2 BOTANIC GARDENS 



tion until near the close of the sixteenth century (1560) when 

 botany in its scientific phases received its first contribution in 

 the writings of Conrad Gessner. Since that time the purpose 

 and usefulness of the botanic garden have steadily broadened 

 with the development of the science, until at thepresenttimeall 

 the institutions devoted to the important branches of the sub- 

 ject are supplemented by gardens especially adapted totheirre- 

 quirements. It is only when a botanic garden is equipped with 

 laboratories for the furtherance of investigation and sustains 

 an organic relation to a school or university, that it may be 

 said to attain its highest possibilitiesof usefulness. Conjointlv 

 and partially in consequence of its long existence near educa- 

 tional centers, the botanic garden has become, instead of asim- 

 ple field for the cultivation of thousands of species of plants, a 

 laboratory where the biologist may demonstrate the known 

 principles governing the development of plant life, as well as 

 penetrate deeper into the history of this, one of the tvvo great 

 groups of living things. The botanic garden is not, however, a 

 laboratory for the scientist alone, but for the landscape artist 

 as well, who may dispose of its masses of plant forms with a 

 feeling of regard for their artistic value, making it a most effic- 

 ient means of cultivation and gratification of the public taste. 

 In many of the better known gardens of the worldthisaesthetic 

 feature has become a prominent or predominant idea. This is 

 especially true of those formed in the greater cities on afounda- 

 tion of special endowment either private or governmental. 



A somew r hat anomalous combination of economic and aes- 

 thetic purpose is offered by the famous Royal Garden of Kew, 

 England, and its numerous branches in the English colonies. 

 Here the great central garden with its six thousand species of 

 growirig plants, magnificent conservatories andbeautifuldrive- 

 ways, has become almost entirely a pleasure park which is vis- 

 ited by half a million people yearly, whilethegreaterpartof the 

 economic and scientific work of the organization is performed 

 by the herbarium connected with it. The subordinated 

 branches in the various parts of the empire devote almost their 

 entire resources to testing the economic qualities of plants and 

 to the local dissemination of information thus derived. It isof 



