The Washington herald., 1918-11-03

and naturalizing the veg stable pro-
ductions of other nations which cur
varied cline VII nourIsh and sup
port particularly such as may be
come useful to cur infant manufac-
tures.
1T remained. however. for the Co
lumbia Institute to MAKE the first &C.
tual trial. l."~AIr. Rathbun says, (which
was carried sufficiently forward to
demonstrate the importance and util-
ity of such an establishment, and
only failed in attaining its ultimate
purpose through the lack % proper
support
From the paper OF Mr.. Rathbun I
have colloted some in .eTcsting side
lights on tho evolution Of the Botanic
Garden from an unheatthful swamp
to its present picturesque and enter
tanning proportions as ''the annex to
the Capitol Park"
By an act OF Congress. approved by
the President on May s. 1920. a tract
OF Ave acres Of land Ses Tlanted to
the Columb'ah Instr; ie. II. giant
being acc"pHcd by the iTsti'nin Nav
%. The site fir.t lccnm"cH,le'i by a
committee as the most eligible am!
central was The s ;afS between Sew
enth and Ninth, aid + and G streets
northwest. .Suhsenu., liiy "ccIpi"r by
the Patent Office. but for some reason
the attention Of the institute was
turned from che Patent ON q site 10
the present location Of the Botanic
Garden. This tract was decided iron
and the institute began 20 improve
and cultivate It in 1892. me tract
~. Il
street. Two cars LATER. FCbi Uary 7.
1924, il was extended ly an act of
Congress to be l. .ur - OIL the forth
by Pennsylvania avenue. on the west
by Tiber Crenl: nuI HHlol. and on the
south by MarviIni ave"Ie thu pres
ent tract. OF tbs ci.tIre area the in
stitute rename. ir cont-ol until tie
close of It's activities. tn" extension
of the Capitol grounds II FRS suee:
west in 1856.
Mall n Desolnte Waste.
The entire Mall at that time was
unimproved and IAN unprotected and
desolate waste" Its northern sid
and eastern end were low and
swampy and frequently invaded by
the waters of Tiber Creek and the
canal. After the abandonment OF
the garden, the Mall remained un=
occupied until the selection OF the
site for the Smithsonian Institution
in 1916. The first inclosure of the
Botanic Garden, "a board fence. fiv.
feet high was completed October
6. 1921. In 1923 much of the reno,
on the Pennsylvania avenue side
was planted with honey locust
which a Southern Senator declared
gave an aromatic odor to the de-
bates in Congress"
The first report OF the Botanic
Garden was made to Congress by
the Institute December 6, 1923. II
stated that the grounds had beer
drained and partly leveled, and g
pond of 100 by 144 feet had beer
formed with an island in the mid
die. The canal that surrounded II
was fifteen feet wide and two and
one-half feet deep. BY the begin.
ming of 1926 the garden had reac cheG
it's larger size. and Tiber Greek
flowed Immediately through it from
about Second street. 1t was at that
time proposed to erect a large res.
ervoir in Capitol Square as a mean.
of fire protection. the water to be
obtained from the eastern branch
of Tiber Creek. The reservoir was
also to supply with water every
room in the Capitol, and after leay.
ing the Capitol to be thrown up in
a beautiful pet d'eau of thirty feet in
the Botanic Garden. and subse.
quently serve to water the garden =
1t was further proposed that the