Tropical Botanic Gardens, Past, Present and Future1
نویسنده
چکیده
A botanic garden is essentially a museum of living plants. The word 'museum' is derived from the name of the Greek goddesses of learning and the arts; thus a museum is a place devoted to the pursuit of such studies. A botanic garden is primarily a place where plants are grown for scientific study. But a garden differs from a museum in the fact that the objects in it are living and growing, and thus need the attention of horticulturists. Horticulture is in part applied botanical science: but it is also in part an art, and the aesthetic aspects of horticulture therefore find expression in any garden. But I would say that a garden cannot be accorded the title 'botanic' unless it is a place where plant sciences of one kind or another are studied, and where the results of such study are expressed both in publications and in an arrangement and labelling, which conveys information to visitors as well as aesthetic enjoyment. A park is a place designed for recreation, not for study or education, and the plants in it are selected and arranged solely for their aesthetic effect: here the horticulturist alone has charge. Some of the older and smaller botanic gardens are now in effect parks, and the distinction between botanic garden and park is not generally understood by the public, sometimes also not by politicians. To understand the present situation, one must look a little into the past.
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