Calcutta Botanic Garden occupies a prime riverside sitethree miles downstream from the centre of Calcutta.It is most famous as the home of the world's largesttree, a vast spreading banyan. Its grand avenues,named after its founders and the fathers of Indianbotany, convey something of its former glory. In thenineteenth century it was the greatest of all thecolonial botanic gardens and an important scientificinstitution; two of its superintendents wereknighted and one went on to become Director of theRoyal Botanic Gardens at Kew, the very centre of theimperial botanical network. The Garden is ofconsiderable importance as it was one of theearliest institutions in India based on westernscience. This survey will look at the reasons forits foundation, and how it successfully establisheditself in its first twenty years.