24  Gardens  of  Medicinal  Plants.  {A™kn^^ry!?9w^n,' 
ing  millions  of  dollars  to  the  resources  and  wealth  of  the  French  nation 
and,  in  addition,  it  is  a  powerful  factor  in  public  instruction,  and  has, 
furthermore,  been  the  means  of  developing  scientific  research  which 
has  directly  Or  indirectly  added  greatly  to  the  health,  happiness  and 
comfort  of  the  masses,  besides  giving  French  investigators  in  botany 
first  rank. 
The  Jardin  Botanique  de  la  Faculte  de  Medicine,  devoted  entirely 
to  the  cultivation  of  medicinal  plants,  is  only  a  part  of  the  Jardin 
des  Plantes,  and  was  established  in  1869.  Some  2,000  species  are 
now  under  high  cultivation  in  a  limited  area  (about  nine  acres  of 
ground).  Since  1877  the  garden  has  been  open  to  the  public  from 
the  fifteenth  of  March  to  the  first  of  November  of  each  year,  between 
the  hours  of  six  to  six  of  each  day.  Students  of  medicine  are  admitted 
on  the  presentation  of  cards  and  are  given  special  privileges  when 
desired.  Plants  are  grouped  according  to  the  natural  orders  and 
the  orders  are  grouped  according  to  structural  similarities.  A 
broad  walk  separates  monocotyis  and  dicotyls.  In  connection  with 
this  garden  there  is  a  museum  in  which  are  placed  on  exhibition 
vegetable  drugs  and  their  derivatives,  pharmaceutical  prepara- 
tions, and  other  materials  of  interest  to  medicine  and  pharmacy. 
Excellent  opportunities  are  offered  to  do  research  work  in  regard  to 
medicinal  plants  in  the  laboratories  of  chemistry,  pharmacology  and 
botany  of  the  Ecole  de  Medicine  of  Paris. 
The  example  set  by  the  Jardin  des  Plantes  has  been  adopted  by 
other  countries.  At  the  present  time  France,  England,  Germany, 
Austria,  United  States,  Italy,  Holland  and  Russia  have  extensive 
gardens  of  great  economic  and  scientific  value,  similar  in  scope  to 
the  Paris  gardens.  In  these  the  chief  attention  is  given  to  what  are 
commonly  called  useful  or  economic  plants,  including  many  medici- 
nal plants. 
The  largest  single  botanic  garden  in  the  world  is  the  Buitenzorg 
garden  of  Java,  founded  by  the  Dutch  Government  in  1817.  It  oc- 
cupies 1,100  acres,  with  a  range  in  altitude  from  sea  level  to  6,000 
feet.  The  location  with  the  altitudinal  range  makes  it  suitable  for 
the  cultivation  under  natural  conditions  of  nearly  all  kinds  of  plants. 
The  second  largest  gardens  are  the  Royal  Botanic  Gardens  at  Kew, 
near  London,  with  an  area  of  260  acres,  founded  by  Lord  Capel  in 
1759.  This  garden,  with  its  numerous  territorial  and  colonial  sub- 
stations, has  at  the  present  time  even  a  wider  influence  than  the 
