The following is largely my translation of an article called: 'Ein botanisches Garten für Washington'. It appeared in a German popular science magazine, Kosmos Handweiser für Naturfreunde 1923, Heft 4, Seiten 108-109. I'm not aware of any previous translation. It also provides a brief summary of the earliest botanical gardens in Europe.
Trevor Dykes.

A botanical garden for Washington
According to American statistics there are 56 botanical gardens in Great Britain (including colonies), 35 in Germany, 25 in France (and colonies), 23 in Italy, 17 in Russia and Serbia, 13 in Austria and only 12 in the United States; all other countries lie below that number. Italy was the first to lay out botanical gardens; the oldest was established in the city of Padua in 1533, the second in Pisa in the year 1544. The oldest botanical garden in Germany was established in Heidelberg in 1593; the first in France was at Montpelier (at the end of the 16th century) with a second at Paris in 1597; then followed England in 1621 with the botanical garden in Oxford; the famous Kew Gardens of London have existed since 1760. The largest botanical gardens are found in Rio de Janeiro with an area of 2000 acres (1 North American acre = 40.471ar).

It might sound surprising to some, but an American forestry newspaper has found that the capital city of the United States does not have a genuine botanical garden. A park near by has long been thought of as such, but this is now predominantly a place for growing cut flowers and decorative plants for official purposes and, simultaneously, as a place for overworked and peace-seeking lawgivers and politicians. What is wished for is a proper botanical garden in which at least the living species of the various trees, shrubs, bushes and herbs can be observed, in as far as they are native in the Columbia area or can grow there -and that can be said of many plant species from the temperate zones. The forestry service has long been interested in a place for a garden for native and foreign trees, the botanical department of the Agricultural Ministry requires room for the care of thousands of plants, which their busy researchers bring to them, and the biology department would welcome a place of accommodation for the birds.

The plans now lying before Congress are worthy of the capital. A large, open area by the Anacostia River has been selected; the previously intended, expensive scheme for filling in sandbanks, which result from flooding of the river, has been laid to the side, and the preferred usage of the funds is to purchase the higher situated land (on Hamilton Mountain). The entire garden will have an area of at least around 800 acres and, taking the neighbouring properties already owned by the state into account, this could even reach 1200 acres. Good connections with the capital city, -and the city would have an incomparably beautiful approach road from this side.

In the forested area of the land (some 210 acres) the botanist, Dr Ivan Tidestrom, has found a total of 36 native species of tree. Oak and walnut, including the North American white walnut tree, change in accordance with elevation to chestnuts. Low growing species are diverse: the first survey identified 27! A member of a government commission was surely justified with the claim that, perhaps with the exception of Rio de Janeiro, the conditions for a spacious botanical garden in the immediate vicinity of a capital city, are nowhere more favourable than here.

An index of more of my translations of old Kosmos articles can be found at:

Kosmos Translations Archive

A number of Mesozoic (and post-Mesozoic) location summaries can be found at Localities.