Colonial garden at Stenton

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Colonial Garden at Stenton
Bescrihbed in OlD Letters

MRS. WILLIAM REDWOOD WRIGHT

Read at the First Annual Meeting of the Garden
Club of America, on Thursday, May First,
Nineteen Hundred and Thirteen

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The Colonial Garden at Stenton
Described in Old Letters

By Mrs. WILLIAM REDwoop WRIGHT

, This paper was read at a meeting of the Garden Club
of Philadelphia, October 19th, 1911; at a meeting of the
Pennsylvania Society of Colonial Dames of America, May
16th, 1912; and at the first meeting of the Garden Club of
America, May Ist, 1913. All these meetings were held at
Stenton.

The letters from which these extracts have been taken,
were written in Colonial days and they have been in the
possession of the family ever since. They were brought to
light in 1911 when every effort was being made to obtain
data for the restoration of the Stenton Garden. No exertion
has been spared to make its planting historically correct, for
nothing has been put into the garden unless there was a
record of its having been there in colonial times. There are
only a few shrubs of later date, probably planted by Deborah
Logan, which have been allowed to remain, owing to their
beauty and the fact that they were already established when
the Dames obtained possession of the Mansion and grounds.

In the park stands the memorial recently erected to old
Dinah, the faithful servant who saved Stenton from the
British torch through her quick wit and loyalty.

May those who visit Stenton take more interest in its
Garden from this short account of its former importance.
It is but a pigmy compared to the garden it is supposed to
represent which extended beyond the graveyard, with

orchards about it, while in its midst were the smaller fruits.
East of the garden and of the graveyard, which was not built
till after the revolution, the ground sloped to a pasture where
cattle grazed and through which ran a limpid stream. Let
us rejoice that the city has taken part of the old plantation,
which originally comprised about 600 acres, for a park; and
also that they have given the Mansion with grounds of its
own enclosed in hedges, to be cared for by the Pennsylvania
Society of Colonial Dames of America to be enjoyed by the
public as an object lesson of a Colonial home.

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THE GARDEN AT STENTON

AMES LOGAN, who built Stenton and laid out its
J original garden, was descended from _ illustrious
families whose histories are interwoven, from the
earliest years, with the history of Scotland. Although so
nobly descended, Voltaire’s saying “He who serves his
country well has no need of ancestors” might well apply to
him. He was born in 1674 and came to America in the ship
“Canterbury” in 1699 with William Penn, as his secretary.

When Penn returned to England he left Logan as his
representative, and wrote to him, “I have left thee an uncom-
mon trust, with a singular dependence on thy justice and
Gare)?” }. ” and most faithfully and devotedly was
that trust fulfilled. He represented William Penn and his
family in Pennsylvania till his (Logan’s) death in 1751.
A public-spirited and disinterested patriot, a generous and
sympathetic friend, a pure and noble character, he bore almost
alone the responsibilities of the province and to him is largely
due the credit of its success, which was ever in his thought.

He held many public offices as follows: Secretary of
the province, Receiver General, Member of Provincial
Council, President of Council, Commissioner of Property,
Justice, Chief Justice of Supreme Court, Mayor of Phila-
delphia and one of the Founders of what is now the
University of Pennsylvania.

The genesis of Stenton, and therefore of the Garden,
is in a letter written by James Logan to his friend Thomas
Story, under date of 3rd month 29th, 1714, in which he
states that he is about purchasing a plantation to retire to,
situated in the City Liberties next to German-Town.

In 1717 he built and furnished a small house for his
mother, who came to America in that year, for under date
of gth month 25th, 1717, he writes to his brother, Dr.
William Logan, at Bristol, England: “Our Mother is well
and is settled, I hope to her content, on the plantation I
proposed to her, etc. Be civil to Captain Cowman, ye bearer,
on whose ship our mother came over.”’

Stenton was begun in 1728 but was not lived in till two
years later. The delay in building Stenton is accounted for
in a letter from James Logan to Thomas Story, dated 29th
of 7th month, 1729: “I formerly told thee my plantation is
next to Germantown on this side. I have built a large brick
house on it of 51 feet by 40, two good stories in height, very
convenient and not unsightly, if it stood better.

‘“‘T had expected to have been in it before this time, but
being not fully plastered, I now know not whether we shall
get thither before winter.

“T made a great mistake in building it, I designed it a
plain, cheap, farmer’s stone house, but my quarries intirely
failed me. It then lay 2 years to find others, but none could
be had that would not cost me dearer than brick. I there-
fore resolved on this SATS

It may be interesting here to note that James Logan’s
Quarries which “‘intirely failed’ him, have been probably
identified as situated at the extreme north of Stenton property,
on that part which afterwards became the portion of his
grand daughter Sarah Logan, who married Thomas Fisher,
of Wakefield, in whose descendants the fee of the property
still remains. I say probably, because the stone is of the
same texture as that in the foundations of Stenton, and more
especially because on the heaps of spalls or refuse are growing
several oak trees of about 180 years growth.

Stenton mansion was finished and the family moved into
it in 1730, for James Logan wrote to his brother William,
10 month 15th, 1730: “We have been removed to our new
house in the country about three weeks. I have proposed to
call ye place ‘Stenton’ after the village in East Lothian where
our Father was born.”

Among colonial gardens the one at Stenton was
important; for it was there that men like John Bartram, of
Philadelphia, and Abraham Redwood, of Newport, received
the inspiration which prompted them to establish gardens
which became noted the world over. It was at Stenton that
James Logan undertook a series of experiments on maize

or Indian corn. ‘These he described in letters to Peter
Collinson in 1735, which were printed in the Philosophical
Transactions.* As a result of these experiments he wrote
a Latin treatise on the generation of plants, published at
Leyden, 1739, which was later translated into English (in
1747) by Dr. Fothergill.+ Dr. Pultenay in his Sketches of
Botany (published in 1790) says in regard to this treatise:
‘This work was considered and appealed to as among the
most decisive in establishing the doctrine of sex in plants.”

About fifty years after James Logan’s death, Robert
Brown, ‘‘the first of botanists,’”’ named, in his honor, a new
plant, the Logania. Into this family many plants grouped
themselves that had been found earlier, among them the
beautiful and sweet-scented yellow Jessamine of South Caro-
lina, now known as the Gelsemium sempervirens, described
so glowingly by Mark Catesby in his “History of the
Carolinas,”’ etc., (published in 1730).

Gardening in England during our colonial period was
in a state of great activity and enthusiasm. Unknown plants,
from all parts of the world, were being shipped to England
from all its colonies. Eminent botanists vied with each other
in the rarity of the plants in their collections.

William Logan, the son of James, took great interest
in our native trees, shrubs and flowers. He was active in
procuring them from the interior of the province of Pennsy]l-
vania and from the more distant provinces as well. He
corresponded at great length with Jared Eliot, of Connecti-
cut, author of “Essays on Field Husbandry,” one of the
earliest works of its kind published in America. Eliot was a
great authority on agriculture and was the grandson of
John Eliot known as the “Apostle to the Indians.”

William Logan writes to William Bodicker at the
Durham Forge,t Bucks County, 2nd month 20th, 1753:
“Send me down, carefully planted in two tubs, two or three

* Philosophical Transactions Vol.. XXXVI P., 192.

7 Title “Experimenta di plantarum generatione.”’

= An interesting account of the Durham Forge is given in Forges and
Furnaces in the Province of Pennsylvania published by the Penna.
Society of Colonial Dames of America in 1914

handsome Bay trees or broad laurels. Let them be straight
bodied, about 3 feet high at most, and about the thickness of
one’s thumb—not too large a head in proportion to its roots.
They should come by water and be often wet by ye boatmen.”’
And again, 3rd month 28th, 1754: ‘“‘When an opportunity
offers, send me two or three young gooseberry bushes of the
wild sort carefully planted,” and yet again 4th month roth,
1754: “Don’t neglect sending me some pretty flower roots
when ye opportunity offers.” From Reading, Logan’s cousin,
James Read, sent him laurels and rhododendrons, receiving
in exchange fruit trees, shrubs and roses. |

Among the earliest gardens in Charleston, city of
gardens, were those of Mr. John Hopton and Mr. Henry
Laurens, both correspondents of William Logan. Mr.
Laurens sent over to England for a gardener to lay out his
grounds—by name, John Watson, who later established a
“Botanick Garden” in the neighborhood of Charleston, to
which the gentry drove of an afternoon for a “dish of tea.’’*
From him Logan bought a great number of new plants, a list
of which was forwarded to Logan’s friends in England.
Watson’s letter, dated Charleston, October 7th, 1765, thanks
Mr. Logan for the seeds sent him and continues: “I have
sent You inclosed a List of our Plants that grows in this
provance but mostly in the woods for the Gentlemen heare
is not so curious as to gait many into their gardens. You
will pleas to lett me know by ye first Opportunity what you
want and I shall do my indeavour to procure them for You. I
am Sir your most Humble & obed’t serv’t.

John Watson.”

Another correspondent from Charleston was John
Gordon, whose plantation, Belvedere, lay somewhat out of
the city proper. He speaks of John Bartram and his son
having passed through Charleston on their grand tour
through the Southern provinces; of his giving them letters to
a friend who could help them with the Creek and Chickasaw

* Ramsay’s History of South Carolina contains an interesting account
of these gardens.

Indians “‘when passing through the Indian towns of those
savage countries.” In a letter from John Gordon dated
Charleston, Jan. 4, 1765, the following passage occurs: ‘‘I
cannot boast of a turn for Botany, tho’ if I had, & could spare
the time from my other affairs, I should have great advantage
from my intimacy with Doctor Garden whom you have
doubtless heard of. I desire you will send me a list of the
flowers and shrubs you have in your garden & I will try with
the help of my friend the Doctor to make your collection
more compleat. Lord Adam Gordon is now here and will
leave these parts about the beginning of March to finish a
Tour of this Continent as far as from Mobile to Quebeck,
consequently he will take Philadelphia in his way. He has
a very pretty Botanical turn, is very new and curious in his
observation. I will recommend him to your acquaintance,
and I am certain you will be much pleased with his. He will
give you a very particular account of the plants of this
country. I beg you will make my respectful compliments
acceptable to Mrs. Logan, and that you will remember me
kindly to Mr. Pemberton. I wish you many returns of the
New Year and am, with real esteem
‘Your most ob’dt serv’t

‘John Gordon.”

General Lord Adam Gordon alluded to above, became
Commander of the forces in Scotland in 1782, and Governor
of Edinburgh Castle in 1786.

Doctor Garden was a physician much beloved by the
people of Charleston, a botanist of reputation, and the
author of Flora Carolina. In his honor Linnaeus named the
beautiful Gardenia. Philip Miller* describes the finding of
this plant at the Cape of Good Hope by a Captain Hutchin-
son, “being drawn to it by the great Fragrancy of the
Flowers, which he smelt at some Distance from the Plant,
which was then in full flower.” ‘Trained as most captains

* Gardener’s Dictionary by Philip Miller was first published in 1724—
this passed through many editions and was translated into several
foreign languages. In his seventh edition (Published in 1759) Miller
adopted the Linnaean system of classification.

were to bring back any new plants they saw in their travels,
he had this one put in a tub “‘where it continued a Succession
of Flowers the whole Voyage”’ till the vessel reached a colder
climate. It was then placed in the ‘Curious Garden of
Richard Warner, Esq., at Woodford in Essex, who was so
obliging as to favour” Philip Miller with a branch from
which a drawing was made for his illustrated work published
in 1760.

There were many disappointments and losses on both
sides, notwithstanding the great care planned for the plants,
bulbs and seeds in their long journey from England to the
provinces. In 1749 two large orders for fruit trees from
Elias Bland were ‘‘sent to the proper account and risque of
William Logan, Merch’t,” although at this time his father
was still living at Stenton. I shall quote one to show the
style:

“6 named varieties of cherries
6 « “ Plumbs let them stand upon the
1 as Carnations open deck

Take care the mise don’t Eat them & keep them from stormy
whether, you may lett them have gentell Rain but not too
Mutch of itt nor too mutch Sun Shine don’t lett the Salt
Water wash them

Roots of tulips

Ranunculus

Narcissus

Dutch poppys

Seeds of double Larkspurs

Stocks of severall sorts

French & African marygolds

Sweet scented peas, with directions

with them when to be sowed.”

Sweet peas were not known at the time of Parkinson
or Evelyn. They were first cultivated by Dr. Uvedale at
Enfield in the year 1713.

William Logan had many difficulties with his orders to
Thomas Bincks, seedsman and gardener, who apologizes on
May 20, 1751: .

“TI am sorry that the perennial floweryetc. rec’d such
damage, the design of the lids being with a good view & I

Take care the mise don’t
eat them.

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am apprehensive if due care had been taken would have
been of service. For the future shall! follow thy directions.

“P.S. The charge of the former boxes thou mentioned
to dear is the neat expense I paid.”

William then tries his inventive faculty on lids:

Stenton 12m. 17-1754*

Aare Sir Thos. Bincks—Altho’ I have had very bad
luck with what flower roots and plants I have had from thee,
yet I am writing to make one more trial. I think I had
nothing to show out of all that came from thee, except’s
some double hyacinths & jonquils & a very few anemones.”

The order enclosed reads as follows:

“Blower roots to be sent—
24 earliest Tulips sorted
30 largest and very best hyacinths sorted
50 double jonquils
100 yellow and blue crocus yt bloy in ye fall of ye year
50 snow drops
24 Persian Iris
12 naked ladies
20 double anemonies (if tuberose roots are plenty and cheap send
me some of them dry also)
Let them be Good and the Potts be put into
a course Rough Box made with a shelving
8 pots of carnations } lid so as it may throw ye water at sea when
8 pots of auriculas the weather is bad and yet be half open when
good so as the Sun may not come too Violent-
ly on ye Auricula plants.)

Seeds—A few of the best Carnations. What I had of thee before for
such, proved when blown to be only common red five leaved pinks.

Best double Holyhocks various colors

Several sorts of stocks

Hepatica

Dbl China Pinks

Snap Dragon

Catipellars & Snales.”

The placing of ‘‘Caterpillars and Snails’ among the
garden seeds seems puzzling. If one turn to Parkinson’s
Paradisus} published in 1629, one will see among the fancy

* This letter was copied from Wm. Logan’s letter book in the possession
of the Penna. Society of C. D. A. at their library at Stenton.

j Paradisus in sole, Paradisus terrestris, or a Garden of all sorts of
pleasant flowers by John Parkinson 1629—is an enchanting old
book, full of quaint instructions and giving “the place, the Time,
the Name, the Vertue.” of each plant named therein.

grasses ‘‘Caterpillars & Snails.’ Parkinson calls ‘‘Cater-
pillars’ Scorpioides maius and minus saying ‘‘Under one
description I comprehend both these sorts of Scorpions grasse,
or Caterpillars, or Wormes, as they are called by Many,
SNies the greatest sort which came to me out of
Spain,” was not known unto Lobel, he tells us. They have
a tart flavor and are cultivated even now in some parts of
Europe for “surprises in salads & soups.” They are now
known as Scorpiurus Vermiculata.

Parkinson names the snails ‘‘Medica spinosa, prickly
Snailes or Barbary buttons.” ‘‘The plant that beareth these
pretty toyes for Gentlewomen, is somewhat like unto a
Threeleaved grasse or Trefoil, ale? ister
edible as are the caterpillars, is a native of Europe, and is
now called Medicago Scutellata.

Another seedsman, Thomas Sanders, thinks that boxes
nailed down are the best, and writes—

‘That you may not be disappointed this season I have
had a box made to nail down so yt may not Move in the
most tempestuous sea, have only sent you a small box as
I thought that would be better.”

There is a pleasant thought accompanying the gift of
fruit trees, sent with an order from Hunt & Greenleaf :—

gth 4—1749

“I have not charged thee with the cost of the Fruit
trees, desiring thou’ll Please accept them as a Present—and
tho there may be little Probability of my Partaking of the
Fruit of these Trees with Thee, yet who Knows but I may
some years hence.

‘“T am with much Regard
“Thy affectionate Friend for self & Co.
John Hunt.”

The following lines, at the close of a letter to William
Logan, dated London, Sept. 27, 1776, show appreciation of
favours bestowed.

“It would give me good Pleasure if you would please
to give me a list of anything either England or Holland

affords in the plant way I will send it and take it a favour
of your acceptance as a small acknowledgement for the
trouble you have been at. The Calmeas, Azaleas and other
Pretty Plants you have will be very acceptable, the Yucca
is very scarce with us and if not too much trouble a few
young plants would also be acceptable. I am sr.
“Your most Oblig’d & Humble Serv’t
‘James Gordon.” *

The Gordonia (Pubescens) which Bartram found in
the South was named by him for this noted nurseryman of
London. An unsuccessful effort was made later to get more
of these plants, but it was never re-discovered and all those
put on the market were obtained from the tree in Bartram’s
garden.

Not only through the nurserymen of England were
plants obtained for the Stenton garden but exchanges were
made with botanists, scientists, investigators and collectors.
Such a one was Peter Collinson (1694-1768), early friend
of American botany, for whom Linnaeus named a native
wild flower of our province the Collinsonia. Southey says
of him “he was the means of procuring national advantages
for his country, and possessed an influence wealth cannot
produce.” Another was Dr. Fothergill (1712-1780), an
English physician distinguished for his benevolence and pro-
fessional skill, a botanist and conchologist. Dr. Franklin said
of him “I can hardly conceive that a better man ever existed.”
To his care William Logan confided his two sons when he
sent them to England to be educated. An ornamental hardy
shrub which blooms in the early spring was named for him
the Fothergilla.

One of the most interesting correspondents William
Logan had was John Blackburne (1690-1786), a noted
botanist of Orford near Warrington who maintained an
extensive garden, including many exotics. He wrote of

plants, their treatment and care, going over in detail those
* James Gorden is alluded to by Richard Pulteney in his Sketches of

Botany as one of those whom he “cannot omit to mention with
applause” for their practical help in the advancement of horticulture.

he received from Logan, who sent cuttings, roots, seeds and
bulbs of native growth; also mocking birds, flying squirrels,
rabbits, turtles, butterflies, beetles, etc.

To William Logan, under date of Sept. 6, 1766,
J. Blackburne writes as follows:

“Tam much obliged to you for your many fine presents
of seeds & roots wh. have given me great pleasure. Against
another season we’ll endeavor to send you some larks, but it
would be in vain to send birds new caught before they were
settled in their cage & would feed quietly. My daughter’s
birds came in fine order, but ye rabbits were all dead but one.
They seem to be rather too young to undertake ye journey.
I should be very glad to have a breed of them. The tortoises
came safe also. Your favours will make a large addition
to my collection of Exoticks, for which I am much obliged
to you.” etc.

Sept. 20, 1767—

‘Both the Cardinals are now in full bloom with me &
blow as strong as you describe them to do with you; having
plenty of plants we set ’em in all situations & find they do
best in moist ground. The orange colored asclepias hath
flowered elegantly in my stove this summer and we have a
seedling plant set under a South wall of ye same sort. The
purple flowered asclepias is very hardy with us and is full of
flowers in ye common borders. I have a plant of Saracena
alive but it does not flower.

“P. S. As I understand by a letter from my son, the
larks he brought were reduced to six in number when they
were sent to you from New York; however, as they are 3
cocks and 3 hens you have a chance to introduce a breed of
them. Tho’ I am in tolerable good health yet old age I
find subjects me to forgetfulness and to many blunders

Notwithstanding which, on April 19, he seems planning
a new garden venture.

‘I have just made a piece of new ground to contain
more shrub flowers & in ye midst of it a bog for plants that

grow in bogs. I am going to make a piece of rock work
for plants yt grow in the rocks, viz: sedums, stonecrop,
licopodiums, lychens, mosses, etc., most likely your part of
America affords many pretty sorts of these as well as bog
plants wh., as we have not many of them, would be very
acceptable. My daughter desires your acceptance of her
compliments. Her time you must know is more taken up in
the study of nature, viz: Botany, insects, fossils, etc., in
which for the time she is tolerable proficient, than in cards
and such other pursuits as ladys of these days spend too
much of their time. I wish you could see her blow of
auriculas, she hath now more than 100 pots of that plant in
high beauty, & a great variety of fine sorts—but enough of
this subject, a fond father will tire you with an account of
his only daughter

With the above comes a . letter from the daughter, Anna
herself and tho’ by no means her only one, will suffice to show
her style and interests:

April 19, 1768.

“Good sir—As my father is writing and sending you a
few seeds I shall send this along with them, & the box you |
returned with the butterflys for which I am obliged to you.

* * * * * * ** *

““As it is very difficult to ketch moths and butterflies
without spoiling them, do not give yourself any trouble about
them, but if you can ketch beetles of any or all kinds, with
which your country abounds, with very curious ones, those
will be as welcome to the full. I have been told that as our
country people call them all clocks, so yours call them with-
out distinction Buggs. Bees, wasps and common winged
flys, I should value, and these are not injured by a touch as
the others are, & are more easily ketched.

‘Which is all with the compliments of the season from
your

“Very much obliged & humble servant
“Anna Blackburne.”

In May 19th, 1775, Blackburne writes:

. “I am extremely obliged to you not only for
these late but also for your many former favours. My
garden abounds with many fine plants wh. I am obliged to
you for. We have been very agreeably entertained with ye
Cranberrys you sent and my daughter joines me in Compli-
ments & thanks for them.”’ etc.

Johann R. Forster, who traveled with Captain Cook,
perpetuated the names of John and Anna Blackburne by
naming a palm found in Bermuda, after them, Sabal Black-
burnia. This plant was the first of its kind to flower and
fruit in England or Europe, and was of great interest to
all botanists. ‘The trunk of it, now dead, is preserved in
the museum at Kew Gardens.

A catalogue of John Blackburne’s garden was made by
his gardener Adam Neale, and was published in 1779. The
only copies of this work that we know of is one in the
British Museum and one owned by the Blackburne family
in England.

Anna Blackburne had a botanic garden of great renown,
and was accomplished in natural history. At her death she
left a large and valuable collection which now forms the
Hale Museum at Warrington. She was a friend and
constant correspondent of Linnaeus. Thomas Pennant
named our American warbler after her, Silva..Blackburnia. .

Trees, shrubs, flowers and herbs were not all that were
exchanged but vegetable and grass seeds also.

Among the vegetables were cabbages, carrots, cauli-
flowers, beans of various kinds, the sweet potato of which
J. Blackburne, writing to William Logan, January 8th,
1768, says, “The potatoes I am very fond of & shall
endeavor to propagate them, I like that sweet taste which
I find is not agreeable to every palate.”’

To Stenton were sent fruit trees in many named
varieties, Apples, Pears, Plums, Peaches, Figs and Cherries.
The history of the Cherry is interesting. About the year
75 B. C., Lucullus, after his victory over Mithridates, brought

from Cerasus in Pontus the Cherry tree, and introduced it
into Italy. It was planted in Britain a century later, but
the cultivated sorts disappeared during the Saxon period.
In the 15th century “Cherries on the ryse” (or bough) was
one of the London cries. These were probably the native
wild cherries as the cultivated ones were not reintroduced
till the reign of Henry VIII whose fruiterer* brought it
from Flanders, and planted a Cherry orchard at Tenham in
Kent.

Some of the names of plants are very different from
those in use to-day and it has been an interesting labor to
trace the nomenclature to the present time. There were
certain favorites sent from England in nearly every shipment
these plants being at that time a great rage. Among them
the carnation,} which has an ancient and interesting history.

Theophrastus, in his history of plants (about 300
B. C.), says ‘“The Greeks cultivate roses, gilliflowers, violets,
narcissus & iris.” Gilliflower is the old English name for
carnation. About the middle of the 16th century the
gardeners of Italy, France, Germany and Holland developed
the original flesh color of the carnation (from the Latin
carno, flesh), into so many varieties that in 1597 Gerarde
writes, that to ‘“‘describe each new variety of carnation were
to roll Sisyphus’ stone or number the sands.’’ He assures us
that the conserve made of the flowers of the clove gilliflower
and sugar is ‘‘exceding cordiall and woonderfully above
measure doth comfort the heart being eaten now and then.”’
Chaucer tells us that the clove gilliflower was cultivated in
Edward the III’s reign. In those days it was used to give
a spicy flavor to wine, hence its name of ‘‘sops-in-wine.’’t
Philip Miller says in his Gardener’s Dictionary (published
1737), ‘some of the Ancients have supposed it called
Vettonica, or Bettonica, from the Vetones a People of

*The “fruiterer”’ who did so much to increase the varieties of apples,
cherries, pears, etc., was “one Richard Harris of London.” An
interesting account of this is given in a rare pamphlet published in
1609 and titled “The Husbandman’s Fruitful Orchard.”

t+In Cyclopedia of American Horticulture by Prof. L. H. Bailey there is
a very interesting account of the Carnation.

t Spenser alludes to this in his “Shepherd’s Calendar.”

Spain.” This enables us to trace it to the Vettonica coron-
aria of the old herbalists, so called because the flowers were
used in the classic corona or chaplets.

From the foregoing letters a list of trees, shrubs and
flowers has been selected for the garden at Stenton, only
such being planted as were there during the colonial period;
the list mostly collected from the correspondence of William
Logan who lived there after his father’s (James Logan’s)
death. We have even ventured to try some evergreens,
with the hope that the smoke of the city will not prove too
much for them. Let us not think that we have a monopoly
of smoke in these days, for did not Cowley, who died in
1667, write in London:

‘Who that hath reason and a smell
Would not among Roses and Jessamine dwell,
Rather than all his spirits choak
With exhalations of dust and smoak,
And all uncleanness which does drown
In pestilential clouds a populous town.”

It was an important place that Stenton held in colonial
history, for it was where both Indian chieftains and
colonial statesmen came to confer with James Logan as the
personal representative of William Penn. It was where
Godfrey discovered the quadrant so indispensable to those
who navigate the seas. John Hadley later claimed to have
made the same discovery, but this is a disputed point. At
Stenton were written the many books through which James
Logan did so much to increase human knowledge; and
where he assembled from all parts of the world that
wonderful library which he afterwards presented to the city
of Philadelphia, and which, as the Loganian Library, is
now housed in the magnificent Ridgway building. It did
not lose in importance during our revolutionary period, for
it was at Stenton that Lord Howe established his head-
quarters at the battle of Germantown and later where
refugees from South Carolina received hospitality. Washing-
ton, Franklin, Jefferson and other patriots were frequent and
welcomed visitors, while men of science and diplomats from

other countries, paid their homage to Doctor George Logan
and his charming and clever wife, Deborah Norris Logan.

Next to Mt. Vernon, in Virginia, it is towards Stenton
that the footsteps of those interested in colonial homes are
turning. It is impossible to over-estimate its growing
importance to the coming generations as an example of
how our colonial forefathers lived and conducted their
homes both inside and outside.

It is well for us to venerate our forefathers, for ‘People
will not look forward to posterity who never look back to
their ancestors,” it is also wise for us to reflect that while
“St is indeed a desirable thing to be well descended
the glory of it belongs to our ancestors!”

OF CONGRESS

IE

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