NEW ZEALAND SCHEME.

Auckland Star, Volume LIX, Issue 224, 21 September 1928, Page 10

NEW ZEALAND SCHEME.

FOR BOTANIC GARDENS.

THEIR GREAT PUBLIC VALUE.

MUSEUM DIRECTOR'S ADDRESS,

"New Zealand lags behind other countries in regard to botanic gardens and we, here, are over a century behind the Australian States," said Mr. W. R. B. Oliver, M.Sc., F.L.S.. director of the Dominion Museum, Wellington, during the course of a public lantern lecture in the University College Hall last evening. Professor H. H. Corbin, president of the Institute of Horticulture, presided.

Mr. Oliver stressed the educational and economic value of botanic gardens. Although Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin possessed municipal gardens, these could not be called botanic gardens. Founded in 1816, the Sydney Botanical Gardens were now developed to a high degree. Most of the schemes proposed by the New Zealand Institute of Horticulture had proved impracticable..

However, said Mr. Oliver, a Dominionwide scheme was now in hand, and it was hoped that this scheme would prove satisfactory to the Government. To introduce new plants, to classify plants systematically, and to teach t> value of different types of plants were the main functions of botanic gardens. People should be able to find out the different uses of various plants, in industry, and officers should be present to supply this information. As well as possessing species of the actual flora, botanic gardens should be equipped with museums and herbariums showing dried plants. New Zealand, continued the lecturer, should be explored for plants of horticultural and economic value. Such gardens could do a great deal . of valuable work by experimenting with new species and different hybrids, as well as by exploration. Mr. Oliver said that another function of importance was the acclimatisation of plants of commercial value, such as indigo. He thought that it was possible that indigo plants could be cultivated in New> Zealand. Private individuals could not afford to carry out experiments. but these could be usefully done by public botanical gardens. The wouerful botanical pardens at Kew were detailed by Mr. Oliver, who said that it ' Btated that a student I K™V ", he flora of Fiii Wter totv Sr.* ~° ld »' *«'• Th, uses to which different New Zealand

plants could be put in beautifying gardens and the beauty and usefulness of some of the famous : botanical gardens in England, America and Australia were shown by lantern slides. In addition there was a display of native plants, flowers and foliage, which was much admired.

The following resolution by Professor Corbin was carried:—"That this meeting, called by the Auckland Council of the New Zealand Institute of Horticulture, the Institute and Museum and other bodies and held under the aegis of the University College, Auckland, affirms the principle that a botanic garden should be established at Auckland as soon as possible"