54 J. H. MAIDEN. 



spite of the fact that a couple of miles of busy streets 

 intervene between the botanic garden and the University. 



The Philanthropic Element. — This refers to the influence 

 of the garden as — 



" affording an orderly arranged institution for the instruction, 

 information and recreation of the people," 

 and also to the dissemiuation of facts to the public, in 

 various ways, by means of the staff. 



WHAT IS A BOTANIC GARDEN? 



The name is very much abused. Many towns in Britain 

 have places called "Botanic Gardens'* or, more briefly, 

 since time is short, " Botanies." They are parks, and they 

 are often leased by a person, who makes his money by 

 charging a fee for admission, and by providing attractions 

 such as games, or he sells flowers and refreshments. 



Then we have the purely scientific botanic garden 

 usually attached to Universities. To these the public are 

 not encouraged; indeed, in most cases they are not wanted. 

 The tiny Botanic Garden at Amsterdam, almost entirely 

 enclosed with wire-netting, to keep birds and some insects 

 out, so that it looks like a gigantic fowl-run, is an extreme 

 type of this kind. And yet this is the garden of the 

 celebrated Hugo de Vries, whose requirements it has 

 admirably met. 



And then we have the mixture of park, flower-garden and 

 strict botanic garden. Of this class Kew is a fine type, 

 and we in Sydney do well to imitate (longo intervallo) so 

 fine a model. 



Even in Kew, the vast majority of visitors are mainly 

 interested in the park or flower-garden aspect of the 

 establishment. They are not botanical students primarily. 

 So in Sydney we thickly coat the botanical pill with the 

 sugar of a "garden of pleasure," a beautiful view of the 



