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newness. Beyond the second channel of the river, and therefore 

 on the mahiland again, Hes a sort of experimental garden, called 

 by the Dutch the Proeftuin. These three portions are all con- 

 nected by bridges across the river, but the main entrances to the 

 garden are all from the Groote Weg, and therefore into the main 

 portion of it. North of this, and scarcely separated from it, is 

 the palace of the governor-general, with a deer park behind it. 



The visitor's first view of the garden is from the Groote Weg, 

 as he drives from the railway station out to the hotel. On one 

 side of the street is an iron fence, and over the fence ostensibly a 

 forest. If it were not for the frequent walks through the tangle 

 of vegetation, or the glimpses of labels at the base of trees, he 

 might easily suppose it was a forest. Because, it must be known, 

 a botanical garden in these tropical lowlands is entirely different 

 from one in America. There is almost no attempt to secure the 

 long vistas, the open grass plots, or other conventions of land- 

 scape architecture. Nor should there be, because such effects 

 would be as completely out of harmony with tropical vegetation 

 as they are in harmony with the plant life of the temperate zone. 

 The charm of the garden lies in its marvelous wealth and density 

 of vegetation, and that must be heightened if possible, by plant- 

 ings in dense masses, by paths disappearing into apparent 

 jungles, by short vistas closed by opaque masses of foliage, and 

 by tree trunks and branches concealed under epiphytes and 

 lianas. So the tourist is pleased by the garden, not for any 

 similarity which it bears to American parks and gardens, but 

 by its remarkable dissimilarity. 



For practically a century the garden has been growing in size 

 and in importance. Its growth was suddenly accelerated some 

 forty years ago, when Melchior Treub assumed the directorship, 

 and its present high development is due chiefly to his energy 

 and zeal. Under the present direction of Dr. Konigsberger^ 

 to whom the writer is indebted for many courtesies, the scien- 

 tific policies of Treub are being continued, and even better- 

 facilities offered to visiting botanists. 



It was Treub who first opened the garden to botanists from 

 other lands, and who built the first laboratory for visitors. 



