State Botanic Garden. 



The organisation of the Botanic Garden is directed to two 

 main objects : firstly it is designed to promote the kiiow 7 - 

 ledge of botany and horticulture; secondly the Garden 

 fulfils a special and more scientific purpose : it has, by its 

 rich collections and by the work of its active directors 

 contributed to the progress of the Science of Botany. 



The Scientific organisation of the Garden is divided into 

 four sections. 



I. The Herbarium (Phanerogam.es and Pteridophytes); 

 II. The Museums and Vegetable Paleontology; 



III. The Experimental section; 



IV. The section of Cryptogams (Bryophytes and Thal- 

 lophytes) and Vegetable Pathology. 



I. THE HERBARIUM 



It has four divisions : 



i The general herbarium (240,000 sheets) ; 



2 The European herbarium (3o,ooo sheets); 



3 The Belgian herbarium (26,000 sheets) ; 



4 The herbarium of tropical Africa (18,000 sheets). 



