4 
BOTANICAL INDEX, 
helpless children or invalid. It may be interesting to our readers, to know how 
much it costs our large cities to maintain and improve these public grounds, which 
have become a public necessity in all large towns, and must be maintained and in- 
creased each year at public expense, to meet the growing demand for health and com- 
fort. In examining the different items of expenses we shall soon learn that the 
amount paid for trees, plants and seed, is only a small item in the bills; but the same 
must also be said of the expenses of the florist, for his chief outlay consists in what 
his labor and fuel costs him. We should say in this connection that some of the finest 
examples of Landscape Gardening in America, are probably some of our most noted 
cemeteries; and we very much regret our inability to give the amount paid by differ- 
ent corporations to make these Cities of the Dead lovely as well as dear to us. We 
have, however, given enough in the following tables to form an idea of the magni- 
tude of the undertaking. 
Amount paid by the City of Boston and County of Suffolk, Mass., to maintain and improve 
their public grounds, for the fiscal year, ending April 30th, 1879: 
L' .' : :T General expenses, including salary, office rent, &c $ 9, 954. ‘26 
Cost of 35 old parks, gardens, squares and the Common 39,475.53 
Back Bay Park, (new) 48,637.52 
West Chester Park, (new) 6,291.35 
Park nursery, located on Austin Farm, (City Almshouse) 2,000,00 
$106,358.66 
Also to maintain 16 old public cemeteries 3,736.97 
To maintain and improve 3 new ones, viz : Evergreen, Mount 
Hope and Cedar Grove cemeteries 37,908.28 
$41,645.25 
Making a sum total of $148,003.91 
Paid to maintain and improve public grounds, exclusive of the cost of land. 
Amount paid by the City of Chicago, for park purposes, for the fiscal year, ending March 
31st, 1879: 
For improvement of Lincoln Park, (exclusive of cost of 
ground,) $ 70,518.59 
Amount paid by the Corporation of St. Louis, Missouri, to maintain and extend their public 
grounds, for the year ending April 7th, 1879: 
Amount paid for saleries, office rent, &c $ 6,072.47 
To maintain 16 old public parks, squares and gardens 59,255.11 
Tower Grove Park, under control of Henry Shaw, Esq 25,000.00 
*La Fayette Park, under control of special commissioners 12,000.00 
Making a sum total of $102,327.59 
(*This is a very low estimate, for it oftener costs $20,000.00 than $12,000.00.) 
Amount paid by the City of Baltimore, Md., for park purposes, for the year ending De- 
cember 31st, 1878: 
To maintain and improve 16 public Parks, Squares, &c $145,579.85 
[Note. — In addition to the annual appropriations for park purposes, a large reve- 
nue is obtained from fines, rents and dues from the several street railway compa- 
nies, which by law is given to the park commission, and as the fiscal year ends Dec. 
31, we could not give the cost for 1879, but in its place give the expenses for 1878.1 
So much for the benefits received from the vegetable kingdom, during the year 
just ended; but as we have already dwelt longer upon this subject than time and 
space seemed to admit of, we will now briefly see what has been done to increase 
our knowledge in botany. We must first say, however, that for various reasons we 
have not been as successful in collecting information as we had anticipated, still a 
summary of the facts and figures at hand, may be interesting as well as instructive. 
It has been the usual custom of the United States government to appoint a botanist, 
or, as in several instances, to detail a competent surgeon from the Regular Army to 
act as botanist, in addition to their other duties, with the different exploring and 
