(a) To preserve plant life in the United States which threatens to become 
extinct; 
(b) To permit of experimentation in the development of botanical in- 
dustries; 
(c) To serve as a "clearing house" or center of exchange for the existing 
botanical gardens and establishments interested in plant life in the various cities 
and States of the United States. 
II. The unfitness of the existing botanic garden at the foot of the Capitol, . 
which is serving simply as a flower garden, and cannot be adapted to real botanic 
garden purposes; 
The area is restricted to scarcely 12 acres, of which a considerable part 
is taken up by the Grant Memorial, the Meade Memorial (to be located in the 
area by authority of Congress), and the Bartholdi Fountain. 
The existing area is a part of the Mall scheme of the Senate Park Com- 
mission plan of 1 90 1, and the continuance of the garden in its existing location is 
hindering the development of the MaU. 
III. The Mt. Hamilton site is recognized by the highest botanical authorities 
as the most suitable site for a National Botanic Garden. At the Congressional 
Hearing last May there was no opposition by anyone to its establishment at Mt. 
Hamilton. Even Mr. Hess, in charge of the existing garden at the foot of the 
Capitol, admitted the necessity for the establishment of a larger garden and 
endorsed the Mt. Hamilton site during an interview shortly after the Hearing. 
The Mt. Hamilton site of 367 acres will, with the adjoining 433 acres of the 
Anacostia Reclamation Project, already authorized by Congress, give the United 
States a National Botanic Garden comparable with that of any country of the 
world. 
The cost of 367 acres to be acquired can be met by a revision of the 
dredging plan of the Anacostia Reclamation Board, which has endorsed the 
project, whereby a saving of $340,000 can be effected, which will more than pay 
for the land. 
Numerous leading scientific and botanical organizations of the United 
States interested in plant life favor and urge the establishment of the proposed 
National Botanic Garden. Of these are — 
The Smithsonian Institution 
The United States Department of Agriculture 
The National Academy of Science 
The Association of Agricultural Experiment Stations 
The New York Botanical Garden 
The Brooklyn Botanical Garden 
The Missouri Botanical Garden 
The Arnold Arboretum (Cambridge, Mass.) 
The American Pharmaceutical Association 
The American Society of Landscape Architects 
The American Society of Nurserymen 
The American Superintendents of Parks Association 
The Ornamental Growers Association 
The American Civics Association 
The American Rose Growers Association 
The National Association of Gardeners 
The American Pomological Society 
The Audubon Society 
The American Federation of Arts 
The American Forestry Association 
The Garden Club of America 
The Wild Flower Preservation Society of America 
The Botanical Society of Washington. 
The cost of the land at Mt. Hamilton is very low, its purchase 
price being less than $300,000 for the 367 acres to be acquired. It is 
located in the northeast part of the city and is the only really suit- 
able site anywhere near Washington for this purpose. The cost can 
36 
