Saturday, June 29, 1929 



I Dnlterestlng History 



The Garden, which is situated at the 

 corner of Garden and I^innaean streets, 

 Cambridire, was established in 1S07 bv a 

 number of publlc-spirilod gentlemen -vvho 

 endowed a professorship of natural Iiis- 

 tory. Tho seven acres which form the 

 present garden were laid out in 1807 hy 

 Professor William Dandridse reek, witii 

 the formal lines nf smaller I^ondon estab- 

 lishTneuls being used as a model. After 

 the death of Professor Peck the garden 

 passed under the charge ot Thomas Nut- 

 tall as curator, and later of Thaddeus 

 William Harris, the funds having dwin- 

 dled so that it was no longer possible to 

 nssisn- the income lo a full professor- 

 ship, .^bout 1S42 the income of a newly 

 cstabliKlied profe.ssor.slilp. endowed by 

 Joshua Fifher, iTfiS, liecamc a\'ailable, 

 and to this new chair TJr. A?:i (!ray was in- 

 vited. Tlie most recent eliange came in 

 1923. when Assistant Professor S. F. 

 I Hamblln was made director. 



The garden contains at present more 

 than ten thousand species of hardy herbs 

 ! growing In the beds. In addition to these, 

 1 the greenhouses contain many plants 

 ! which require great heat, most of them 

 tropical varieties. 



The Gray herbarium Is situated In the 

 Botanic Garden, on a corner of the prop- 

 erty. The collection there was founded 

 and largely developed by the late Asa 

 Gray, and given by him to the univer- 

 sity In 1864. 



