BOTANIC GAJRDENS 3 



course to be tmderstood that while thechief purposeof t-heKew 

 systern is economic, it has made a long series of contributions 

 of very great importance to systematic botany. I quote the 

 following paragraph from an authorized guide to the Kew 

 grounds : 



"It may be mentioned that Kew is not only a great educa- 

 tional establishment and pleasure resort, but also the recog- 

 nized center of the various botanic gardens throughouttheEm- 

 pire. The part it has played in theintroduction of the cinchona 

 into India, and in fostering various other importantindustries, 

 is well known. It may well be described as thegreatestbotan- 

 ical clearing house of the Empire. To it a large number of 

 plants are constantly being forwarded from all over the world 

 to be named, for which purpose a staff of botanists isprovided„ 

 and the collection of dried plants, or herbarium, as well as the 

 large botanical library, is unrivalled throughout the world. 

 In the same way the collection of cultivated plants and trees, 

 both hardy and exotic, is the most perfect in existence." 



When organized chiefly for teaching and research the 

 botanic garden differs in many essential particulars from that 

 described above. From this point of view, and with regard to 

 the advantages of geographical position and biological possi- 

 bilities perhaps the most important botanical garden in the 

 world is that of Buitenzorg, in Java, established by the gov- 

 ernment of Holland in 1817. Originally founded for the pur- 

 pose of testing the economic value of plants indigenous to the 

 Dutch colonies in the East Indies, and for the distribution of 

 seeds, plants, etc, after the customary manner of such institu- 

 tions, it has widened its scope and developed its facilities until 

 almost all branches of purely scientific and applied botanymay 

 be punsued to advantage within it. The real value of this gar- 

 den may be better understood when it is stated that thescience 

 of botany in its present elementary condition rests upon re- 

 searches carried on principally with plants indigenous in the 

 north temperate zone and such tropical plantsasma^^begrown 

 in conservatories. And the solution of some of themoreimpor- 

 tant problems of biology is to be attained only by the study of 

 these tropical plants in unlimited number and under natural 



