eous plants, which necessarily contains many specimens selected 

 and assigned to certain localities for reasons quite other than es- 

 thetic, we believe that the existing pleasant landscape qualities of 

 the scene could be appreciably heightened and refined by minor 

 adjustments in the positions of the plants and outlines of beds 

 and by the addition of certain "background" and "filler" plants 

 not part of the exhibit proper, but serving functions not unlike 

 those of frames and cases and backgrounds and partitions in an 

 indoor museum. 



3. Border Plantatio?is. The strengthening, extension and 

 refinement of screening and background plantations on the 

 borders of the Garden land is a very important matter for the 

 sake of future effect, because the outlooks into the surrounding 

 city are generally most inharmonious, distracting and unpleasant, 

 and it takes a long time to grow trees large enough to screen 

 them. 



4. Cherry Garden. The area devoted to Japanese flowering 

 cherries, which is interesting in topography, contains good speci- 

 mens and has an attractive memorial shelter, Japanese in spirit, 

 could be made very much more lovely by carefully studied shifting 

 of some of the specimens so as to secure better artistic composi- 

 tion, taking better advantage of the topography, by the addition 

 of appropriate subordinate elements for enrichment, and by 

 readjustment of the paths so as to lead people conveniently and 

 easily to just the right points of view and at the same time fit 

 into place as appropriate parts of the scene. It could be made, 

 and ought to be made, a notably exquisite piece of landscape. 



5. Means of circulation as related to the improvement of existing 

 plantations. The mention of paths in connection with the Cherry 

 Garden brings us to a very perplexing.and very important matter. 

 In a botanical garden resorted to by great numbers of people, it 

 is a fact, as frequently pointed out by the Director-in-Chief, 

 that an adequate and convenient path system is very important 

 for handling the crowds without destruction of the more essential 

 element — which is the vegetation. It is also important that it 

 should lead the people conveniently, agreeably, and without a 

 sense either of confusion, or unpleasant compulsion, or of disap- 

 pointment, through those places where they can best see and 

 enjoy what is prepared for their benefit. It is a further fact that 

 the topography of the Garden is in parts so intricate and peculiar 

 as to have made the design and construction of such a system 

 of circulation, in a thoroughly satisfactory way, extremely diffi- 

 cult, especially under the conditions of piecemeal construction 

 with funds available in limited amounts from time to time. In 



[13] 



