ESTABLISHMENT OF A NATIONAL BOTANIC GARDEN. 39 



Col. Ridley. They are all in favor of an enlarged botanical gar- 

 den. Also I wish to say that I am in favor of the proposed site at 

 Mount Hamilton. 



The Chairman. Have you looked at any of the other proposed 

 sites or suggested sites? 



Col. Ridley. The only other site that has been proposed has been 

 the project in Rock Creek Park, and that, I think, would be a very 

 serious mistake. That is brought out very clearly in the report which 

 you have asked to be printed. Some persons have advocated that, 

 but it would be a great mistake because it would spoil Rock Creek 

 Park by ruining its essential character. 



The Chairman. What do you think of the location suggested by 

 Mr. Hess? 



Col. Ridley. Camp Meigs? 



The Chairman. Yes; what do you think of that? 



Col. Ridley. I do not think that would offer at all the variety of 

 exposure and soil that would be necessary. I think we might put the 

 greenhouses there, but even that would be bad. 



The Chairman. You would have to change the character of a great 

 deal of the soil at Mount Hamilton when you went to grade? 



Col. Ridley. Of course, the plans for the development at Mount 

 Hamilton have not been gone into in detail; but very little grading 

 would have to be done there, only enough to adapt the road systems 

 and the other development to the present contours. I think it would 

 be very desirable to leave the present contours as far as beauty is 

 concerned. 



Mr. Moore. Mr. Langdon's computations show that there are 40 

 acres of level land in the Mount Hamilton tract where greenhouses 

 could be built. 



(The letters submitted by Col. Ridley are as follows) : 



The Missouri Botanical Garden, 



St. Louis, May 12, 1920. 

 Mr. Charles Moore, 



lli'.i New York Avenue, Washington, I). C. 



Dear Mr. Moore: It was a matter of deep regret to me that I was compelled 

 to wire von that I would be unable to attend the hearing set for May 21. I have 

 been away for Kt days and various important matters necessitate my staying in 

 St. Louis until after the 22d. Practically any date after this would have suited 

 me but it will be absolutely impossible for me to leave St. Louis next week. 



I was anxious to appear before the committee, not only because of any in- 

 formation I might have been able to give concerning the local situation, but also 

 that I might point out the need and scope of a truly national botanical garden. 

 My feeling is that the Government has neglected a real opportunity here and 

 that the benefits of a national garden, properly organized and administered, 

 would reach far beyond any show place which might be maintained in Wash- 

 ington. 



The Royal Botanic Garden with its headquarters at Kew, England, and the 

 Imperial Garden of Berlin are two striking examples of what organizations of 

 this kind can do and, with certain fundamental modifications, I hope very much 

 that the proposed garden at Washington may ultimately develop along these 

 lines. Some scheme of cooperation between existing gardens such as the New 

 York Botanic Garden, the Arnold Arboretum, and the Missouri Botanical Gar- 

 den, ought to be devised and in addition it would certainly be desirable to look 

 forward to ultimately having other small gardens, closely affiliated with the 

 national garden, established in other parts of the country. These would be 

 selected chiefly on geographical lines to afford natural climatic conditions tor- 

 certain kinds of plants. 



