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ARNOLD ARBORETUM

HARVARD UNIVERSITY

BULLETIN

OF POPULAR INFORMATION

SERIES 4- VOLUME III '935

PUBLISHED BY THE

ARNOLD ARBORELUM

JAMAICA PLAIN, M ASSACHUSET'I'S

ILLUSTRATIONS

Malus Dawsoniana, 15

Map of the Arnold Arboretum and the Bussey Institution showing the numbered areas described in this bulletin, plate facing page dd Map of the Arnold Arboretum showing relative amounts of drifting in the snow of January 23-^4-, 1935, 39 Map of lands in the Arnold Arboretum about the year 1710, 49

Map of lands in the Arnold Arboretum about the year 1770, 55

Map of lands in the Arnold Arboretum about the year 1810, 59

Map of lands in the Arnold Arboretum about the year 1840, 67

View from Mt. Domogled showing dry limestone slopes on which Syringa vulgaris is found, 3

ARNOLD ARBORETUM

HARVARD UNIVERSITY

BULLETIN

OF POPULAR INFORMATION

Series 4. Vol. Ill

MARCH 92, 1935

Number i

A Visit to the Home of the Lilac. To one who has known the lilac as a o'arden plant the first siffht of it in its native home is almost certain to come as a shock. In the central Balkans, a dry and dusty land, whose climate rouo’hly approximates that of central Nebraska, Si/ri/iga vulgaris picks out some of the driest, rockiest situations. At Bancherevo, Buloaria, where I first saw it, there were scattered indi- viduals oTowino- in full sunlio’ht in rock crevices above the roadway. They orew out sideways from the cliff and huno- over the road in low tufts of foliao-e hearin*? here and there, for it was late in the summer, loose panicles of ripenino- seed capsules. I saw scattered specimens aijain near Gabrovo, at the foot of the Stara Planina, the mountain ranjje which forms an east-west backbone across northern Bulg-aria. 'I'here too they were orowino- in rock crevices but in this case the cliff rose above a stream and was covered with FAiojlish ivy {Hedei'a hellv).

Not until I came to Cazan Pass in south western Rumania did I find Si/riuga vulgaris orowino’ in oreat abundance. At Cazan the Danube River is confined to a narrow o’oroe whose cliffs rise mountain hio-h on eitlier side. In a series of sharp turns the river, like a thwarted ser- pent, bends violently from left to rij^ht until it finally passes throuo'h the Iron Gates and reaches the level plain beyond the mountains. The lower Danube, like the lower Mississippi, is a o’reat yellow-brown flood. 'I'hrou<>h the lono- level stretches of the Hunoarian and Rumanian jilains an .American traveller mi<jht well believe himself at home. For all that he sees from the river steamers, the willow swamps and shift- ing- sand bars mijrht well be those of .Arkansas or Tennessee. But when the Danube throws itself aoainst the Iron (k-ites there is little to re- mind him of the .American scene. It is as if the Mississipjii, instead of skirtinj>- the fiaid<s of the Ozark Mountains, were to jiass directly throuji:!! them on its way to the sea. For so lar}>e a river the Rorjre is surprisinjrly narrow. .At Cazan it is only a little over 1 00 yards across.

Steep cliffs rise almost vertically on each hank with narrow roadways at their bases. 'I'he road on the Juj^oslavian side of the river is in ruins, as well it inioht be, for it was constructed over 1800 years ajjo by the Emperor 'rrajan. It was a marvelous piece of enoineerinjr for that day, or for any day, since the road for much of the way had to be hollowed out of the rock. One can still see the holes drilled in the cliff to hold the beams on which the bridges were carried and at one spot there is a tablet with an inscription in Latin. On the Rumanian side of the river there is a similar road, a modern automobile hij^hway, and, like the old Roman road, it now tunnels throuj^h the rock, now han<»s on the foot of the cliff*.

The lilacs were everywhere, particularly on the sunnier Rumanian bank. Some grew on the talus slopes, others seemed to spring from the bare face of the rock itself, and an almost continuous fringe of them lined the cliff* edge a thousand feet above the river, d'he pass must be a marvelous sight in spring time. On inaccessible ledges wild tulips grow in profusion and make spots of color which can be seen from the river steamers. Flowering ash iFraxinus Orniis) with its filmy yellow-green flowers forms a natural foil for the lilacs and all these colors are backed by the bright gray-white of the limestone.

d'here can be no possible doubt that Sijriuga vulgaris is native at Cazan. It is not only that it is abundant and that it grows on inaccessible cliffs, the same can now be said for the American black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia), which is thoroughly naturalized along the Danube and at Cazan is a common sight at the base of talus slopes. A much more compelling argument is the form of the plants and the remarkable variation which exists among them. The wild lilacs of Cazan do not at all closely resemble cultivated lilacs run wild. Their flowers are not borne in tight little bunches, but in great open sprays. Even on small bushes wedged in between limestone boulders, the panicles may reach two feet in length. Nor does the general form of the bush follow closely a single pattern as in the cultivated lilacs. This can best be seen back from the cliff* edge where the lilacs grow in their greatest profusion, on the limestone plateau above the river. Here they form open thickets among the rocks, much as does the redbud (Ce/'c/’.v in simi-

lar situations in our own southern states. From bush to bush there is striking variation in form and habit. Some are dense, some open. In some the two branches of the panicle are widely divergent, in others the.v ascend stiffly, side by side. There is, in other words, that rich and manifold variation which characterizes most plants in their native home, but which is not found in the few strains which are brought into cultivation. In flower color and size, there may be greater variation

amonsr the cultivated varieties, but the plant as a whole will show greater diversity in its native home.

It was tr»>m these Balkan clitFs and mountains that the lilac p^issed into cultivati<»n. From Constantinople it was intnaluced into northern Kurope in the 16th century. The l>otanists of that day. unaware of the richness of the Balkan flora, sup^josed that like many other plants culti- vated by the Turks it had come from the Orient. This leirend. once established, was hard to shake. In Anton R<K-hel fir-'t rep<»rted

the lilac as native to the Balkans but not for fifty years did l)otanists as a whole accept the evidence.

Had the Romans been as crf>od irardeners as they were soldiers the lilac miorht have been intrwluced into cultivatifui a ijimxI fourteen cen- turies earlier. So plentiful is it in this jjart of the Balkans that it must have been known to the Romans when they <K“cupied the country. At Caziui it festoons the road which Trajan’s workmen hollowed from the riK'ks. At Baile Herculane 1 ’’Hercules Bath”! it trrow'. profusely on the limestone cliffs risinor above the hot springs which have been known since Roman times. There, on the hot southern face of Mt. Domoirled. Seringa rulgarix is found in a variety of situations. It sprinijs from crev- ice> in the bare rock, it forms thickets aloncr dry trullies. and on the irrassy slopes below the summit it assumes the character of an alpine shrub. As one ascends, the lilac bushes become smaller and more dense. At first they arch over the pathway, hiirher up they form dense clumps beneath the black pines, and just below the summit, they are barely knee hi^h.

There, amon? the rocks, the}' orrow into broad mats of foliasre from which the lonff open panicles rise conspicuously. In late September, at the time of my visit, the seeds on these alpine lilacs had just besrun to ripen and most of the capsules were a delicate yellow-^reen. The Rumanian Forest Service, however, has been kind enough to collect seed for the Arnold Arboretum and many seedlings have already srer- minated. \Vhat will they look like in twenty year".' One can only gruess. Some alpines retain their dwarf habit when grrown in the low- lands: others do not. It is quite likely that, under cultivation, they will gfrow more luxuriantly than on the mountain top but there is a reasonable chance that they may not exceed three or four feet in heigrht even when grrown in fertile grarden soil. If so they will fill a distinct place in American grardens.

Edgar Anderson EXPLANATION OF THE PLATE View from Mt. Domogrled showing: dry limestone slopes on which Syringa vulgaris is found.

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ARNOLD ARBORETUM

HARVARD UNIVERSITY

BULLETIN

OF POPULAR INFORMATION

Series 4. Vol. Ill

APRIL 27, 1985

Number 2

HE LAST WEEK IN Arril fiiids the pageant of spring well under way

A at tile Arnold Arboretum. From the rising ground at the edge of tlie maple collection the view across the meadow to the Administration Building forms a picture in soft pastels. At the right are the yellow greens of the willows and the blood reds of the swamp maples ; at the left are the Katsura Irek's iCercidiphijll urn japouicum) fan-shaped

branches, lined with leaves and tiny opening flowers, are a haze of bronze red until the late afternoon sun lights them from the side and they glow with a deeper color. Forming a focal point in the center of the picture are the blossoms of the earliest Chinese magnolias, a strik- ing chalk white as seen from the distance. Magnolia slellata has as usual been the earliest to flower and this year its starry, narrow- petaled flowers have not as yet been sullied by late frosts or heavy rains. Near the road Magnolia sfe/lala var. t'osea is showing bright pink tliougli not yet really in bloom. The creamy white flowers of Magnolia (lenudala (the Magnolia conspicua or Magnolia Yulan of most nursery catalogues) are already spreading their delicious fragrance. The large velvety buds of the hybrids known as X Magnolia Soulangeana are beginning to ojien and will soon add color to the collection. On the hill behind the building is the hardiest of all the oriental magnolias, M. kohus var. hor’ealis-. It has not yet reached the age where it may be relied upon for a fine show of bloom every year for this variety un- fortunately does not blossom well until it is mature and this year there are oidy a few flowers scattered among the lower branches.

Magnolia kohus, M. stellafa and M. denudata are all early-flowering and are all wliite-flowered or nearly so. 'fhose who have trouble in distinguisliing the three will find tliat it can be done (|uite simply by examining the flowers. Magnolia kohus has six jietals and outside them three tiny sejials of greenish white. In Magnolia denudata the three

sepals are s<» lar^re as Iiarely to l)e (listinjruislied from the petals so that the flowers appear to have nine petals which are creamy frreenish white, •rracefiilly cupi)e(l in an upri<rht position. In Mavnolui slellata the sepals are also petal-like and since there are more petals in this species the flower has the appearance of havin'^ a dozen or more petals set in an open sunburst of jnnkish white.

Althoujrh there were no really conspicuous floral disi)lays until the Majrnolias broke into flower there has been continuous bloom all the month in spite of a somewhat tardy s|)rin<r. Ihimmamehs vernali.s car- ried its fra^rrant flowers well into April this year althoujrh even in New Entrland it is properly to be reckoned as a winter-flowerinjr shrub, (lardeners plannin^f to use this species would do well to plant it, if possible, well to the south of the point from which it will ordinarily be viewed. Placed in this way it will catch the level rays of the win- ter sun and if the color is even then not really brilliant, it will at least be a o'ood deal brijrhter than when seen from the other direction.

While it does not flower until later, Ribes cereum comes into leaf so early and so attractively that it is of distinct interest in the early sprin<r trarden. This year as usual it was the first plant in the shrub collection to put out its new leaves and by the first week in April its frajrrant foliage was already attractive. It is unfortunate that quarantine refru- lations prevent this interesting western American shrub from beintr more widely known and grown.

Early April also saw the first spring blooms on Viburnum fragraus. This surprising shrub opened a few flowers in last autumn's long Indian Summer and it was feared that the buds were so far advanced that they would be hopelessly damaged during the winter. Some of them evi- dently were killed but there has been a continuous glow of pink and white among the bare branches during the month and they are now conspicuously in flower and delightfully fragrant.

It is in tard.v springs that the Cornelian Cherry {Cnnius mas) shows its worth as a spring shrub. Although not quite so conspicuous as the more commonly used Forsythia it is regularly and dependably a little earlier to bloom. This year with no early burst of spring heat, it has been a good fortnight ahead of its rival and is now in full bloom. Its small yellow flowers are borne in conspicuous clusters and are particu- larly effective when used as decorative sprays for the hall or living room. The closely related oriental species, Coimus officinalis, has been very much used for this purpose in Japan as any collection of pictures of Japanese flower arrangements will show. This latter species, differ- ing chiefly in its longer-stalked flowers and its flakier bark, is also in

full flower. It will be of interest to the horticultural connoisseur and to the botanist, but for the average gardener it is if anything inferior to Coruus mas. When in flower both of these shrubs have a slightly offensive odor, something like that of a wet dog. Fortunately it is not so strong as to be objectionable, since in addition to earliness and hardiness, Coruus mas has several qualities which recommend its more frequent use in American gardens. For one thing it is very tolerant of smoke and has done surprisingly well in the smokier parts of some of our large cities. Furthermore although seldom used in this country (except by the birds), the fruit of Coruus 7nas has distinct possibilities. Late in the summer it bears glossy red-purple drupes and in south- eastern Europe where the shrub is native they are much esteemed for the making of preserves. In Bulgaria large fruited varieties have been developed and are to be found in the markets in August and Septem- ber. Seeds of several of these strains were obtained last Autumn for the Arnold Arboretum and may some day be of interest to discerning American gardeners.

Forsijthia orata, the Korean Forsyth ia, is giving a good account of itself this year as last. It is already in full bloom as is its close rela- tive, Forsijthia japouica saxatilis. Both of these northern Forsythias are liardier, earlier, tliough smaller-flowered than the Forsythias com- monly grown in New England.

Although it is a fine shrub a little further south, Louicera fragrau- lissima can not be unqualified!}’ recommended for New England gar- dens. It was killed back practically to the ground last year and this spring it is flowering only on those branches which were protected beneatli the snow during tlie winter. Two of its lesser known relatives, however, are giving much better accounts of themselves. Louicera Slaudishii is in flower on the Overlook. While not as handsome either in habit or in flower as Louicera fragraulissima , its behavior last spring and til is liave demonstrated its greater sturdiness in cold winters. A mucli rarer honeysuckle, the Korean Louicera praefloreus, flowered profusely this spring in the shrub collection, by no means the clioicest spot in tlie Arnold Arboretum for an early-flowering slirub. By the second week in April it was covered with bloom and although its spidery blossoms were browned once or twice by late frosts it was most attractive. The flowers are fragrant and of a pale greenish yellow tinged with red-purple.

An even rarer shrub, AheliophijUum (lislichum, is now in full flower in the same section of the shrub collection. Another siiecimen trained as a vine on the nearby trellis has blossomed in i)revious s|)rings, but

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the shrubby one has never Howered well until this sprinjr. Sineethey were only introduced from Korea in 1 f they are just now bejrinninir to reach the a<j:e where one may judjreof their ultimate value for New Knyfland <rardens. 'I'liey have come throuj^h two tryinjr winters in irood condition and if they continue to thrive they may prove to be a prom- isino- addition to the early s|)rinjr shrub jrarden. 'I'he flowers are a creamy white with a deep yellow center. I'hey are very much like those of f'orsythia in shajje and are borne in short racemes near the ends of the branches. In •reneral asjjeet Abeliophi/Uum distichiim jrives the appearance of a more delicate Forsythia with creamy white flowers instead of yellow ones.

On the Overlook in addition to iMuicera may be seen the

curious flowers of Eupteled po/pnndra , conspicuous chiefly by reason of their bronze red stamens which are thickly huntr alon<): the branches. Althoufjh introduced from Japan in 189*2 it is seldom seen in this country. It was somewhat injured in the severe cold of 1988-1984- but has apparently quite recovered. A little further alonsr the path, under the sentinel white pines at the brow of the hill, Rhododendron danri- cum mucronuUdiim a brilliant display and is now in full flower.

'Fhe bright maorenta-pink flowers clustered thickly on bare branches, form a strikino; contrast to the dark o-reen of the old pines. The cool sprino- has been a positive benefit in holding back the blooms until warmer weather actually arrived and while the flower buds have been late in openino- the flowers are lar«:er and more perfect than usual, rhere is a jjood deal of variation from bush to bush in size and color of the flowers, the latter varvino- from ’mallow pink” to ”li«;ht mal- low purple” in terms of Ridirway’s Color Standards. Rhododendron douricuni mucronuhdum is sometimes known as the ’ Monjrolian Aza- lea,” although technically it belonofs with the true Rhododendrons and not in the sub-o’enus with the Azaleas. Those amateurs whomio’ht ([uestion this disposition of Rhododendron dauricum will be interested in another variety, R. dauricum sempervirens, which is also doweriiifr well this sprino- and which may be seen a little further down the slope of the hill. The flowers are very similar to those of AV/ododewJro// dau- ricum mucronulatum, but the leaves are quite ever o-reen and ^ive the species much more the aspect of those Rhododendrons with which the average gardener is acquainted.

Many of the cherries and plums are showinof color in the bud and will be attractive by the first week in May. Prunus lomenlosa is :i\re:u\y (jpeninjr its flowers near the Forest Hills jrate, and the Saro-ent Cherry, Primus Sargentii , will shortly follow.

Edgar Axdersox

ARNOLD ARBORETUM

HARVARD UNIVERSITY

BULLETIN

OF POPULAR INFORMATION

Series 4. Vol. Ill MAY 27, 1935 Number 3

The Flowering Quinces. The flowerinor quinces are as difficult to classify as they are beautiful to look upon. Even as their flowers are borne upon twisted thorny branches so the whole question of their nomenclature forms a spiny and painful thicket which must be pene- trated before any precise discussion of orarden-worthy varieties can be undertaken. In the first place the flowering quinces belong to a sub- family of the Rosaceae, the Pomoideae, a group of trees and shrubs which seem to present their own peculiar difficulties of classification. I'his group of plants includes, for instance, the mammoth genus Cra- taegus, long an object of special study at the Arnold Arboretum and a genus in which detailed investigation has served mainly to reveal the terrific complexities of relationship which exist between the plants classified under that name. Whatever the ultimate reason for such be- havior, similar complexities seem to exist among all the genera of the Pomoideae, in common speech those plants whose fruits have a core : apples, pears, medlars, quinces and the like.

It is largely due to these complexities that botanists are not even yet agreed as to the generic name under which the flowering quinces should be classified. A few still hold out for Pj/rus: many others clas- sify them, together with the edible quince, under the genus Ci/<Iouia ; an increasing number follow the same practice as the Arnold Arbore- tum and consider them all members of the genus Chaenomeles. One authority, however, has gone so far as to split the flowering quinces themselves into two separate genera, raising the Chinese (piinces, which we shall refer to below as Chaenomeles sinensis, to the status of a separate genus, Pseudocijdonia .

As if this natural confusion were not enougli it has been furtlier confounded by the production of garden forms and garden hybrids during the centuries that the flowering (|uinces have been in cultiva-

tioii in the Orient. So althouj^h there were orijrinnlly two distinet spe- eies, a larj^e «rrowinjr one native to China, ('haenomeles lagenann ^ and a low spreadin*^ sliruh, ('. japonicd , in northern Japan, these are now aeeonipanied in our wardens by a set of intermediates, C.superha , wliieli arose as ‘garden hybrids between the two speeies.

An even further complication has been added by the fact that though the early work on classification was done by Kuropean botanists, the Howerinji' (piinces are all native to the Orient, a rejfion which in those early days was very imperfectly known to western naturalists. I'liere- fore, while the true C. JapoNica is the low shrub with oranjje-red flowers, which is actually native in northern Japan, its taller Chinese relative, C./agen(tri(i, very commonly cultivated in Japan, was commonly mis- taken for it by botanists and <jardeners alike. 'I'hus it has come about that the Chinese plant bears as its commonest Knolish names, Japon- ica’* or “Japanese Quince,** while the true C. japonica is still most commonly known as C. Maidei.

'rhe true C. japonica is a charmin'? little shrub, much more neat and o-raceful than its Chinese substitute. Even in old well-established plants the slender branches seldom rise more than two or three feet above the o-round. The leaves are smaller, as well, and are less buckled and rolled than those of the Chinese species. They are proportionately a little broader and the teeth alone? the marj?!!! are lar'?er and fewer, 'rhe size and number of these teeth are one of the most useful charac- ters to use in distin'?uishint? C. japonica and C. lagenaria. Classifyin*? a collection of o'arden varieties of flowerin'? quinces is at best a finicky business. The connoisseur of quinces, like a judg^e of horses, may even be driven to countin'? the actual number of teeth. For such students it may be useful to note that in C. a normal leaf has *20 to .SO

teeth on each side, that in CAagenaria the number is usually from JO to 60, and that in C. superha, it is about 85 to JO.

In the Orient, CAagenaria has been '?rown as an ornamental shrub for centuries in Japan as well as in China. Even in its native home in central China most of the specimens which have been collected are either from cultivated bushes or from plants which have run wild near oardens or alono- hedt?erows. With such a lonj? horticultural histoiw it is not surprisin'? to find that there are many cultivated varieties. There are white, pink and red-flowered forms, varieties with double and semi-double flowers, prostrate types and others which are almost tree-like. Many of these have been introduced into western (?ardens and fifty years ag-o there was quite a ra<?e for them in Europe. Rela- tively few of these horticultural varieties have been at all well known

in America and in 1905 the Arnold Arboretum assembled a compre- hensive collection, most of the plants cominj? from the old well-known firm of Spaeth in Germany.

rhe collection has done well and has lon^ been an attractive feature of the shrub (garden. For a time the prevalence of San Jose scale made it difficult for the average gardener to grow shrubs such as the flower- ing quinces which are subject to the scale. As time went on, however, natural enemies of the scale have asserted themselves; the develop- ment of oil sprays has made the control of San Jose scale a relatively simple matter, and the last decade has seen a revival of interest in the flowering quinces. A number of American nurseries are now offer- ing named varieties of Japanese quince, many of them obtained either directly or indirectly from the Arnold Arboretum.

Most of the varieties on the market belong to the Chinese species, C. lagenaria, a few are to be classed as hybrids between that si)ecies and C.japonica iC.superba). The true C. japouica (C. Maulei) is not as well known as it deserves to be. From New York southward another species, C. sinensis, is occasionally grown as a large shrub or small tree. In aspect it is intermediate between the true quinces and the flower- ing quinces. The pinkish flowers are scattered on little leaty twigs among the foliage instead of being clustered tightly along the branches as in the other flowering quinces. This species is not so hardy as the others and while it flowers, and in some years even fruits in the Arnold Arboretum, it is not to be recommended for most New England gar- dens. Of the bushier sort the following species and varieties are in- cluded in the collections of the Arnold Arboretum, together with several other varieties of doubtful identity.

Ch a e no m e / es I a gen ari a

Alba'’. Flowers white. Habit low and s])reading.

“Baltzii”. Introduced by Spaeth in 1885-86. Large red flowers well distributed towards the tips of the branches.

Columbia*’. Flowers light red. Fruits large, well-developed.

^^Cardinalis’*. Flowers dark red, slightly double. Diffuse habit of growth.

^^Kermesina semiplena*’. Flowers light red, slightly double. J’wigs thorny.

^ \Macrocar{)a”. Flowers light red. Fruits large.

“Marmorata**. Flowers pale red and white.

‘^Nivalis*’. Flowers white. Bush com|)act, symmetrical.

llosea plena”. Flowers light red, very double.

‘\Sanguinea semiplena”. Flowers red, double.

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“Siinonii'’. Very distinct. Flowers dark red, semi-double.

Growth low, tlioriiv and spreadin<r. Lonj? horizontal branches.

A very decorative plant.

V.haeuomeles snperba (C.jdponica X C.Infreuaria).

“Perfecta”. Flowers very pale oranj^e-red. Bush thorny , compact. ('haenomeles japonica

Flowers lioht oranj^e-red. Bush low, uprijjht.

('haenomeles japonica alpina

Many of the plants in cultivation in American jjardens, like the original plant broujjht from Japan by Professor Sarfjent bear two colors of flowers, dark orange red and pale orange red. Bush low, thorny, slightly prostrate.

'Phough few gardeners are aware of the fact, the flowering (piinces are sometimes grown for their fruit and large fruited varieties such as “Columbia’’ have been deliberately selected for that purpose. The fruits are seldom seen, partly because they are yellowish green and are borne inconspicuously along the branches, but chiefly because the flowering quinces like many of our orchard fruits are more or less self- sterile. That is to say that most varieties will not serve as good pol- linizers for their own flowers and hence set little or no fruit when grown by themselves. When two such varieties are interplanted, each may pollinate the other and a better set of fruit may be expected.

While pleasantly aromatic, the fruits are unpalatable when fresh. Hard as bricks and sour as lemons, they derive their culinary possi- bilities from an unusually high pectin content. For the home gardener they are useful in jelly making; a very few added to other fruits im- prove the “jelling” propensities of the mixture and impart a pleasant aroma to the jelly. Used alone the flowering quinces make a jelly which is beautiful to look at but with a flavor too rich for the average palate. Commercially the flowering quinces are of some interest as a source of pectin. To the jelly manufacturer they present the desirable combination of a high pectin content, a high percentage of malic acid and an absence of starch. It is the presence of the latter in cultivated (piinces which clouds the juice and renders it unfit for commercial jelly making. The flowering cpiinces are not only without this unde- sirable feature but they provide a source of malic acid unaccompanied by other less desirable fruit acids. At one or two experiment stations in this country, selected strains of flowering quinces are being devel- oped as bush fruits. Ultimately they may become a dual purpose shrub for the home garden, producing decorative bloom in the spring and useful fruits in the autumn.

[12]

Fdgar Andp:rson

ARNOLD ARBORETUM

HARVARD UNIVERSITY

BULLETIN

OF POPULAR INFORMATION

JUNE 4, 1935

Series 4. Vol. Ill

Number 4

ITH THE last week in May the lilacs have finally come into their

▼ V prime. The lon^, cool spring has not hurried them into bloom and seldom, if ever, has the collection been in more perfect condition. The wisdom of the severe pruning which was given them several years ago is now readily apparent. Not only are the bushes in excellent health but the blooms are now at a height where they can be seen and admired by every visitor. The profusion of bloom is noticeable even at a distance. Seen from the Arborway, the lilacs form a richly pat- terned carpet of subtle lavenders and blues, mantling the lower slopes of Bussey Hill.

The crab-apples, too, have been in splendid condition this spring. One or two varieties, including unfortunately the popular Parkman's crab {Ma/us Halliana Parkmanii) have been somewhat injured by the severe cold of the past two winters. The remainder of the collection lias been untouched, or in some cases seems to have derived a positive stimulus from the low temperatures. The Mandshurian crab-apple {Ma/u.s- baccata mandshurica) was a glorious dome of white in early May and another variety of the same species, Mahis baccata var. gracilis was a lovely sight for another fortnight. While most of the varieties of Mains baccata are noteworthy parts of the collection both in spring and fall, M. baccata var. gracilis has been outstandingly so during the past several seasons. In the springtime, its somewhat smaller flowers, abundantly produced, make the other varieties seem a little coarse by comparison. In the autumn after the leaves have fallen, its slender twigs, profusely set with small fruit, make a delicate and graceful pattern against the sky. d'wo crab-apjiles of great botanical interest are flowering well this spring. Mains fnsca a curious species from Oregon and X Mains Daicsoniana (illustrated in the accompanying plate) a hybrid between it and the cultivated apple which was raised

some 3'ears ajro at the Arnold Arboretum. It is unfortunate that the

lar«re eolleetion of cral)-aiJj)les is somewhat hidden at the foot of Peters

Hill in a part of the Arboretum which is relatively unknown to the* average visitor. This nej^lect was somewhat remedied several years a"o by movin<r the small crab-apples from the lawn adjacent to the Ad- ministration buildinjr and plantino: them alon*): the roadway leadinj^ from the Pinetum to the crab-apple collection. The trees have taken kindly to their new home and are now reachinjja size where the.v are (juite conspicuous at flowerinj; time. In a j ear or so as the\’ reach ma- turity, they will form a conspicuous mass of pink and white, set off to advantage by the dark pines in the background and should serve to «juide more visitors to the lartre collection now hidden to all but the most inquirinjj around the brow of the hill.

In contrast to the apples, the Howerin^-cherries have been disap- pointin«: this sprinof. Winter injury has been serious attain this year and the tine old tree of Primus ijedoeusis near the shrub collection was killed outritrht. Primus iucisu, the Mt. Fuji cherr}', grave a very grood account of itself as did the hardy Sargrent cherry {Primus Surgeiitii) . I'he latter species is so brilliant when in flower, its pink petals made even brighter by the reddish color of the unfolding^ leaves, that it is a pity its blossoms come and o-o so quickly. Among the seedlings which have been raised from the original trees at the Arnold Arboretum, there is one, apparently a hybrid with Primus i/edoeiisis, which is a dis- tinct im})rovement in so far as duration of bloom is concerned, and which last spring and this has been one of the finest trees in the en- tire collection. It is of distinct promise for Xew England gardens and will be named and described in an earl}' number of the Journal of the Arnold Arboretum.

Winter injury has been apparent in a curious way in many of the collections this spring. Branches which were beneath the snow line escaped practically uninjured, while those just above the snow lost all their flower buds. On many bushes the bloom was so heavy below the snow line and so sparse above it, that they presented a curious ap- pearance at flowering time, like old-fashioned ladies in plain dark skirts with bright ruffled petticoats showing beneath them. Among the bushes which bloomed in this manner, the Chinese almonds were particularly conspicuous in the collection near the Forest Hills gate. On the Over- look they escaped any great amount of injury and presented an almost normal complement of bloom. One variety introduced and grown at the Arnold Arboretum is worthy of special mention. It was discussed in the Bulletin of Popular Information for May S, 19^8, but the sci-

C. E. Faxon del.

MALUS DAWSONIANA, Rehd.

entific name there jriven it, Prunus triloba ma/tip/e.v, should not l)e re- stricted to this variety alone hut is meant to characterize all the double-dowered varieties of this Asiatic shrub. It may accordinjrly be desijjnated as **Purdonrs variety '* since it was raised from seeds sent to the Arnold Arboretum by the late William Purdom in 1900. It is a most superior variety, very distinct from the double-flowered forms, riie flowers are very larije and only semi-double, so that when wide open the center is seen, makintj the flowers look less like pow- der puffs and more like real blossoms with a form and jjrace of their own. d’he color is a brilliant pink, shadinjj from very deep rose pink to nearly white and reinforced by yellow at the center of each flower, rhe pink, the white and the yellow, are all clear and clean, the flowers are lartje, and when in bloom the whole bush jjlows with color.

Another introduction of the Arnold Arboretum which is practically unknown is a Korean variety of Prunus Padus collected by the late Dr. E. H. Wilson in Korea in 1917. Orif^inally desijrnated as Prunus Padus var. glauca (Wilson no. 10689) it does not have the jjlaucous leaves characteristic of that variety and is apparently a form of Prunus Padus var. comniutata^ i\\\ Asiatic variet.v of wide distribution. Durino- the past several seasons it has been one of the most conspicuous mem- bers of the Prunus collection. The flowers are really very similar to those of our own choke-cherry {Prunus virginiana) but they are so lar^e and so abundantly produced that the little tree when in bloom has had more the general appearance of a white wistaria. The flowers appear very early, at the same time as the first of the Japanese cher- ries, and remain in bloom from a week to ten days. The Arboretum orio^inally had several small trees but only the one remains. It has been very much admired by visitors durino- the last few seasons and it is hoped that it will not only continue to live and flourish, but that it may serve as a source of scions from which other sj^ecimens of equal beauty may be raised.

Edgar Anderson

EXPLAXATIOX OF THE PLATE

Pa§:e 15. Malus Dawsoniana Rehder

( From drawings by C. E. Fa.von for Sargent's "Trees and Shrubs."

[16]

ARNOLD ARBORETUM

HARVARD UNIVERSITY

BULLETIN

OF POPULAR INFORMATION

Series 4. Vol. Ill

AUGUST 7, 1935

Number 5

After months of abundant rain the midsummer green of the Arnold Arboretum is opulently attractive. For a full fortnight there is a pause between the brilliant flower displays of spring and tlie rich

autumnal coloring of leaf and fruit. Such flowers as appear are mostly

white, and the few fruits which color towards the sun, are masked lyv the all prevailing foliage. Here and there a shrub with unusual leafage stands out attractively : Louicera microphylla with bold flat leaves of blue-grey and Rosa ruhrifolia with the clear, rosy purple cast of its mature foliage. The varied tones of the conifers compel attention, and the golden larch, Pseudohiriv anuibilis, is particularly attractive in the Bussey Brook meadow. Golden is scarcely an appropriate term for Pseudolarir amabilis at this season of the year for the foliage has, if anything, a bluish green cast. In spite of the recent cold winters the trees are still fruiting abundantly. The wide-scaled cones have now reached almost their full growth and will be attractive for at least an- other month. In color and form the.v are of an almost impossible per- fection. As beautiful as flowers, like roses of soft celadon green, they are clustered upon the upper branches.

Of actual flowers there are but few and for the most part these few are either passing their prime, like the hydrangeas and stewartias, or have barely yet come into flower. In this latter class belongs one of the loveliest and most reliable of summer flowers, f iled' Xegundo inci.m. For years this variety has flowered attractively every August at the Arnold Arboretum, but it is still almost unknown in American nursery catalogues. Properly a shrub, in New England it needs to be cut back to the ground every spring and so has somewhat tlie aspect of a strong perennial. It tlirives under this severe treatment when once established and is much more graceful and garden worthy than its better known

relative, the chaste tree, J^itex aguus-castns. Its lonfj, wand-like shoots are thickl.v set with deeply cut leaves and throughout August the hush is covered witli f^raceful plumes of small lavender flowers of a clean, spicy frajjrance.

Only two species can actually he said to he in full flower at the mo- ment— the fjolden varnish-tree, Koelreuteria pauicuhita, frequently mentioned in these Bulletins, and the lovely sourwood, Oxydendnnn (irboreum. In the last two decades the orijrinal specimens of this spe- cies in the collections of the Arnold Arboretum have attained full ma- turity and have been supplemented by additional plantings so that they now make quite a showing along the north side of Hemlock Hill. The individual flowers are small, and only greenish white, but they are borne in great spider}’ panicles which droop gracefully outward and downward as they develop in long sweeping curves. Since Oxy- deudrum is, in truth, a small tree rather than a large bush, these large interlacing panicles produce a graceful cobwebby effect above the branches. Nor are the flowers the tree's only recommendation. Like many other members of the Heath family, its leaves color splendidly in the fall, but whereas the clear red purples of a blueberry bush are more or less hidden under foot, the same colors in a sourwood are car- ried by large leaves high up in the air, and of all the fall colorings at the Arnold Arboretum none are more rich and varied, none lovelier in the delicate shadings from rose-red to purple to brown.

In the shrub collection near the Forest Hills gate and on the rocky slope below Bussey Hill the heathers are in full flower. Two severe winters have taken their toll and there are a few bare spots in the col- lection, but by and large they make a most creditable showing and are horticulturally one of the most interesting groups to study at the mo- ment. There is, in all the world, only one species of true heather, CdUuua vulgaris, distinguished from the other heaths by the fact that its calyx is petal-like and the little flowers consequently when closely examined have the appearance of possessing two corollas, one outside the other. European gardeners have selected many horticultural forms from the original species, some with fully double flowers, some white some deep red, others with bronzed or golden-green foliage. A com- prehensive collection of horticultural varieties of this one species may be quite a large affair. That at the Arnold Arboretum is in no sense a complete one, but it does include varieties which have proved de- pendable in the New England climate. The following are among the most important varieties :

[18]

Calluiia vulgaris var. alba

Flowers pure white.

C. vulgaris var. cuprea

Foliage coppery red in winter and early spring.

C. vulgaris var. multiplex

Flowers double, like little pink roses.

C. vulgaris var. uana

Dwarf, branches short.

C. vulgaris var. liirsuta

Foliage grayish green. Branches spreading.

C. vulgaris var. coccinea

Flowers reddish purple.

Calluna vulgaris is native to the colder northern parts of Europe and more than one American gardener has been puzzled to learn that while we can grow many central European plants successfully out-of-doors in New England, heather is hard to bring through the winter. To those few Americans who have lived through a winter in England or North Germany, this is no cause for surprise. Summer in England and in New England, while they may differ in details, are relatively the same sort of season. But winter in England and winter in Boston, U.S.A., represent experiences so totally different that one should have totally different names for the two seasons. London, as many Americans usu- ally forget, is as far north as Labrador ; the sun in December rises in mid-morning and sets early in the afternoon ; not even at noon is it high in the sky. From sometime in November until early March the dew does not dry off the grass. On all but the driest southern slopes there is continuous damp or frost next the earth. If the sun comes out warmly, the cool moist earth steams and a ground fog rises knee high, or shoulder high, or even higher. To an American accustomed to the sparkling dry cold air and the bright blue skies of a Boston winter it seems as if he were living on the cool damp northern side of a moun- tain. It is small wonder then tliat heather, in its own country a plant of misty mountain slopes, should object to the clear dry cold and brilliant sunshine of our American winters. It is surprising rather tliat we are able to grow the species at all. Fifty years of trying are be- ginning to j)roduce results and while it is too early to boast of complete success, the time has certainly come when we can give useful advice. The following methods have been gradually worked out at the Arnold Arboretum by the late Dr. E. H. Wilson and by Mr. L. V. Schmitt.

[19]

A rhododendron soil is to he preferred. Tiie beds at tlie Arnold Arboretum were prepared with very well-rotted oak leaves and clean sharp sand. They were started from pot frrown plants set out fairly close too^ether in the early sj^riiijr. Lar<jer specimens are more difficult to establish and do not look attractive. For several vears after plant- intr there is no particular summer care other than cultivatinjr when necessary to remove weeds and ^rass. Every winter, however, a liw^ht coverintj is applied not later than the middle of November, to shield the plants from the sun and wind duriiifj the winter. This coverinfj should be coarse so that the air can circulate ; a light dressing of coarse, weedy hay has been found excellent. This remains on the bed until early April.

After the plants are established and have thickened togetlier into more or less of a mat, they are clipped every sj^ring. They should not be cut back too far lest the sun get in at the roots. Cutting back far enough to remove all the long, straggling ends and give the bed a neat appearance is sufficient. The beds are dressed every year with well-rotted oak leaves. Any good rhododendron compost should suffice, but if manure has been incorporated it must be thoroughly composted since the little heather leaves lie close to the soil and are easily burned by raw fertilizer. Treated in this fashion the beds of heather have responded nobly and they now present the appearance of sleek turf thickly set with tiny blossoming spires of white or lavender or pink. Seen close at hand the plants are charming with their delicately shaded flowers and browning seed capsules. In springtime, when many of our flowering shrubs are at their best and the heathers look brown and mangy after the winter, one is apt to think that perhaps it is a mis- take to spend so much energy in trying to grow them in New Eng- land but in August when they produce delicate sheets of bloom, the labor seems well spent.

Edgar Anderson

[20]

ARNOLD ARBORETUM

HARVARD UNIVERSITY

BULLETIN

OF POPULAR INFORMATION

Series 4. Vol. Ill

OCTOBER 7, 1935 Number 6

HE Oriental Crab-apples. It is difficult to write comprehensivel.v

A about the oriental crab-apples ; there are so many of them and they are such a varied lot. In Asia the crab-apples behave in some- what the same bewilderino- way as do the hawthorns in this country; taken as a whole they form a complex assemblaoe, difficult to sort in- to such conventional pioeonholes as species and varieties. Tliey prob- able hybridize in nature, they most certainly do in cultivation. Some are low shrubs, others are forest trees. Some bear fruits closely re- semblino- the cultivated apple in size and shape; others have fruits so tin\' that one must look closely to see any resemblance to an apple. W hile the flowers in truth are mainly white or jiink, they too may \ ary, for there are a number of varieties of such a brilliant rosy pur- ple that the color must be seen to be believed.

One of the most distinct as well as one of the finest from an orna- mental standpoint is Mains toriagoides, now displaying; its brilliant fruits near the Forest Hills oate and on the Overlook. They are rather more pear-shaped than apple-shaped and are borne in oracefully drooj)- in«- clusters alon«- the branches. Late in Auoust they beR'in to turn color, Hushino; brilliantly where the sunlioht strikes them, deepenin'*- their shade week after week until they are finally cauoht by the hard frosts of mid-autumn. From oreen they pass (juickly to oranoe over- laid with a flush of scarlet, which deeiiens to crimson and may finally cover the whole fruit. 'I'hese clear brioht colors are broujilit to an even greater perfection by the waxy surface of the little apples which causes them to shine and sparkle amono- the leaves, 'fhe leaves are in them- selves somewhat ornamental, beinj»- so deeply cut that they resemble those of the English hawthorn and for this reason Mahis tori/igoides is sometimes known as the hawthorn-leaved crab.*’ Its flowers arc pure white, borne after most of the oriental crab-apples have finished

bloomiii^;. It ^rows rapidly, pn)(lucin<i- a pyramidal small tree, not very dense so that the attractive leaves and fruits are well-spaced and exhihited to ^ood advantage.

Another distinct erah-apple is Mnli/.s- hrevipes^ valiiahle in certain situations for its low, dense hahit of j^rowth. Old specimens retain their mound-like shape, flowerin<>; and fruitin<r profusely thoujih only a few feet hi<ih. 'I'he flowers are pink in the hud, fadinjr to almost pure white when in full flower, 'khe fruits are unlike the other orien- tal erah-ai)i)les in that they have short, stiff stalks. Fruit and stalk have the same })roportion as in the cultivated apples and since the color is a hrijjht red, they have the ai)|)earanee of miniature market a|)ples, no laroer than the end of one's thumh.

In one technical detail they can he readily distinguished from such ai)plesand since this detail is amono' the most important characters in the classification of crah-ap})les it may he well to describe it in full. Country people, like botanists distino'uish between the two ends of an apple and we may well use their expressive terms, stem end'* and ‘‘blow end." If the blow end of the cultivated ai)i)le is examined carefully it will he seen that the five o-reenish leafy j)oints which ori«-- inally protected the flower in the hud have still })ersisted, thoutfh the petals have lono- since opened out and fallen off. On Malus brevipes as on many of the flowerino’ erah-apples, the blow end is as smooth as the stem end for these little leafy points fall like the petals, leav- ing; only a si io’ht sear. The technical term forsuc’h a condition is de- ciduous sepals," while cultivated a])ples and a few of the erah-apples which resemble them are said to have persistent sepals. " The other technical detail of prime importance in classifyino' the crah-ajjples is the (lejiTce to which the leaves are cut. The cultivated apple has en- tire" leaves, that is, they have a simple outline, somethino- like that of an eo’o’ or a football, without any o-ross indentation. Most of the flowerino' crabs have their leaves more or less lohed or cut, particu- larly on the vio-orous new shoots at the ends of the main branches. L sino- these two sets of characters we can make four piofeonholes in which to classify the api)les and crah-ai)ples :

1. leaves undivided, calyx persistent

Malu.s' pninlfolia , ^lalus spectabi/is, Mali/s- micromalus, cultivated apples

"2. leaves undivided, calyx deciduous

Mains baccata, Malus hupeheusis. Mains Halliana .S. leaves undivided, calyx persistent Mains ioensis. Mains cnronaria

4. leaves divided, ealyx deeiduous

Malus‘ Jiorihuudn , Malus hreripes, Malus zitwi. Mains Sieho/dii, Mains Sargent!

Xot all the oriental erabs are deeorative in fruit as well as in flow-

er. Mains hnpehensis iM. ilieijera) whieh is superlatively beautiful at

dowerino' time, bears little ajjples whieh are at best a dull reddish o'reen. It is well worth ffrowino-, however, for its flowers alone and its shape and size makes it a o-ood tree for avenues or in formal o-ar- dens. Its main branehes o-row outward and upward at a slip;lit but relatively eonstant anode (to be exaet, somethino- like the main ribs of an old-fashioned elothes-reel). Thiekly set with small fruitino; branehes or spurs whieh huo* close to the main branch, they seldom fork, eontinuino- upward and outward at the same slope. At flowerino; time when the spurs are thicklv covered with flowers, the main braneh- es have the appearance of beino- o-raceful wands whieh have beenarti- fieiallv wound with bloom. For this reason tliis si)eeies is sometimes known as the ^‘o-arland erab.“

One of the commonest of the oriental erab-apples, M. haccafa, in- cludes a variety whieh is not as well known as it deserves to be. Like many another outstandino- variet.v it was sent out from China by Wil- liam Purdom, one of the Arnold Arboretum's most diseriminatino- collectors. Purdom ap|)arently had a n'ood eye for plants or varieties of ])artieular o'arden merit. In several instances (the lovely f ihnrnnni .fra grans is one exam})le) a species will be represented in the Arbore- tum by specimens sent in by several collectors, Purdom amono- them, and the plants raised from his seed will be outstandino- as o-arden plants. So it is with Mains baccata var. gracilis whieh is only slio-htlv different from the man}' collections of baccata whieh have been

received at the Arnold Arboretum from the orient. Yet that slioht difference is important from the standj)oint of horticulture, and it is to be hoped that M. baccata var. gracilis will shortly become better known. Like the species, it forms a fair-sized round-to|)|)ed tree with clouds of white flowers in tlie sprino- and tiny red fruits in tlie autumn. It differs in its smaller flowers, narrower leaves and more oraeefid liabit. Though the flowers are smaller they are, if an}'thino-,more abun- dant and at dowerino' time when they are n'rown in <ireat profusion on jrraeeful twio's their delicacy makes M. baccata look a little coarse by comparison. In the late autumn when the leaves have fallen and tlie tiny fruits persist plentifully the tree is a lovely sio'ht. 'Phe whole top of the tree is covered with the ji'raeeful droopino; lines of the fruiting’ twin's, like raindrops lilown slantwise in a shower.

riiese are only a few samples of the interestin*): and varied mem- bers of the crab-apple collection. Many more are ecpially deservintj. There are the various purple crabs with Howers of an incredibly bri<jht rosy pink and with leaves and fruits tinned with red or purple. There are the Soulard crabs and their relatives, natural hybrids between cul- tivated apples and the native American “prairie crabs”; these lusty hybrids are bowers of pink in the sprinjr and hold their abundantly borne lar^e grreen apples late into the winter. There is Ma/ux Sar- genti from Japan, a low irrowinjj spreadiiifj shrub with all the delicacy of a Japanese screen, yet reliabl}’ winter hardy. All in all, the crab- apples have orraduallv ^rown to be the finest sinjrle display at the Arnold Arboretum, fragrant and beautiful in the springrtime, brilliant in the fall, and to the birds at least, attractive far into the winter. When their special merits are recognized and their care is understood they will be very Generally used in New England, some for founda- tion plantinof, some for avenues and drives, others for naturalistic plantinjrs and to furnish winter food on fjame preserves.

Edgar Anderson

ARNOLD ARBORETUM

HARVARD UNIVERSITY

BULLETIN

OF POPULAR INFORMATION

Series 4. Vol. Ill NOVEMBER 18, 1935 Number 7

COMPARATIVE Studies OF Winter Injury in the Arnold Arboretum.

Material for this study of winter injury in different parts of the Arboretum was aeeumulated durino- the o-rowino; season of 1934. The ])reeeilin«’ Avinter liad been one of unusual intensity, and the daniaoe ineurred by the jilants liad been so oreat tliat a special survey was made of it in the sprin«: and early summer. The results of the survey were published in four bulletins (l) which included lists of ])lants killed outri«rht, killed to the around, and injured but not killed to the oround. In the first of these '27 species and varieties were noted, in the second 248, and in the third 225, but no information was in- cluded as to the location of the plants injured. It has been known for some time that certain parts of the Arboretum are more suitable than others for semi-hardy species, and it has been suo-oested that, by classityinfj the M’inter injury of 1933-34 as to locality, some rather concise data may be found which Mould clarity the existino’ dift’erences in orowinj; conditions. To this end the writer has had recourse to the original field notes made l\v the committee i n vest i latino; winter injury, and has comiiiled a list of 62 species and varieties which M ere <>roM'in»' in more than one situation durino- the M inter of 1933-34 and M ere in- jured in at least one of these places. It is recoo^nized that the condi- tions of aoe and jirunino- under M’hich the same species entered the M'intcr may have (littered to a certain extent in different jilaces, but it is safe to say that nearly all of them M ere in oihkI condition and did not (litter oreatly in these respects. These 62 plants should, therefore, he the best indicators available of the variations in orowino^ conditions. Most of the notes are on shrubby species M hich are more or less c(»n-

(1). Winter Hardiness of Trees and Shndis GroM-ino- in the Arnold Arhoretnin. By J.H. Faidl, J.G.Jack, W.H.Judd, and E.V. Schmitt, Arn. Arh. Bull, of Pop. Information. Ser. t. Vol. ii. Nos. 7, S, f), II (HKU).

centrated in three areas: the shrub eolleetion just inside the Forest Hills (late, the so-ealled Chinese collection on the south knoll of Bussey Hill, and the Centre Street Path area which lies in the neijih- borhood of the Fterocarva »rou|). I’he shrub collection, which is checked over thorouj^hly each year, is the only one for which com- plete data are available, d’hat is, in addition to lists of damaged plants in it, we have also a list of all the plants <rrowinj>' there. In the other two localities only injured plants are listed.

rhe writer is indebted to the members of the committee who i)re- pared the original lists of injured plants; particularly to Messrs. Judd and .Schmitt, who have contributed a ‘jreat deal toward the followinji’ analysis of the field notes.

Fable I. Plants orowino- in more than one locality in the Arboretum durinji' the winter of and injured in at least one of these

localities :

J’able

k-Killed

o-Killed back to jiround X- Damao-ed but not killed back 11- Uninjured

Baccharis halimifolia Benzoin aestivale Berberis ao-o-reo'ata Berberis aooreoata var. Prattii Berberis aji^reoata var. recurvata Berberis dictyophylla Berberis Francisci-Ferdinandi J^erberis ])olyantha Carao-ana Boisii Ceanothus americanus Corn us kousa var. chinensis Cornus paucinervis Cytisus albus Cytisus elonu’atus

o

xo

o o u

o o u

o o

o u

o o

o o o U o U

k u

o u

X o

o

u

S]

X

X

Cytisiis nioricaiis x

Cytisus inirjivnis x

Cytisiis purpureiis x

Cytisus ratisbonensis x

Deutzia hypoolauca o

Deutzia liypoleuca o

Deutzia niaoiiitiea o

Deutzia rosea o

Deutzia seahra var. |)lena o

Dipelta floribunda u

Dipelta ventrieosa u

luieoniniia ulinoides

Forsytbia suspensa var. atroeaulis o

Forsytbia viridissinia o

Cienista pilosa o

(leiiista tinetoria x

(ieiiista tiiu-toria var. vir<>ata x

Cirewia ])arvidora o

Heliautbeimnn numnudariuui var. straniiniuin x Mel\vinj>:ia japoiiiea o

Holodiseus discolor var. ariaetblius o

I lulijjofera aniblyantlia

Kerria jajioniea var. j)]eniflora o

KolUwitzia aiiiabilis o

Lespedeza eyrtobotrya o

Lespedeza tbnnosa o

[ ]

U

u

u

u

X

o

o

o

o

o

o

X u

o

u

X

X

o

u

u

u

k u u

xo

u

u

u

u

u

Centre St. Fa

X

Lonicera <>:yiu)(*lilainv(Iea

Lonicera Henryi

Lonicera MaacUii var. p()(l()c-ari)a

Lonicera Standisliii \ar. lancifolia

Lonicera Vilmorinii

Neillia sinensis

Neill ia thibetiea

o o

() u

() X

o o

o

o o o

o u

ii

X

Paeliistiina inyrsinites

I ’run us inira

Primus serrulata horinji

Rosa multibraeteata

Rosa oineiensis var. pteraeantha

Salvia offieinalis

Sophora vieiit'olia

Spiraea Heniyi

Spiraea Miyabei var. olabrata

Spiraea nij^poinea

Spiraea \>itehii

Stejihanandra Tanakae

Viburnum betid ifolium

X u

() u

u

() u

() u

() u

o X xo

() X

() ()

X u

() X u

() u

<) <>

\dburnum lobopbyllum \’iburnum setio-erum

Miscellaneous notes from loealites not mentioned in this table show that Baccharis haUmifoUa was uninjured in the South Street nursery. Benzoin aestivale whs uninjured where it otows near the Peach Collec- tion, and Prunus serruhda horinji was killed outri«;ht near the Forest Hills Gate althouo-h it was undamao-ed on Bussey Hill.

[28]

Fable II. Distribution of the various kinds of injury in different loealities :

Table II

		1		E
				X
	'"2	2		5
Shrub Colleetion		43	1 ]	o	ab
Bussey Hill	a O	12	8	18	41
Centre St. Path		9	o	13	24
(irouii		1	o	0	.3
Nervine Border			1	o	i) o
Bussey Hill Road		1		1	o
.South St. Nurserv				1	1
Near Peaches				1	1
Forest Hills Gate	1				1

'I'he Shrub Colleetion appears by far tlie most rio-orous testino- o’round of all. Of tlie 55 speeies common to it and other places, 37, or about bT. 3 9^ , wintered more successfully elsewhere. Fifteen, or about ’-27.39^, were e(|ually damao’ed elsewhere, while onl}’ 3, or a- bout 5.5^c, suffered less in the Shrub Colleetion than elsewhere.

Thirty-four speeies and varieties were common to the Shrub Col- leetion and Bussey Hill. Twent.v (58.89^) of them were less injured in the latter j)laee, 1*2 (35.39^) showed no differences, one (^2.9%) was injured on Bussey Hill more than in the Shrub Colleetion, and one was indefinite.

'Fhe fio'ures for the Centre Street Path area are somewhat similar. Here there were 21 forms available for comparison, of which 12 (.37. 1 9^ ) passed the winter more successfully than in the Shrub Col- leetion, b (28. b9^) showed no variation, and 2 {'5.5^c) were injured more than in the Shrub Colleetion.

Comparisons between the Bussey Hill and Centre Street I’ath areas ai’c too limited to be of much sioiiitieanee. Only seven speeies of in- jured plants were found common to the two, but of these, five were less injured in the latter place, one showed no variation, and one was indefinite.

Notes on the injury of plants in a few other loealities have been included in the tallies for the li»ht they may eventually throw on the problem of causes. Bdccharis hdlimiforui , thou<i'li killed back to tlie ground in the Shrub Colleetion, was injured in tlie South Street Nursery, a situation lower in elevation and probably niueli colder. Benzoin (leslivnle suffered variously in the .Shrub Colleetion, jiart of

the plants beinji; hilled back and others only sliohtly damaged. Across the Meadow Road, however, in the nei<>hborhood of the peach trees and the nearby wooded knoll, it was uninjured, ('orniis kousa var. chiueu- sis was killed outrioht on Bussey Hill, but alonjr Bussey Hill Road near the lilacs it was uninjured. Likewise, Ko/kicitzia amahilis was badly injured in the Shrub Collection, variously daniaj^ed on Bussey Hill, but not at all on Bussey Hill Road. I'wo species of Lotiicerd, killed back to the «>round in the Shrub Collection, were uninjured or oidy daniajicd a little in the beds aloiijr the Nervine Border of the Arboretum, althouo'h the latter are in very low ‘•round. Forsythid viridissima was killed back to the »round in the Shrub Collection but on the nearby hillside, in the Forsythia Group, it was uninjured.

From the above notes, it becomes quite clear that the Bussey Hill and Centre Street Rath areas are much more suitable for the tTrowth of semi-hardy plants than the Shrub Collection. This fact is oenerally in accord with those rained from i)ast experience in the orowino- and establishment of shrubs in the Arboretum. 'Fhe causes for the differ- ences, however, are not so clear. It is not the purpose of the present paper to oo into these causes, but a brief statement of the problem will not be amiss.

Differences may be looked for in soils, local temperatures, relative exposure to briofht sun durino* the winter and sprint' days, and rela- tive protection from winds. In all of these except the first there ap- pears, with present knowledfje, to be some correlation with the win- ter injury of 1933-‘14-. No detailed soil studies have been made, but o’eneral observations suooest that the soils of the Shrub Collection and the Centre Street area are more nearly similar to each other than to those of Bussey Hill. Available temperature data indicate that the Shrub Collection suffers lower minima than either of the other two, and that of the latter the Centre Street Rath is the colder by half. Exposure to brio’ht sunlio'ht is probablv greatest in the Shrub Collec- tion and least along Centre Street. The Centre Street Rath area suf- fers notably less from strong winds, jjarticularly those from the north- west, than the other places.

'Rhe relative suitability of other ])arts of the Arboretum for the ex- perimental growing of plants has not been studied extensively in this way, but it is reasonable to expect that if at least the major causes can be established for the differences set forth above, the projection of the investigation into other areas should be greatly simplified and rendered more efficient. Studies of temperatures are already under way, and data have been gathered for a map showing the parts of the Arboretum jirotected from the northwest wind.

High M. Raup

Notes : Continued mild weatlier during- the autumn lias encouraged a comparatively large number of plants in the Arboretum to put forth late flowers.

Notable among these are;

Iberis Tenoreana

Prunus subhirtella var. autumnalis Genista tinctoria Gaphne Mezereum

Rhododendron dahurieum var. sempervirens

Erica earnea

Forsyth ia suspensa

Lonieera fragrantissima

Lonieera praeflorens

Viburnum affine

\dburnum erosum

\dburnum fragrans

In addition to tlie cultivated shrubs there were over fifty species of wild plants in blossom on the same date the above list was made, November 16.

Fruiting has been abundant tliis year, and many species are hold- ing tlieir fruits well into the winter. Viburnum, Malus, Symphori- earpos, Crataegus, Berberis, Cotoneaster, Aeanthopanax, Aronia, and Ilex are all represented among these, and add touches of color to the otherwise gray landscape, as well as provide food for the birds and small mammals which are regular winter residents.

ARNOLD ARBORETUM

HARVARD UNIVERSITY

BULLETIN

OF POPULAR INFORMATION

Series 4. Vol. Ill NOVEMBER ^25, 198.5 Number 8

INJURIOUS Effects of Winds in the Arnold Arboretum. On January ■^Jrd and ^24th, I98o, that part of New England in wliicdi the Arnold Arboretum is situated was blanketed with a snowfall of 18 to 24 inelies. The colder and drier weather with northwesterly winds whicli followed caused a great deal of drifting in the light snow, the amount varying with slope and exposure. During the succeeding week the temperature remained so low that no appreciable thawing oc- curred, and on the nights of January 2o-2b and 28-29 an inch or more of additional snow fell and was later added to the drifts. Work- ing on the assumption that the relative amounts of drifting in various parts of the Arboretum would afford data on the distribution of effec- tiveness of the northwest wind near the surface of the ground at this time of year, some notes were made which are embodied in the ac- comijanying map. It will be seen at once that man}’ small details are omitted, but the larger drifted areas are rather clearly outlined.

The general climatic conditions leading up to this fall of snow were not unusual. Several days of mild weather had considerably reduced an earlier snow cover of (1-8 inches, forming a hard crust. On the morning of January 22nd a low pressure system was central over northern Georgia and South Carolina, a jioorlv defined high jiressure area was central over Illinois and Missouri, and a prominent high was over the Canadian prairie ])rovinces. Another low pressure which had previously brought heavy snows to the lake states has passed north- eastward over the Gaspe region. The southern low pressure area had moved northeastward by the morning of the 28rd to be central over Cape Hatteras, and a strong high jiressure had centured over South Dakota and neighboring Minnesota. .Snow began to fall in the Boston district about noon, accompanied by northeast winds, and by evening ()-8 inches had accumulated. The fall continued throughout the night.

On the morninjr of the "iith the coastal low pressure was central over the Gulf of Maine, its movement hrinjjinjr northwest winds, lowerinjr temperatures, and clearinjr skies. I’he advancin«r western hifrh pres- sures were central over Illinois and Ontario, and were accompanied l)v intense cold. In the late afternoon of the "J8rd the temperature in the Arboretum averajied about 18° F.,and about midnijiht reached a minimum of about 1 1 . On the morninfi of the "i4th the temperature rose to about 13° and durintr the day reached 18°— 19°. After noon on the "i 4-th it bejjan to fall rapidly, and reached minima of 10° to 17° below zero durinj; the succeedinji: nijrht. In the period between the mornintr of the "24th and noon of the "25th the relative humidity fell from 90^^ to 38^^, with only minor advances in the afternoon of the "24th and the early mornintr of the "25th. In brief, a well-defined low pressure system moviiifr northeastward along the Atlantic coast and passing to the southeast of Boston, brought moisture-laden northeast winds and abundant snow. These winds caused a certain amount of drifting as the snow was falling, but the drifts so made were soon ob- literated by the strong, dry and cold, northwesterly wind which im- mediately followed the passage of the storm. As will be noted below, the earlier drifts persisted only in a few places in the Arboretum.

A strong subjective element was necessarily present in making a judgment on the relative amount of drifting in any given area; but the general criteria may be divided roughly into three classes. First, the hardness*’ of the snow as indicated by the way in which snow- shoes sank into it inordinary walking; second, the number and kind of ’’ripple marks*' and other surface sculpturings : and third, the dis- tortion of the normal eonfiguration of the snow about the bases of trees and shrubs. Where little or no drifting was present there were nearly circular depressions in the snow around the bases of trees, but where the wind blew hard the depressions were variously distorted and oriented aeeording to the direction and force of the blast.

In the order of diminishing intensity the most drifted portions of the Arboretum were the north and northwest slopes of Peter's Hill, most of the 14-acre Weld Street tract, the north and northwest faces of Bussey Hill, and the southeastern p«art of the North Meadow. The first three were exposed to the full force of the northwest wind be- cause of their elevation and the absence of large or dense plantations, rhe southeast end of the open meadow is so far away from the low hills to the northwest of it that their protection is lost. The influence of this wind which sweeps the meadow is felt as far as the Forest Hills entrance since the open plantings of maples are not enough to

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check it. Peter’s Hill is so open on its flanks that the hard driftino- is carried far around to the southeast and southwest sides, as shown

on the map. Similarly a strono* component of the wind which affects

Bussey Hill sweeps down the Valley Road to produce hard driftino- in the walnuts, in the upper part of the oak collection, and in tlie area about the old chestnut collection.

Nearly all of the drifted areas had their surface markinos clearly oriented to the northwest wind. Some modifications were caused by the laro-er topojrraphic features, as in the crab-apple collection where the wind currents evidently came down the valley between Hendock and Peter’s Hills in an easterly direction. The only notable excep- tions to the northwest drifts were the remnants of the northeasterly trend of the main storm. These were most prominent in that part of the South Street tract which lies southwest of the pond. All of this area was apparently well protected from the later winds by Bussey Hill. The only otlier place where this was observed was in the north- ern part of the linden collection where tlie northeast wind blew with considerable force across the north end of the meadow, but where the northwest wind was completely stopped by the nearby hills and woods.

In protected places tlie snow remained soft and powderv, with al- most no surface markinos. As would be expected, tlie laro-er of these areas lay on the lee sides of the hills, especially where the latter are more or less wooded. Smaller ones were caused by patches of natural woods or dense plantations. One of the laro-est of the protected areas lay alonjj the northwestern boundary of the Arboretum, extendino- from the Jamaica Plain entrance to Centre Street and includino- the northern end of the linden collection. Southeastward its boundary was ill-defined, with a oradual increase in the amount of drifting- at greater distances from the base of the hill. As noted abo\ e, the north- ern part of this strip showed some results of the northeast wind, but near Centre Street there was little evidence of driftino- of any kind. Another prominent ‘\lriftless“ area lay at the northeastern base of Bussey Hill, takino: in the collections of leouminous trees, the lower end of the lilacs, the plantino-s around the two westernmost of the small ponds, and a small portion of the shrub collection. 'I'he protec- tion here is afforded by the wooded kiiolls which |)roject northeast- ward from the larj^er hill.

On the south side of Bussey Hill the pla!itin<>s of pines, beeches, and a lar«;e portion of the a/aleas were under soft snow. I'lic north- w(‘stern part of the beech <»roup and that i)art of the oak collection which lies below the small transverse ridj>'e in this valley wci-(‘ only

partially drifted. Another prominent protected area lav alono’ Centre Street, takini? in most of the hickory ‘^roup, the i)terocaryas, and the miscellaneous plantations of shrubs and small trees in this vicinity. It was caused bv the hi«:h hill to the north westward and accentuated by the presence of the embankment of the street itself. Most of the land occupied by the smaller conifers and hornbeams was also pro- tected, in this case by the low, partially wooded ridj^e which crosses the Valley Road in the neif^hborhood of the springy. The lower end of this area, however, near the place where the small sprin<;-fed trib- utary enters Bussey Brook, was farther away from the barrier and was partially drifted.

Most of the northern slope of the Bussey Brook vallev was un- drifted, protected by the nearby hills and lar^e plantinfjfs. Near Bussey .Street, where the brook flows throut^h a broader expanse of meadow, the wind became effective on both sides of it, producing hard drifts. The shoulder of the hill amono- the spruces and firs was drifted, but farther u|) in this direction the Centre Street embankment and wall aoain brought protection.

.South of Bussey .Street the lar»-est sheltered area lay south and south- east of Hemlock Hill and its })rojection around the old (piarry. This land is partl\' in natural woods, jiartl.v in a miscellaneous plantation of trees near South Street, and contains the collections of pears and some of the crab-apjdes. J’he shelter in its extension toward .South Street anti the railroad is increased b.v the hij>h embankment of the Peter's Hill Roail. As would be expected the low ‘)‘rf)und in the old tpiarry is also protected, but the hioh rocks on its rim were drifted hard. The only land on Peter's Hill proper which achieves anv pro- tection to speak of is on the south slope in the lee of the natural woods, the larch plantation, and the old nursery. In the Weld Street tract the only j)rotection is from a small thicket near the eastern end and in a small low area between the two hills.

Most of the driftino- in the natural woods was confined to the rid<>e toi)s and windward slopes where these do not carry much under^rrowth. 'I'he hardwood timber is so open that driftin'*: was common wherever the wind could <»:et throufrli the trees, but on Hemlock Hill only the top of the ridoe was affected, the lower slopes beino- mantled with loose powder}' snow.

Driftino' on the Bussey Institution land is not shown on the map, but follows the main outlines of the topoo-raphy. It was oreatly modi- fied, of course, by the presence of the buildino-s. The steep sloi)e southeast of the Bussey Mansion was not much drifted, but that to

tlie nortlieast is swept by winds from the open slopes of Bussey Hill, and was drifted hard. The top of the low bluft' which forms most of the northwestern boundary of the land carried heavy drifts, and most of the i)lain eastward of the buildino- bore strong- surface markings.

Among the factors reducing the winter hardiness of plants in our region is that of the dry winds which blow during cold clear weather. There is evidence among the plants in the ArlK)retum that the north- west wind which commonly follows a cyclonic storm is the most sig- nificant in this respect. It regularly blows briskly and brings clear weather with rapidly lowering temperature and relative humidity. In contrast, winds from other cpiarters during winter and spring usually presage cloudy skies with higher humidities and temperatures. For some years the land along the Centre Street Path in the vicinity of the pterocaryas has been regarded as especially suitable for plants wliicli have not wintered successfully elsewhere. Althougli this, as well as the vigorous growtii of the crab-apples, conifers, tree legumes, and lilacs might be attributed to soil or other factors, there can be no doubt that the protection of the areas in which they grow from drying- winds must also be taken into consideration. Reference to the map will show that a portion of tlie shrub collection lies in the j)rotected area in the lee of the wooded knolls along the Meadow Road, while the remaining part is considerably more affected by winds across tlie North Meadow. 'The protection afforded is not so great as tliat im- mediately across the road, since tlie low elevation of the knolls and tlie openness of the oak woods permits a good deal of the wind to pass through. Nevertheless the protected northwest corner of the collection suffered slightly less injure during tlie winter of 193.H-.84 than the re- mainder, and since there is a fairly even distribution of hardiness throughout the whole collection this difference, small though it is, may be considered significant.

A more direct suggestion as to the importance of the northwest wind is to be found in the distortion of the crowns of trees and shrubs. This is clearly oliservable in many parts of the Arboretum. It is perhaps most strik ing on Bussey Hill among the old white pines which were planted there by Benjamin Bussey early in the nineteenth century, but it is also well-defined among the elms, birches, and haw- thorns. One of the outstanding features of it is a change from radial to bilateral symmetry in the crowns, with an orientation clearly cor- related with the northwest wind. It is generally understood that the distortion is due mainly to the drying effects of air movements ratlnn- than to mechanical injury, a condition which, in the light of what

has l)een said above, relates it to tl)e dry northwest wind rather than to other, more moist ones. F urthermore, if a ma|) were made of the relative intensities of distortion throujfhout the Arboretum, the main outlines would eoineide with those of the relative amounts of driftinn,'.

Kvidence that the northwest wind is a damajifin*; aj^ent of no mean sionifieanee is therefore strongly siijii^ested by the distribution of win- ter injury to semi-hardy shrubs, and is found abundantly in the forms of trees and shrubs in exposed plaees. It should be eonsidered one of the more important faetors outlining’ the natural biolooieal divisions of the Arnold Arboretum or of other similar plantations, and protec- tion from it should add substantially to the chances for success in brinfjintj tender species throuH,!! the winter in this part of the country.

Hugh M. Raui*

Maj) of the Arnold Arboretum showiii”; relative amounts of driftinf*’ in the snow ot January 19.J.5.

'I'he heavier shading- represents the greater amount of drifting-.

ARNOLD ARBORETUM

HARVARD UNIVERSITY

BULLETIN

OF POPULAR INFORMATION

Series -i. Vol. Ill DECEMBER !23, 1935 Numbers 9-L2

NOTES ON THE EARLY USES OF LAND NOW IN THE ARNOLD ARBORETUM

INTRODUCTION. Among THE biotic factoi’s affeetino- the jirowth and development of plants in settled reo-ions the most important is that of the human modification of primeval conditions. This is esjie- eially true in areas such as the Boston District which is among- the oldest settlements in eastern America. But with the longer period of human intervention goes increasing difficulty not only in evaluating the factor as a whole, but also in describing its varying nature, since the uses to which parcels of land have been put become increasingly obscure with age. It is the purpose of the present paper to draw u]) in broad outlines the effects of man's influence upon the vegetation, soil, and topography of the Arnold Arboretum. The periods of time, especially in their relation to the present, during which certain areas have been in natural woodland, in pasture, or under cultivation, to- gether with local modifications of drainage, will be the rough units with which such an investigation must deal. It is recognized at the beginning that many im])ortant details are as yet unavailable, but it is hoped that the general results will make iiossible a clearer under- standing of the {lotentialities for growing both native and exotic |)lants in the Arboretum's array of local habitats.

riie most fruitful sources of information are in the registered deeds of conveyance, and in the jirobated records of wills, inventories and divisions of estates touching upon the lands involved. For the Arbo- retum tliese must be sought in two ])laces, since the government of West Roxbury has lieen moved repeatedly. For the years between lb39 and 1793, as well as for those between 1871- and the present, the records are in the Suffolk County Court House in Boston, while those for the intervening period, 1793 to 1874, are in tlie Norfolk

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County Court House in the town of Dedham. By means of these rec- ords and occasional old maps it has been possible to establish most of the ancient j)roperty lines and to trace the titles for most of the Arboretum land back to about 1700, and some of them to the orijjinal grants made i)rior to

Next in importance, as sufjoested above, are old maps which are to be found in the various libraries in the vicinity, d'wo of these are by far the most significant for the present study. One was jjublished in liSfS from surveys made by Charles Whitney, and gives the approxi- mate boundaries of timber lands in Roxbury at that time. The other is a toi)ographic map surveyed under the direction of Frederick L. Olmsted about 1878. It is of particular interest because it contains lines, evidently indicating fence-rows, which divided the old Bussey estate into i)arcels of varying size and sha])e. These lines and the areas they define have proved to be of considerable historic signifi- cance since they may be traced intact through several generations of proprietors. The natural woodlands in the Arboretum have yielded much information also, in the way of tree rings and the growth forms of the trees themselves. Likewise the rather extensive notes on the distribution and habits of the spontaneous herbaceous flora made in recent years by Mr. E. J. Palmer contain suggestions of past changes in vegetation or drainage. General histories of the vicinity, chiefl.v de- voted to the political and social doings of the inhabitants have proved (d'some value, as have also geneological papers dealing with the fami- lies which have owned Arboretum property in times past. From the establishment of the Arboretum in 1872 to the present the annual reports of the Director, Professor C. S. Sargent, and later those of the Supervisor, Professor Oakes Ames, give a fairly detailed account of major changes in local conditions. Also Professor Sargent's excellent description of the Arbt)retum‘s accomplishments during its first fifty years, published in 1922, has been of considerable value.

'Phe writer is much indebted to various persons in the libraries of the Massachusetts Historical Society and the New England Historic Geneological Society, and to others in the offices of the Clerk and of the Chief Engineer of the City of Boston for searching out old majjs and other historic documents. Prc)fessor Kirk Bryan of the Depart- ment of Geology and Geographv at Harvard has made several valued suggestions regarding the interpretation of the data. The author is esi)ecially grateful to those older men among his associates at the Arboretum who have had to endure his endless questioning and who have supi)lied a wealth of inspiration and knowledge out of their prac- tical experience with our growing plants.

Historical Sketch. The x-\mold Arboretum is situated on a tract of about 260 acres in the 'western part of the old town of Rox- bury. It is now in the park s.vstem of the City of Boston, and is in the municipal divisions of Jamaica Plain and West Roxbury. The oreater part of the Arboretum land, about 210 acres, came from the estate of Benjamin Bussey who willed it, subject to certain restric- tions, to Harvard Colleo*e at his death in 1842. The remaining- acre- age has been added in various purchases, either by the City or by tlie College.

The Arboretum was started in 1872 on that ])art of the Bussey es- tate which lay north of Bussey and South Streets, excluding the area already occupied by the Bussey Institution. In 1883 this land was taken into the Boston Park System and leased back to Harvard Col- lege, tax-free, for one thousand years. At the same time the City added to it several pieces of land and undertook to build and main- tain its fences and roadways. The additions at this time included about 10 acres in what is now the collection of larger conifers, near the cor- ner of Walter and Bussey Streets ; about 1 1 acres on the north slopes of Bussey Hill and reaching northward through the linden and horse- chestnut collections; and about 1 7 acres covering most of the present area of the Nortli Meadow and tlie hillside at the base of which the Administration Building now stands. Furtlier additions were made between 1890 and 1895 when the Peter's Hill section was taken over from the Bussey estate ; another five acres were acquired along Centre and Walter Streets at the corner of Bussey ; and two areas formerly reserved by tlie City, one on Bussey Hill and the other in the North Meadow, were finally leased for Arboretum purposes. About 15 acres bounded by Walter, Weld, and Centre Streets were acquired by pur- chase in 1922, and the jiroperty between South Street and the rail- road was taken from tlie Bussey estate at about the same time. The latest aciiuisition consists of about eight acres along Centre .Street purchased from the Adams Nervine Asylum in 1926. Benjamin Bussev ac(|uired his part of the future Arboretum by purcliase between the years 1806 and 1837. He bought it in six jiarcels, two of wliicli cover most of the area and came from the estates of the Weld and Davis families.

\ glance at the titles to these several jiieccs of property shows that their boundaries jiersisted through many generations of ownership and conveyance, many of the lines having set off parts of th(‘ original colonial grants. It is (piite evident further that although they con- form in many cases to topographic and soil boundaries, they have but little in common with the modern arrangement of roads and plant-

iii^s. riieretore it is deemed ;ul\ isable in the t'ollowiiio’ d iseiissioTi to use these modern divisions as unit-areas, with eonstant reference to the old property lines which affect them. Plate I is a recent map of the Arhoretum upoji which the unit-areas are numhered and sepa- rated hy dotted lines.

1. I'he earliest mention of the hillside which lies hack of the Ad- ministration Buildinjr, extendino’ westward to include the collection of tulip-trees, is in the will of Jahe/ d’otman, probated in 170.). Jud»- inji’ by the inventory of his estate the land was part of a farm upon which there was considerable «razin<>; stock, and which was in pas- ture, orchard, and ])ossihly in part ])lanted to hay. It seems clear that its orio’inal timber was removed before 1 700. It continued to he farmed by various owners until its incorporation in the Arhoretum in 188fl, hut si)ecific references to its uses are rare. The western half was de- scribed in the inventory of the estate of John Morey in 1771 as j)as- ture. J’he Meadow Hoad was finished in the early 1890‘s, and the Administration Building’ in 180"2. The maoiiolias were jjlanted in the followino' year, the tulip-trees about the same time, and the pines which now cover the hill-top, sometime in the late 80's. In very re- cent years an attempt was made to grow small conifers on the south- ward-facing slo|)e, hut this was abandoned and the area is now largely in grass, made beautiful in si)ring by an abundance of daffodils.

*2. Along the west side of the Meadow Road there is a stretch of nearly level ground perhaps 10- acres in extent and reaching west- ward and southward to the bases of the gravelly knolls which are now covered with natural woods. This area is vei\v low and was once part of the North Meadow, hut it is nowdrained and contains the j)lanted groups of ('ercidiphi/lhon , TU'ui, Phellodend rou , and Aesculus. Hast of the Meadow Road the sliadhushes, buckthorns, and sumacs grow on similar ground, with some of the maples.

All of this lowland was known in early times as ‘^(lore's Meadow,** .and we hnd it mentioned as the pro|)erty of .lolin (lore in the oldest record of Roxhury land holdings, the Ancient Transcript** (1().)4). Like others of its kind it was of particular value because it supplied a ready source of hay to settlers in a wooded wilderness largely de- void of natural grassland. Furthermore, it was the higher ])art of the whole meadow area which lies in this section of the Arhoretum, and could he successfully drained to inci*ease it productiveness. It was variously divided at different times into halves and thirds during the long and complex history of its ownership, hut continued to he used for its original purpose, as hay meadow, until after it became a part of the Arhoretum by purchase from the Adams Nervine in 188.8. Par-

Maj) of the Arnold Arboretum and the Bussey Institution showing the numbered areas described in this bulletin.

tial control of Goldsmith Brook which flowed throuoh it was attained in 1892, about the time the Meadow Road was finished, and the re- sultino" drainao'e made j)ossible the planting;, about 189d, of the lin- dens and horse-chestnuts as well as tlie other neijihborinji' ji’roups.

'I'he control of the brook did not prove entirely successful however.

In 190.5 a culvert was put under the Meadow Road and the whole brook led under«round from Centre Street to the place where it dis- charo'es under the Arborway. In 1902 the around under all of these |)lantin<)s was laid down permanently to orass which yields a jiood crop of hay each year, just as its predecessors did in oenerations ])ast.

o. Lyino- between the Arborway and the Meadow Road is a marshy tract of several acres, formerly much wetter than now, but still too swampy for extensive j)lantinos. Alon»' the embankment formed by the Meadow Road, and also alono* that by the Arborwav, plantings have been made, and a part of the eastern side of the area has been utilized for willow and alder collections, but otherwise the ground is left to itself.

In earlier times the meadow was divided into two parts by a straight line beoinnino’ near what is now the shadbush collection and extend- intj to the Arborway so that a projection of it would follow the west- erly side of Park Road, recross the Arborway, and form part of the northeastern boundar.v of the Bussey Institution property between the street and the Bussey Dormitory. This is one of the oldest surveyed lines in West Roxbur.v, beino- known in theorioinal apportionment of the town's |)roperty as the ‘headline" of the first division of out- lands." It was the northeastern boundary of the Bussey estate and so of the original .Arboretum.

'riiroiio-hout its lono- anti somewhat complicated titulary histoi'y this area has been described as meadow." It appears to have been drained with fair success in early times to produce natural hay. In winter and sprin**' it was |)robably ponded, as it still is after especially heavy thaws or raitis. Wliitney's maj) ( 18 18) shows oidy jneadow with no standing: water, but a map made about 1879 shows a small pond. The completion of the Meadow Road made possible, in the early 189()‘s, the border plantinjrs alon<2; the western margin of the low ‘i'round, but even semi-ade(piate drainajje was not available until bet- ter sewer arranoements were made eastward from the .Arborway to Stony Brook. This was done about 1900. 'I'he .Arborway was com- pleted about 189.5, and the Ijorder plant.ation of willows w.as put in .at that time. After better draina<>e conditions c.ame, .a willow (a)llection was started (about 1908) in the low jri’ound across from the .Adminis- tration Buildinjr, but for warious reasons amony; which injurious in-

sects and the excessively i)eaty substratuin are inii)ortant the collection has not been enlarfred. The main part of the meadow is regularly cut and burned off in tlie autumn and allowed to come up to weeds in the following summer. The asters and goldenrods which blossom abun- dantly in the late summer supply a mass of brilliant color at a time of year when greens predominate elsewhere in the Arboretum.

k One of the Arboretum's most recent accessions is a small parcel of land along Centre Street lying between the Adams Nervine prop- erty on the north and the plane-tree collection on the south. East- ward it is bounded by a timbered ridge on the north slope of Bussey Hill, by the collection of river birches, and by the lowland containing the linden group. In the northern part itistpiite low and is traversed by Goldsmith Brook which is now entirely underground. Southwest- erly it slopes upward and forms part of the base of tbe high hill lying- just across Centre Street. At the southwestern corner is the old Lewis house, recently renovated, in which lives a member of the Arlioretum staff.

'file earliest mention of tliis land found thus far is in a description of the lioldings of Samuel and John Gore in 1708, where their north- western boundaries are noted as on property of Thomas Morey. It is assumed that the latter acquired it either by purchase or indirect in- heritance sometime after 10.54- since no one of the name of Morey was among the original settlers, nor among those who contributed notes to the ‘Ancient Transcript. " 4’he original Morey parcel contained about 14 acres (see Plate II), and was described as planting land, meadow, and orchard when it was transferred to John Morey in 1714. It is presumed that the meadow was on the low ground along Gold- smith Brook, and tliat possibly the planting land was on tlie more level areas about the liouse site and southeastward, leaving the sharper slopes and the morainic ridge now in natural wf)ods for orchard.

'I'he land remained in tlie Morey family until 178.S, and was the nucleus of that part of the large Morey farm which lav west of the road, file only descriiitive matter available in subse(iuent years is that the laml was a farm and that part of it was a sheej) pasture" in 18()b. 'Phe whole 1 4-acre piece will be referred to again as different parts of it are discussed. The area southeast of Bussey Hill and that occiqiied by tbe plane-trees and river birches were bought by the city for the Arboretum in 1883, but the remainder was not purchased from the Nervine until 19'2t). For many .rears the Arboretum rented the old Lewis house as a residence for Jackson Dawson, its first superin- tendent ; and some neighboring Arboretum land was utilized for nurse- ries at an early date. The nurseries are still in use, but are now

planted mainly to roses. The Valley Road from Centre to South Streets was finished about 1883, and the plane-trees were planted about the same time. Just north of the Lewis house is the foundation of a laroe building put up by the Nervine. The laroe terraces around it have in- volved a oreat deal of fillino-, and the excavations found on the hill- side to the north probably date from its construction. The lower sloi)es of the hill as well as the meadow are now in grass, soon to be planted with birches and shrubs, 'fhe lowering of Goldsmith Brook in the early 90’s and its final “submergence* ’ about 1905 have rendered the bottom land progressively drier and more suitable for present puri)oses. In very recent years neat conical stacks of hay, cut and put up on this bit of open ground, have added a cpiaintly rural aspect to the local scene, and have brought up to date the nearly continuous use of the land for farming through nearl}' two and one (juarter centuries.

5. On the lower north and northeast slopes of Bussey Hill are two areas which are bounded on the upper side by Bussey Hill Road, and separted from each other by a strip of natural woods. Northeastward they are bounded in part by the Meadow Road, by other natural woods, and by the lowland of the horse-chestnut collection. The west- erly one is planted to viburnums, river birches, and hackberries, while the lower is devoted to a variety of trees and shrubs which are chiefly leguminous. Surrounding the i)ond at the eastern end are i)ersim- mons, tupelos, dogwoods, witch-hazels, etc.

'I'he history of the western area has already been outlined in the account of the 14-acre parcel of Thomas Morey. The more easterly section had an entirely different history, and was part of the Weld land purchased bv Bussey in 1806. I'he western j)art of it, now con- taining most of the leguminous trees, was probably in the possession of the Gore family in 169*2, and was bought by Joseph Weld in 1718. 'I'he land now around the pond was probably part of the original Weld grant. This whole area will be treated in more detail below in con- nection with the northeastern side of Bussey Hill, but it should be noted that in 1768 and again in 1718 the Gore jjart was described as pasture, and that all of it probably came under that heading in 1760.

I'he building of the road, which was finished in 189*2, greatly modi- fied the land below it on account of the large amount of grading necessary. A terrace was constructed all along the hillside and a large amount of subsoil thrown over the lower ground. Also a new form of drainage was started with the guttered roadway to carry off surface water from the hill. A temporary spring ajnong the river birches may have become localized in its outlet at thistiim*. Its presence i)robably accounts in part for the great vigor of the birches. ’I'he Meadow Road

separated <»ft‘ the small pond from its neighbors, and the main plant- intys were finished over the whole lower area in the early 90's. The birches and haekberries had been put in durintr the late 80*s. The attractive color and scent amon*; the locusts in early summer, the rich reds of the tupelo leaves in the autumn, and the delicate tracery of the birch twijrs ajjainst the winter skies help to make these si)ots amon<r the choicest in the Arl)oretum.

(). Aloiiff the Arborway is a strip of relatively level land bordered on the north by the meadow. Its south and southwest boundaries are the Forest Hills and Meadow Roads and a stand of natural woods. It is occupied mainly by the maples and the shrub order, but alonjr the roads are plantings of hawthorns, cherries, and plums. Like the land just west of it, this was all part of the Bussey property boufjht of the Welds in 180b. Likewise its northern part was in the Gore property in 1(19*2 which was sold to the Welds in 1718. The latter was described as pasture in 1708 and 1718, and it is probable that the whole area was in pasture or hay land in I7b0. Its more detailed history will be found in another place.

Almost immediately after the Arboretum was founded, the land now occupied by the Shrub Order was utilized as a nursery for startinj? the thousands of trees and shrubs needed for border and orroup plantinfjs. 'Fhere is fairly tyood soil and a sufficient slope to the westward to in- sure ‘rood drainajre. After the bulk of the plantings had been made other nurseries were started, and during the 90‘s this area was re- arranofed to serve as a systematic collection of shrubs. A further re- oriranization and enlargement of the beds to their present condition was finished in 1907. At this time some (Trading and drainino; were done, and the laro*e modern trellis was put up. The plums and cher- ries were planted in 1894-, soon after the roads were finished, but the maple ‘rroup had been started in 1891. The hawthorns alontr the Arborway seem to have been planted in the early 90*s. The land under the maples was not laid down to o’rass until 1900.

7. d'he northerly and northeasterly slojies of Busse.v Hill have a cer- tain uniformity of aspect produced by the rather open plantings of large trees which cover them, and have been grouped together for purposes of description. The area in cpiestion is inclosed by the Bus- sey Hill Road as it ‘^spirals** uj) to the Overlook, and bounded south- easterly by land of the Bussey Institution. It is occupied by the collections of birches, elms, mulberries, catalpas, ashes, oleasters, lilacs, forsythias, and privets.

The lower ])art of the birch collection, as already noted, was mainly in the Morev land which came from the .Adams Nervine in 1888. All

[48]

Plate II. Map of lands in tlie Arnold Arboretum about tlie year 1710.

of the remainder of tlie hillside was in the Bussey estate piirehased from the Welds in 1806. Althouj^h the old Weld estate is represented in several other areas described elsewhere, its history as a whole will be discussed here.

Amon<i: the Roxbury settlers were two Weld brothers, Thomas and Josei)h. For various considerations, amon<): which was his military ser- vice to the colony during; its early dealings with the Indians, Joseph Weld ac(|uired a larjre (jrant of land in West Roxbury about 1640. 'I'he location of all this land, upwards of ^70 acres, is not clear, but it is known that a lari^e part of it lay on both sides of South Street, then called the ^ Lower Road to Dedham” or the ^^Hi^hway to Bare Marsh,” in the neiohborhood of what is now Forest Hills, and that it was farmed by John Weld, a son of Joseph. PLarly descriptions of this property are so confusing that it seems all but impossible to define their meaning at present. At any rate it is certain that a considerable portion of the Arboretum land was still in primeval forest in 1691 and later, and that John Weld's son Joseph inherited from his father 60 acres, “partly plowland part meadow and pasture and woodland,” which evidently lav west of the road and was the Arboretum property in (juestion. For the boundaries of this land reference should be made to Plate II. The area was apparently underestimated at 60 acres, and continued to be underestimated until accurate surveys were made in 1861. It is presumed that the meadow mentioned in the above note was that now represented in the ponds near the Shrub Order. The relatively good soil on the “Plain-field” (Bussey Institution land along South Street) was undoubtedly utilized as at least part of the plowland, leaving the pasture and woodland for Bussey and Hemlock Hills.

After the death of Joseph Weld in 17L2 the 60 acres passed to his son Joseph, but with no additional evidence as to land uses at that time. This Joseph Weld greatl.v increased the property by purchases from the Gore family in 1718.

Tlie inventory of the estate of Samuel Gore, probated in 1692, af- fords the first definite record of a large part of the Arboretum land. There is reference to “About 22 acres of Meadow and Lpland lying- before the ln)use. . . About 40 acres of Land, extending from sd. Meadow to the Sawmill, & taking in somewhat in the Second division for the advantages of the sd. Mill, Together with the Mill being al- most rotten ik the Dam broken. . . .*' The first item refers to the low ground of the horse-chestnut and linden collections and to the low- land southeast of it. The second includes a strip of land about 550 feet wide northwest of the Weld property described above, and ex-

[50]

tending into what is now the collection of larger conifers. It then included all of the 15 acres now occupied by the latter (see Plate II). Mention of a sawmill and dam is of considerable significance since the mill and its equipment had, as early as 169^2, seen a great deal of service and must have accounted for the reduction of a great deal of the primeval forest of the Arboretum prior to that date. It is also of interest because the earliest name of Bussey Brook was Sawmill Brook,” which clung to it until the time of the Bussey estate.

The disposition of the Gore property between 1692 and 1718 con- tains so much descriptive matter that it will be noted in some detail. After the death of Samuel Gore his estate was not finally divided un- til 1708. In this division the oldest son, Samuel, received most of the meadow land (northern part). His mother, Elizabeth Tucker, had a piece which included land now in the collections of lilacs, tree leg- umes, part of the maples, natural woods, and a part of the Shrub Order. Her land was designated as upland^ and meadow. Another son, John Gore, received about eight acres in a roughly rectangular piece just southwest of the last. It now contains the elms, mulberries, and parts of the catalpas, lilacs, and birches, and was described in 1708 as upland and orchard. A third son, Obadiah Gore, had about 15 acres bounded southwesterl}’ and southerly by Bussey, Walter, and Centre Streets, and now containing the larches, firs, spruces, and pines. He also had about 10 acres lying between this and John Gore's eight acres. The whole of Obadiah Gore’s 25 acres was described as meadow, orchard, and upland. It is of interest that none of the Gore property was noted as woodland or plowland at this time.

Subsequently Samuel Gore acquired all of his mother’s and John Gore’s shares, and sold all but a part of the meadow to Joseph Weld in 1718. In the latter transaction the whole area was mentioned as meadow, orchard, and pasture, with still no mention of timber or cul- tivation, and confirming the definition of ^ ^upland” as pasture. Oba- diah Gore’s share had an entirely different history. The Joseph Weld property, as now constituted, was substantially the same as that later bought by Benjamin Bussey.

'I'he last Joseph Weld died in 1760, leaving the future Arboretum land to his son Eleazer. A rather detailed inventory of his estate is given, the significant items being as follows: ‘Sd)out (> Acres of Or- chard adjoining the house. . . 9 Acres of the Plane Eastward of the

* The term “upland" evidently referred to upland pasture rather than to wood- land. It is often given in a list of properties, others of which are definitely desig- nated as woods.

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barn. . . about 10 of fresh Mowing, & of Woodland. . . about 8 Acres of Meadow Called Gores Meadow. . . About 4'4- Acres of Pasture & Woodland. . .** He had in addition considerable livestock including sheep, 0 horses, 4- oxen, 18 cows, 4 “voun^ Cattle,** and 8 pij^s. I'here is also mention of a **Mill house Including about Nine Thou- sand of Shingles.** Providing the farm house was, like the barn, west of the road, the six acres of orchard and nine of the Plane** would account for all or most of the present Bussey Institution land. The 10 acres of fresh mowingr is presumed to have been in part fresh meadow, either in the lowland at the eastern end of the farm or somewhere on Bussey Hill. Gore*s Meadow was evidently the roughly triangular piece at the northeastern corner of the farm. The 4-4 acres of woodland and pasture, therefore, were probably confined between the old lines of the Weld, John Gore, and Elizabeth Tucker lands on the northwest, and the boundaries of the Bussey Institute area on the southeast. There is every indication that Hemlock Hill was never en- tirel}' cleared and made into pasture, so that it may be regarded as at least part of the woodland. A large oak tree in the azalea collection on Bussey Hill, which was killed by lightning in 1981, proved to be solid to the center, and to be ^64 years old. Its rings show that alx)ut 1768 the primeval forest in which it had spent the first part of its life was finally cleared, and that after that time it remained in the open, undoubtedly in pasture since the steep slope would preclude cultiva- tion. The width of the rings prior to 1763 indicate that no appreciable clearing had been done around it in the preceding 96 years, and cer- tainly none could have been expected before that time because all of the earliest rings are very narrow. Since all of the original Gore land had already been cleared, the conclusion seems justified that the wood- land part of the acres was confined to Hemlock Hill, a part of the southern slope of Bussey Hill, and possibly some of its southeastern slopes. It is probable, however, that all of the eastern and south- eastern sides were open, and that the three acres of woods mentioned with the 10 of fresh mowing, were an isolated lot in this vicinity.

There is nothing in the records of Eleazer Weld’s estate when he died in 1800, nor in the sale of it to Bussey in 1806, to indicate the trend of uses in this area. The next pertinent information is on the Whitney map of ISJS, which shows most of the land except Hemlock Hill still open, but with clumps of natural woods here and there. The history of these wooded areas will be taken up in another place.

From the above notes it seems clear that most of the land in area no. 7 was clear and in pasture or orchard or both in 1708, and that the northwestern end may have been under cultivation ; also that the

[52]

southern end, where the privets, ashes, and parts of the catalpas are, was probably clear and in pasture prior to 1760. Furthermore, there is no indication that any of this land was allowed to ^row up to natu- ral woods subsequently, nor is there much evidence of cultivation in these early times.

Bussey planted a double row of lilacs, among which were white pines, in a sort of rectangular arrangement around the top of the hill back of his mansion. A few of the pines are still standing near the azalea collection and long lines of lilac bushes remain on the east side of the Overlook. The fence row which separated the John Gore and Elizabeth Tucker properties was still in existence in the early 1890’s, as shown on an old photograph in the Arboretum Library, and the ones between the John and Obadiah Gore lands, as well as that be- tween the former and the Brewer and Morey properties in part, were perpetuated in Bussey's lilac plantings which followed the old lines. The ashes, elms, catalpas, and birches were started in 1886, and the ground beneath them was laid down in grass about 1900. The lilac and forsythia groups appear to have been started early in the 1900's, very near the road, while the bank above the lilacs was still planted in privets. The lilacs were not expanded up the bank until somewhat later.

8. There are several stands of natural hardwood timber in the Arbo- retum which have had a somewhat varied history. It seems clear that during most of the 1700‘s the Arboretum was for the most part de- void of deciduous woods, but the ancient oaks on the southwest slopes of Bussey Hill indicate that there were occasional trees which had their origin in the primeval forest, and at least one patch of woods which persisted until the 1760's. Since the present woodlotsare most- ly of even-aged trees it is possible to ^*date‘‘ within a very few years the several stands.

At the northeastern base of Bussey Hill are several gravelly knolls upon which most of the oldest trees are 100-110 years of age. There are two parts of the woods, separated by a clearing below the hack- l)erries. The oldest trees in the westerly portion are mostly of sprout origin, while in the easterly tract there is a much greater number of trees which started as seedlings. The trees east of the Meadow Road, as well as a few around the base of the knolls just west of it, are older ( 130-1 4-0 years). Also, they are nearly all of seedling origin. All of these trees had a very rapid growth at the start, and show nothing but a gradual diminution in the rate subsetjuently.

The woods on the rocky hill along Centre Street north of the coni- fers is somewhat less even-aged than the others, the oldest trees rang-

iiijr from 120 to 140 years. All of those counted except one had a rapid <>:rowth at the start with jjradual slowinfj, and were seeded in. 'I'he exception was a 140-year-old oak which jrrew rather slowly dur- injr its first 10 years.

The open woods on the knolls southeast of South Street appear to he about 120 years old, and to have started mostly as seedlings. They grew rapidly at the beginning and slowly later. At the southeastern end of the tract there are a few large white and red oaks which jjrob- ably antedate the others.

Southwest of Bussey Street, on the rocky upland adjoining Hem- lock Hill, is a piece of woods which evidently started by seeding about 130-150 years ago. Many of the older trees have been cut for some time so that it is difficult to count their rings. A sufficient number of sound stumps of recent cutting are available, however, to set the above ages. Like most of the other stands this also shows nothing but a steady diminution in the rate of growth.

The small piece of woods on the easterly side of Peter’s Hill ap- pears to be about 100 years old, and to be of seedling origin, with a gradually slowing growth rate.

As shown above there is no indication of woods in the descriptions of the lands at the northeastern base of Bussey Hill in the early iTOO's. The westernmost of the knolls was Morey land, and was probably in orchard or pasture in 1714. The remainder was Gore property, in or- chard or pasture in 1708 and again in 17 18. Subsequent history of the westerly piece is obscure, but the large percentage of sprout origin is evidence that the present woods were preceded by another. How- ever, the position of the sprouts does not indicate a previous forest of very large trees. It is presumed therefore that the land was aban- doned and seeded sometime in the late 1700’s. As will be noted else- where, the breaking up of the Morey estate occurred in 1783, and this may have been the period of abandonment.

The more common seedling origin among the trees on the knolls farther east indicates that this land was maintained in orchard or pas- ture for a longer time. If this is not the case then it is necessary to assume that approximately between 1718 and 1830 a woodlot was started, allowed to grow, and then was so completely eradicated as to preclude sprout origin for a large percentage of the later trees. It is more reasonable to assume that the woods started in long-open ground, some of the young plants being grubbed out in the early stages, giving rise to a certain amount of sprout growth. Further, there is little in the 1760 inventory of the Weld estate to indicate woods in this area. The timber east of the Meadow Road evidently had about the same

[54]

Plate III. Map of lands in the Arnold Arboretum about the year 1770.

orijxin, but started earlier, about 1800. Here again the abandonment of tlie land might be correlated with a major property transfer, since 1800 was the year of Fdeazer Weld's death, and his heirs sold his ancestral estate to Benjamin Bussey in 180t).

'riie upland rocky woods along Centre Street was partly in the es- tate of the Brewer Family for several generations prior to 1 704- when it was sold to John Morey. In 1783, and again in 1717 the probate records show that it was part of a 17-acre parcel along the road, hounded by John Morey on the northeast, by Joseph Weld on the southeast, and by the land formerly of Ohadiah Gore on the south- west (see Plate II). In both years it was described as pasture. The woods farther to the southeast, between the pines and the former chestnut group, is on the Gore property described as orchard and pas- ture in 1708, and as pasture in 1771. It seems clear therefore that this land remaine’d open and mainly in pasture until the present woods seeded in, which evidently occurred after about 1790. This might also he correlated with the final dissolution of the Morey estate in the 80*s.

The northwestern part of the woods just south of Bussey Street is on land which was also part of the Morey farm and was sold to John Davis in 1777. It was described as pasture in 1730 in an inventory of the estate of John May, in 1771 in an inventory of the estate of John Morey, and again in 180'2 in the division of the propert}' of John Davis. This brings it to about the time when the present woods seeded in. The southeastern end of the tract was mostly in the farm of Ezra Davis which was purchased by Bussey in 183‘2. Earlier history of this is very obscure in the records, there being almost nothing descriptive of the Ezra Davis land except that it was a farm. It is probable, how- ever, that the present woods seeded into old pasture or possibly old orchard in the late l700's and early 1800*s.

The knolls below South Street were in the Weld estate, but their earl}’ history is obscure on account of the small amount of data avail- able on the boundaries or uses of the land in this section. The present woods evidently seeded into open ground in the early 1800*s, at about the time Bussey purchased the property.

The small patch of woods on Peter's Hill is evidently but little over 100 years old. There is little information as to the earlier history of the land, as will be shown later, but the present timber seeded in about the time the land was purchased by Bussey in 1837 from the Davis family which had held it through several generations.

This brings the discussion to the Whitney map published in 1843, the year following the death of Benjamin Bussey. On this map there are no woods shown on the knolls at the northeastern base of Bussey

Hill except those between the Meadow Road and the maples. Like- wise there is noneon Peter's Hill. The other tracts are shown essen- tially as they are at present except that the one by the conifers had a lar^e extension northward to cover the sites of most of the present walnut and hickory collections. There is evidence of this extension in the abundant undergrowth now existent especially under the walnuts.

It should be noted that the only woods omitted from the map are those approximately 100 ^ ears old. When the map was made the.v were but thickets of young saplings 10-15 years old, and were there- fore not regarded as woodlots. The other tracts were young stands *25-50 years old.

As for the period between Bussey’s death and the starting of the Arboretum there is little information of any kind. There was a note in one of the codicils of Bussey's will, however, that no timber was to l)e cut off the land until the University took it over*. Consequently it is fairly certain that the areas of natural timber remained intact until the Arboretum era. Professor Sargent mentions repeatedly the thin- ning and pruning of the natural woods, especially in the early years, but nowliere is there mention of clearing operations. Whether the present hickory and walnut areas were thinned out by him or by some- one cutting between 1861 and 1872 is uncertain, but it is probable that the present condition was made in the 80's when the groups were planted. Pruning and the elimination of old decrepit trees still goes on with good results in the growth of young stems which will in- sure the continuity of the timber as a whole. Undergrowth and ground cover are allowed to develop as they will except in a few cases where azaleas or other shrubs have been planted in the more open woods.

9. The entire history of Hemlock Hill prior to the Bussey purchase is to be looked for in the records of the Weld and Davis families, and in the trees themselves (see Plates II, HI, and IV). Whether Bussey did any cutting of trees during his lifetime is unknown. It is pre- sumed that since his death little has been done except for the removal of dead wood, but in the growth rings of trees cut recently from tlie steep eastern slope there is evidence of the release of formerl}’ slow- growing trees. This indicates tliat some of tlie thinning operations started by Sargent were probably carried out in this area. Elsewhere on the hill the release is not shown. On the middle {)art of the east- ern slope there are several recently cut stumps which sliow a release about 125 years ago of sucli a nature as to indicate considerable cut- ting about tliat time. Phe trees are 140-160 years old.

On the northern slope of the hill the older trees range from about 100 to about 140 years old. The younger of these (about 100-120

[-7]

years) are near the brook at the base of the hill, while the older ones ( 18.5-1 to years) are part way up the slope. All of these trees {jrew very rapidly at the start and show no evidence of release except in one case where there is a slijjht indication of it about 60-65 years a^o. Otherwise they all show a rather steady diminution in rate of jrrowth after very rapid starts. Youn«r trees in the dense shade on the lower slopes are now (jfrowinfr very slowly, even from the seedlinj; stagre. 'riiereis every reason to believe, therefore, that this hillside was either clear-cut or heavily culled about 14-0 years ajrn. The yountjer trees near the brook could still have had a rapid start manv years later both on account of the better lifjht at the edjje of the timber and because of nearness to water.

The southerly slope of the hill is also steep and rocky, but is nota- ble for a lar^e admixture of hardwoods. The older of these appear to ran^e from 185 to 150 years of ajre, and to have (rrown continuously in the open when they were younor.

From the above notes it is evident that Hemlock Hill has been the scene of a certain amount of lumbering. It is apparent that in the early 1800's considerable was done on the Davis land at the eastern end, and in the 1790*s the north slope was rather heavily cut. The trees on the top of the hill are rather uneven-aj^ed (80 to 160 years), but all show fairly rapid growth at the start which might indicate either continued culling of the stand or a relatively open timber grow- ing there naturally. The writer is inclined to the latter opinion, es- pecially since young trees now starting have the same sort of rapid growth. The forest has undoubtedly suffered considerably from the continued trampling of picnickers and hikers. Fences recently put up are intended to discourage climbing on the steep rocky cliffs on the north side where most of the damage is done. The partial drying up of Bussey Brook, and the change in its channel effected several years ago have also done some damage to the trees near it. On the other liand there is a wealth of young birches in the woods, and with them young hemlocks which bid fair to perpetuate the forest provided they and the pittance of soil they grow in can be preserved.

10. Most of the steep southwestern slopes of Bussey Hill are now devoted to collections of oaks and beeches. A ridge-like extension of the hill south of the Overlook carries on its top and upper slopes a miscellaneous collection of shrubs and small trees among which the azaleas are the most conspicuous. There area few ancient oaks on the hillside which are remnants of an old forest, but most of the woods there now consist of planted trees. The old remnants appear to be the oldest trees in the Arboretum, at least some of them dating back

[58]

Farm of Crowell Hatch

I’latc I\ . Map of lands in tlie Arnold Arhoretiim about the year ISIO.

to the i)riineval forest.

'I'lie northern part of the area, containing most of the oaks, was the property of Samuel Gore in 1()9‘2 and, as stated above, was described in 1708 as oreliard and pasture when it came by inheritance to Oba- diah (iore. d'he latter sold it in 1710 to William Dudley, in which transaction it was part of a larger piece called “Orchard & meadow.” This would suggest that the upland part now under consideration, since it could not have been meadow, may have been entirely in or- chard. In 1771 when an inventory of the Morey estate was made, it was noted as pasture. After 1771 there is no descriptive matter re- ferring to the use of this land, but it is presumed that the western j)art of it was abandonded as farm land about 1800 or earlier, since it was in woods on the Whitney map of 18d.S. The upper, eastern part appears to have been still open at that time except for a few clumps of old trees.

'J'he slope of the hill farther southeast, where the beeches and azaleas are, was part of the Weld estate which, as noted elsewhere, is somewhat obscure in its land history. Evidence from the old stump in the azalea collection shows that the primeval forest in its vicinity was not cleared until about 1768, and that subseciuently the land must have remained open, probably in pasture, to the beginning of the Arboretum. Whether this evidence applies to the whole hillside is unknown, but there are a few old oaks in other parts which may eventually throw light on the question. In 1843 the only woods shown on the Whitney map for the whole area are a few clumps, evidently of these old trees.

The first road built in the Arboretum was that between the Centre and South Street gates, finished about 1884-. The beeches were planted in 1886 and the oaks in 1887. The boundary plantation of pines next to the Bussey Institution land was probably started in the late 7(Ts. The top of Bussey Hill was held as a reservation by the City until 189.5. The azalea collection was not started until 1907, and the infiux of the late E. H. Wilson’s plants inaugurated the so-called Chinese collection around the knoll south of the Overlook. The sanitary build- ing was put up about 1903. Apparently no attempt was made to lay down a cover of grass under the oaks and beeches, and the open ground just above the road inside the South Street gate probably dates back to very old pasture or cultivated land, as does also that on the top of the knoll above the Chinese collection.

1 1. The walnuts, hickories, and a miscellaneous group of species in the vicinity of the pterocaryas are planted in an area of approximate!}' 10 acres along Centre Street and bounded southeasterly by the old

[00]

chestnut collection, the oak collection, and part of the birches. There is a natural boundary line on the southwest made by the rocky woods, but the northeastern boundary has been set rather arbitrarily in the plane-tree group.

This land was part of the 17-acre Brewer parcel described in con- nection with the natural hardwoods. The first direct mention of it is in the inventory of the estate of Nathaniel Brewer probated in 1788, where it was described as pasture land. In 174-7 another Nathaniel Brewer also noted it as pasture, but after that there is no definite rec- ord of its use for many years. At the time when an adjacent piece was purchased by Bussey, in 1818, it was noted as a ^^mowing lot,” which indicates that it had not lost its character as open land at that time.

Whitney's map of 184-8 shows approximately the southeastern third of the area in woods, the age of which is uncertain. The 1818 con- veyance suggests, however, that the timber did not start until after that date, but that it must have been soon after in order to make an impression upon the map maker as woodland. In the edge of the pres- ent woods on the southwestern side of the tract is the bed of an old stone wall.

The hickories were planted in 1886 soon after the finishing of the Valley Road, and the walnut group was started in 1886-87. The ptero- caryas were planted in 1887. Like the ground under the oaks, no attempt appears to have been made to start grass in these groups. A part of the land lying on the gentle slopes east of the pterocaryas was used many years ago for nursery purposes, and now contains a mis- cellaneous collection of shrubs among which are Deutzia, Spiraea and others. Judging by Whitney’s map the woods which came up did not reach the site of these beds of shrubs, so that it probably remained open from the time of the Brewer pastures of the l780's or earlier.

1*2. A roughly rectangular piece of ground containing about 15 acres and bounded southerly and southwesterly by Centre, Walter, and Bussey Streets, is now devoted to the larger conifers such as the pines, spruces, firs, larches, and the handsome golden larch.

A narrow place in the channel of Bussey Brook which occurs near the eastern corner of the parcel was the probable site of the sawmill which was built on this land very early in the history of its occupation. As noted above the inventory of Samuel Gore’s estate in 16952 de- scribed the mill as being very old and the dam which j)roduced its power broken down. 4'he whole 15 acres, with 10 acres northeast of it, were described in 1708 as meadow, orchard, and pasture, and in 1710 as meadow and orchard, suggesting that the orcharding may have

[01]

l)een extensive at that time since tlie meadow was necessarily small.

riie Morey inventory of 1771 calls it the Saw Mill pasture &

Meadow.

After 1771 tlie records, which are exceedinfjl.v complicated as re- frards ownership, show no descriptive matter other than boundaries. 'I'he Wliitney map, however, sliows tliat the land was clear in IH^S. The extent of the meadow could not have been very <jreat, as sliown by tlie contours of the «fround ; and the length of time it lasted, de- pending upon the activities at the site of the old sawmill, is cjuite un- known. The inventory of Joseph Weld's estate in 1760 mentions a Mill house Including Nine Tliousand of Shingles," but fails to tell where the house was.

The history of a small triangular piece of land at the western corner of this area, containing less than half an acre, indicates a change in the course of Bussey Street. The position of the road was evidently moved northward at the entrance to Walter Street between 181^2 and 1836, and the old house site now south of Bussey Street at this corner originally had the street south of it. It is presumed that other changes in the course of the street were made at the same time but what they were is yet uncertain.

Whitney's map shows that in 184<3 there was a house along the road on the rocky hill where the natural wood now stands. It may have been the home of negro squatters who are known to have lived in this neighborhood for many years previously. There were also houses at that time near the point where Walter Street turns off of Centre, and on the south side of Bussey Street where it joins with Walter. The foundations of the latter are still in evidence and very conspicuous, as noted above, but those of the former have been nearly obliterated, 'rhe former houses, or others on the same sites, belonged to the Kent and Skinner families and remained standing until sometime in the

1890's.

The larger conifers were started in 1886, but the Hemlock Hill Road was not finished until about 189"2, the same year in which the deepening of Bussey Brook modified to a certain extent the drainage of the area. There is a sizeable but intermittent spring on the hillside among the spruces. In 1900 the land under the permanent planta- tions was laid down to grass.

13. Between the Hemlock Hill and Valley Roads there is a roughly triangular piece of ground which now contains the collection of yews, arbor-vitaes, sciadopit.vs, junipers, bald cypresses, and hornbeams. It is bounded on the northwestern side by the pines and by some natu- ral woods. A striking feature is the clump of old beeches along Bus-

sey Brook. On the northeast side of the area is a small intermittent stream which joins with Bussey Brook near the junction of the roads. It is fed by a sprint which issues near the larg-e rock outcrop alono- the Valley Road.

Nearly all of this land was part of the original Weld grant, and its early history is unknown. Whether the brook and its tributary flowed through open places or were overhung with woods in the natural forest is undetermined, nor do we know when the land was cleared. The interesting investigations by Mr. E. J. Palmer upon aboriginal relics in the Arboretum suggest that part of this area was the site of an Indian camp ground, and if this is the case partial or complete clear- ing for a very long time might be suspected. The Whitney map shows the woods on both sides of Bussey Brook reaching nearly to the water in this vicinity, while a map of the Arboretum prepared by H.S. Codman in 1887, before Hemlock Hill Road was built, shows natural woods covering about the southern half of the triangle, forming a con- tinuous wooded area from Hemlock Hill to Centre Street. Pictures taken when the road was graded (about 1 890) show that it went through a wooded strip, and Sargent, in his historical account published in 19^*2, says that there was an alder thicket along the brook, presuma- bly in this vicinity. Not much is left of these woods except the old beeches above mentioned and some occasional large oaks. The horn- beams were planted in 1886, the groups of Ta.wdli/yn, Tadux, and Scia- (lopitys in 1891, and the arbor-vitaes and junipers i)robably in the late 80*s. The ground was laid down to grass about 1900. The conifers, viewed from several vantage points either in the valley of the brook or on the slopes of the nearby hills, constitute one of the most strik- ing features of the Arboretum, and one of the first to be completed.

14. Idle wooded part of the South Street tract has already been discussed, and there remains the lower ground where the pond is now situated. The limited amount of planting which has been done there consists mainly of poplars and willows except for a small area near the railway which is being used as a nursery.

Bussey, or Sawmill Brook, as it traversed this lowland, appears to have been the ancient dividing line between the Weld and Davis holdings. Throughout their entire history these i)roperties have been largely in meadow. The low knolls in the southwestern part were pre- sumablv in pasture or under cultivation, but there is no specific record of such. 'Phe part northeast of the brook came into Bussey's hands with the Weld purchase in 1806, while the remainder was bought from the estate of Ezra Davis in 188t2. What is known of the latter will be found in the discussion of Peter's Hill. At the time the tract

was added to the Arlioretum the northeastern part was only a wet meadow, but in 19‘2;2 work was started, and by 19^25 the pond was formed by tlie excavation of masses of peat. Some of the surrounding land was raised by allowing it to be used as a dump, but beyond this and some border plantings the original project of roads, paths and plantings is still unfinished. With the growth of the trees which will eventually shield the tract from the adjoining railway, it can be made into a useful as well as beautiful addition.

1.5. Although Peter's Hill exhibits some striking variations among its natural habitats, the history of its human occupation is so uniform and so scanty in detail that for present purposes it is grouped under one heading except for the natural woodlands which have already been discussed.

All of the Peter's Hill land nowin the Arboretum with the excep- tion of the small parcel in the old cemetery belonged to two branches of the Davis family when it was acquired by Bussey. An irregular line drawn from a point near the crossing of the Arboretum road on Bussey Street to one near the place where South Street turns under the railway divides the two. This line would probably pass along the northeast side of the apple collection, and was approximately on the ‘^headline'’ of the ancient "^second division'’ of colonial lands. Two sons of William Davis, one of the earliest settlers in Roxbury, occu- pied the land sometime in the late 1600's or early 1 700’s, but how they got it, whether by purchase, inheritance, or grant, is unknown. Ichabod Davis owned the triangular piece along Bussey Street, about seven acres on the eastern end of Hemlock Hill, and a piece of the South Street tract. John Davis originally had upwards of 40 acres of the southeastern part of the remainder.

I'here is practically no information as to land uses in any of the Ichabod Davis records. The property was carried as a farm through several generations, and was finally sold to Bussey in 183^ by Ben- jamin Weld, the administrator of Ezra Davis’ estate. The Whitney map shows it as open ground except for a small extension of timber acrt)ss Bussey Street from Hemlock Hill.

The first descriptive matter on the John Davis land is in a will pro- bated in 1705, where the following note is found, . homestead

of Upland & Meadow lying on both sides of the Country Road lead- ing to Dedham — Including in it that pt. of Pasture Land and Wood- land Adjoining unto John May & Joshua Seivers." It is assumed therefore that the southeastern 40-odd acres of the hill were in pas- ture and woodland at this time, but the proportions and arrangements of each are unknown. From 1705 to 1843 there is no indication as to

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the relative openness of tlie land nor to its uses except that it con- tinued to be farmed by succeedino- o-enerations of Davises until sold to Bussey in 1887.

The northwestern part of Peter's Hill is more obscure as to the his- torj" of its ownership, but there is a fairly o-ood record of land uses during the past 200 years or more. Some mention of it has already been made in the description of the natural woods. At the time of the Davis will noted above there were about Id acres of land in the north- west corner of the hill area which belonged to John May, but how he came by them is as yet unknown. An inventory of the May estate filed in 1780 describes the 14 acres as pasture. The Morey inventory of 1771 described it as pasture, and it was the same in 1777 when John Davis bought it from the Morey estate. The inventory of John Davis’ property in 1802 still noted it as pasture, and it was mostly open land on the Whitney map in 184-8. Some rocky land near Bussey Street was abandoned to timber in the very early 1800’s, as noted in the discussion of natural woods.

J'he Davis will of 1705 mentions a piece of Seaver land adjoining the May property, and in a deed given to John Morey in 1740 the Seaver land is also used as a boundary on the southwest. Apparently there was a small piece, perhaps between the burying ground and John May, which was later acquired by John Morey. When the lat- ter bought the larger tract it was noted as 14 acres, and when it was sold it was 17 acres, but no intervening transaction has been found. The cemetery land appears to have come from Seaver property and to have been set off about this time. The first meeting held at the old Walter Street Meeting House was in 1712.

The property of John Davis on Peter's Hill was divided into two parts in 1802. The southern part, about 82 acres, was inherited by his brother Nathaniel, and the northern, about 28 acres, went to a sister. Charity Murdock. Bussey purchased the former directly from the heirs of Nathaniel Davis in 1887. The 28 acres, on the other hand, were sold and resold repeatedly, passing through the hands of six owners before 1888. Bussey purchased it from the last of these in that year. 'I'he division made in 1802 has left no evidence on the ground, but over the top of the hill is a low ridge which may have been the base of a stone wall. It is in about the right location for the boundary of the old May pasture.

'Phe whole area south of Bussey Street was brought into the Arbo- retum in 1895. In the same year Bussey Street was straightened and the grades improved. 'I'he roadways were finished in 1900, and tlie boundary plantations in the following year. Also in 1901 groups of

willows aiul poplars were put in on the southeast slopes, the spruces and firs were planted alonjj Walter Street, and the crab-apple collec- tion was started at the northeastern base of the hill. The "reat Cra- laegiis plantations which cover much of the northeast and southeast slopes were mostly |)lanted in 19()t)-7. In the late 90* s a nursery was started near the top of the hill on the southwest side. Later it was abandoned hut a j^reat many plants were left so that there is now a miscellaneous collection of exotic trees which seem to he thriviiifj.

hen the Arboretum took over the land there were a few larjje trees scattered over the northwest slopes. These are now nearly all »:one, but their stumps, although large, indicate that they grew very rapidly throughout their lives, evidently in open land, and that they were scarcely if any older than 100 years. Drainage conditions were modified considerably throughout by the building of the roads which now carry a great amount of surface run-off. Major changes were also made at the eastern base of the hill. The road leading out to South Street passes over a large fill which crosses the ravine in which the American apples are planted. A part of the southeastern slope is spring}’ and harbors a native flora peculiar in many respects to wet meadows. A large tract along the railway near the southern corner is devoted to a collection of oaks, and on the hillside above it is a group of young larches.

lb. A comparatively recent addition to the Arboretum is a parcel of land between l^ and lo acres in extent on the north side of Weld Street between Walter and Centre Streets. At present it is free of roads and largely unused, having only some small plantations of coni- fers put out in 19^23.

'I'he earliest clear reference to this property is in a deed from Joseph Dudley to Henry Hatch in 1815, when it was a part of a large farm, rhe Arboretum purchased it from the heirs of Thomas B. Williams in 19^22. Throughout the known history of the tract there are no spe- cific data as to its uses. It continued as farmland, and was without timber when the Whitney map was drawn in ISJJ.

farm of John Lou dor

Plate \\ Map of lands in tlie Arnold Arhoretinn about the year 1840.

i MMARV. I'here is ever,v indication that the larjyer jiart of the

kJ/ jiriineval forest was cleared from the uplands of the Arboretum by 1700. The doristic character of the orij^inal woods can only be con- jectured since no adetpiate description of them has yet come to light. Furthermore, all the primeval forest has been so long removed from most of southern and central New England that its reconstruction from remnant examjjles is out of (juestion in most regions. 'I'he nearest approach to such an example in the Arboretum is on Hemlock Hill, but this has been so severely cut over and culled that it cannot be regarded as showing primeval conditions. However, it has probably never been made into pasture nor entirely cleared. Consequently, since the hemlock woods are mostly on the cold northerlv slope of the hill where such woods would have been expected in the primitive for- est, it is presumed that the original facies has not changed a great deal. A certain mixture of white pine, beech, sugar maple, chestnut, linden, and a few other deciduous trees may have been in the origi- nal, but if so it has long disappeared.

The old white oak on the south slope of Bussey Hill gives definite evidence of a more deciduous type of forest, rather xerophytic in char- acter, on this area. Also there is evidence that some of this wood was not cut until the middle 1700‘s. The presence of several of these old white oaks on the hillside shows that they were more than merely occasional.

From this very scanty evidence we may infer that the original tim- ber was a mixture of the deciduous and coniferous trees of the region in which the latter were most abundant upon cold northern slopes, possibly limited to the steep north face of Hemlock Hill. The decid- uous woods were probably disposed in such a way that the more xero- phytic trees like the white oaks were commonest either on warm southern slopes or on dry rocky or gravelly knolls.

It is probable that the lowlands were in marsh or wet meadow vege- tation rather than bog types when the settlers came because of their relatively good drainage. The fact that they were called “meadows** and utilized as such prior to 1654 is indicative of this. Shrubby or tim- bered bogs were also cleared and used for hay in this region, as the histories show, and it is not impossible that some parts of the Arbo- retum meadows had such an origin.

One of the outstanding suggestions derived from the historical stud^v is that the actual plowing and cultivation of the land have not been extensive and have been limited to a few localities. Tracts which have been designated at various times as plowland or ha.v fields are as fol- lows : parts of the old Thomas Morey land along Centre Street, parts

of the lower northeastern slopes of Bussey Hill, the ‘‘plain field” east of the Bussey Institution, and possibly also parts of the land now under the larger conifers, some of the ground on the lower slopes of Peter’s Hill, and the area now in the hickory, pterocarya, and neigh- boring groups. Data on the upper slopes of the southeastern part of Peter’s Hill are exceedingly few but is is to be inferred from notes on nearby lands of similar nature that it remained in pasture for very long periods. Other parts of the upland may have been plowed and planted for short times but there is no evidence of a long period of cropping which would deprive the soils of their native raw food ma- terials. The records of land holdings and uses, therefore, suggest that the major soil changes due to human occupation during the 230-odd 3’ears before the founding of the Arboretum were caused by the clear- ing of the original forest and the maintenance of o])en pastures or orchards for long periods. The past 150 years have seen further im- portant modifications on the areas which have been allowed to revert to timber, while during the past 60 years the development of the Ar- boretum itself has effected changes in many more of the upland soils.

The oft-repeated expression that the Arboretum has been grown upon “worn-out” form land is true then, judging by the historical findings, only in the sense that the soils of the area have lost some of the qualities originally given to them by the long-standing primeval forest; and that they have been compacted and the distribution of the elements in their layers modified. But they do not seem to have been unduly subjected to surface washing nor to a depletion in min- eral salts. In other words the edaphic conditions on the uplands may not be so far removed from those which occurred in the original forest as is generally supposed ; and any attempt to build up these soils by feeding or aerating them must take into account their original close mineral relationship to the relatively poor surrounding soils of the region rather than to a former, supposedly better, condition within historic times. Further light is thrown on this matter by the fact that the Arboretum’s most successful plantings, among which are the groups of leguminous trees, river birches, lilacs, hickories, j)terocar- yas, the larger conifers, and possibly also the crab-ap])les are mainly on lands wliich seem to have been most cultivated during earlier peri- ods rather than on soils not so utilized.

'Fhe chief effect upon the upland soils caused by the develo])ment of the Arboretum, other than that immediately upon tlie spots dug uj) for planting, has been to change an artificial grassland ty})e of vege- tation into one of semi-open woodland, or savannah, in which much of the grassland type is maintained. In some cases, as in the oak col-

lection, one wood has been replaced by another of similar nature. Other imjiortant, thoufjh local, chanties have been alono’ roadways where soil has been removed or added in the buildin«[ of embank- ments. The lowland soils have been jjreatly modified of course by the repeated lowerinof of the water table. The linden and horse-chestnut collections are possible on their sites larjjely because Goldsmith Brook has been so controlled, and its bed lowered to such an extent, that the semi-peaty soils have become available.

riiere has been no uniformity in the manner of the Arboretum's plantiiifjs. Some of the earliest ones were made with a threat deal of care, usin»’ lar«:e holes in which rocks, {travel, and sand were replaced with loam and peat. The loam so used was broufjht from outside the Arboretum and the peat was cut from the low irround where the ponds now are, or from the north meadow. Most of the plantings made be- fore 1887 appear to have been of this nature, but later ones did not involve so much modification of the existing soils. In recent years the condition of some ])lantings has been improved by the application of manure.

Between 1879 and 1886 nearly ^2800 squares of peat were cut for use in improving the soils of the planted areas, and !2000 more were excavated in 1891-^2. There is no further record of the cutting of peat until 1921-t2 when that which came from the pond in the South Street tract was utilized. There is no evidence in the old deeds or probate records that peat was cut for this purpose in earlier times, although there is a deed from Eleazer Weld to a man named McCarthy in 1784 giving to the latter the right to take peat out of the north meadow for fuel purposes.

The small proportion of tillage land indicated b,v this study of the old farms is substantiated by historical investigations of all southern New fL,ngland agriculture as it had developed before 1800. P. W. Bid well, in his Rural Economy in A etc' England at the Beginning of the Nineteenth Century,^ has an excellent summary of the early growth of agriculture in this region. The individual farms, particularly those of inland towns, were nearly self sufficient economic units, and the farm- ers persisted throughout most of the first 180 years of the colony in the use of the most antiquated methods, being far behind the mother country in that respect. The chief reason for their failure to evolve better practice appears to have been the lack of markets, and conse- quently the lack of an incentive to improve production. The only areas in which such an incentive was present to any marked degree

^ Trans. Conn. Acad. Arts & Sci. xx. 241-399 (1916).

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were around the more important coast towns. West Roxbury mi^ht be classed as on the less favorable border line of the latter ^roup, not so much due to its position as to its hilly, rocky surface and the small amount of its good soils. Bidwell (p. 3*20) quotes a letter written by a General Warren of Massachusetts in 1784 comparing English and American farms. man in America that farms 150 acres, would think a stock of ^1 50 sufficient. One miserable team; a paltry plow, and everything in the same proportion; three acres of Indian corn, which require all the manure he has ; as many acres of half-starved English grain from a half-cultivated soil, with a spot of potatoes, and a small ,vard of turneps, complete the round of his tillage. . . All the rest of the farm is allotted for feeding a small stock. A large space must be mowed for a little hay for winter ; and a large range for a little feed in summer. Pastures are never manured, and mowing lands seldom; . . .’* A typical inland farm, according to Bid well’s studies (pp. 3*21-^) consisted of 100-^00 acres, . .divided into three rough- ly equal tracts, one-third being woodland, including wasteland, one- third pasturage, and the remainder divided between mowing lands and cultivated fields in varying proportions. The land under tillage, however, hardly ever exceeded ten or a dozen acres, except in the neighborhood of such commercial towns as would furnish a market.” An instance of the latter is cited in Brookline where, on a farm of 100 acres, . .I'-I were in woodland, 20 in pasture, and 68 in mowing, tillage, and orchards.” The condition of the Arboretum farms evi- dently stood somewhere between the two extremes.

The large number of orchards mentioned in the old deeds is also worthy of comment. Further quoting Bidwell (p. 334), “. . .every farm had an orchard of several acres, containing a hundred or more trees. The abundant yield of these trees seems to have been used principal!}’ for making cider. . . The orchards suffered much from lack of care. After the original planting, practically nothing was done to preserve the trees or increase their yield except to allow cattle to pas- ture among them and, very rarely to plow between the trees.”

The latter part of the 18th and the early part of the lOtli centuries witnessed large improvements in New England agriculture brought on mainly by the development of the industrial towns and the result- ing growth of a market for produce. Most of tlie Arboretum farm land was prevented from immediately profiting by these advantages for at least two reasons. First, in the period between 1783 and 1806 the three large properties of which it was then mainly composed (Davis, Weld, and Morey) were either sold in large or small units, or divided up among a larger numl)er of legatees. 4'he relation of this period to

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the abandonment of' tlie areas now in natural hardwood stands lias already been mentioned. Second, Benjamin Bussey appeared on the scene in 1 80(3 to bejjin the series of purchases which finally united most of the land. Bussey was a wealthy merchant and manufacturer who appears to have bouj^ht the "round as a site fora home in wliich he could retire duriii" the later years of his life. The interest in agri- culture and liorticulture for their own sakes which led to his unique "ift to Harvard College seems to have crystallized late in his life and was probably actuated by the increasin" current interest in these fields throughout New England as a whole. At any rate, there is little evi- dence that either during his own life or during the period in which the land was owned by his heirs ( 1 842-61 ) there was any major change in agricultural practice on the land. The impetus given to farming in the region as a whole by the growth of the industrial towns was des- tined to be short-lived in any event due to the opening of western lands and to improvement in the transportation of more cheaply pro- duced foodstuffs.

It may be said, therefore, that the data thus far accumulated on the early uses of land in the Arboretum may be closely correlated with the major developments in the rural economic history of this part of New England.

Hugh M. Rauf

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SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY

Ames, Oakes. Annual Repoiis qf the Supervisor of the Arnold Arboretum for the Years 1927-3S. Printed in the Annual Reports of the President of Harvard ColIeo*e.

Ancient Transcript, The. Document no. 114 (l880). City of Boston (6th Rept. of the Record Commissioners). The original, or an early copy, is in the office of the Clerk of the City of Boston.

Anderson, Isabel. Under the Black Horse Flag. Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston (l926). This is a history of a part of the Weld family.

Blake, Sarah Swan Weld. Francis Minot Weld, M.D. His Life, Dia- ries and Letters. Boston (1925).

Bussey, Benjamin. In The Dedham Historical Register y.. 71-6 (l899). This contains a short autobiography of Bussey, the original of which is in the possession of Harvard College. See also The Bos- ton Daily Advertiser, Feb. 10, 1842, for notes on the life of Bus- sey. H is will is to be found in printed form as Document 134 (I88I), City of Boston.

Drake, Francis S. The Toxcn of Ro.vbury . Roxbury, pub. by the author (l878). Reprinted as document 93 of the Registry Dept, of the City of Boston (l905).

Dudley, Dean. The Dudley Geneologies and Family Records. Boston (1848).

Ellis, Charles M. The History of Roxbury Town. Boston (l847).

Leavitt, Emily Wilder, Ed. A Geneology of One Branch of the Morey Family 1631-1890. Privately printed (l890).

Merriam, Rufus N. John and Thomas Tolrnan. Worcester ( 189.5).

Palmer, Ernest J. Supplement to the Spontaneous Flora of the Arnold Arboretum. Journ. Arn. Arb. xvi. 81-97 (l935).

Rockwell, Samuel Forbes. The Davis Families of Early Roxbury and Boston. Andover (1932).

Sargent, C. S. Reports of the Director of the Arnold Arboretum for the Years 181%-1926. Printed in the Annual Reports of the Presi- dent of Harvard College. The first two of these re])orts (for 1872-4 and 1874-5) were printed in full, respectively, in the Bulletin of the Bussey Institution i. 293-9 (l875) and 455-8 (l876). They appear in a somewhat abbreviated form in the President's Reports for 1873-4 and 1874-5.

The First Fifty Years of the Arnold Arboretum . Journ. Arn.

Arb. iii. 127-71 (l922).

Seaver, Jesse. The Seaver Geneology. Philadelphia (l924).

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MAPS

List of Maps of Boston^ Puhlished between 1600 and 1903. Reprint of Api)en(nx i. x^nnual Rei)ort of the Cit.v Enjjineer of Boston, (l908).

Map of the Town of Roxburij. Surveyed by John G. Hales, 188^2. Re- printed in Drake's History of Roxbury in 1878.

Map of the Town of Roxbury. Surveyed in 1843 by Charles Whitney. Copies in the Enjrineerino: Dept, of the City of Boston (Survey- injr Division), in the Harvard Collejife Library, and in the Li- brary of the Arnold Arboretum (photostat).

Plan of the Bussey Estate. Made by William A. Garbett, dated May 1861. The deeds by which the Bussey land was conveyed to Harvard College refer to this plan throughout. A copy is in the Harvard College Library.

Topographical Map of the Bussey Farm Homestead. Surveyed under the direction of Frederick L. Olmsted by Radford and Vaux (l878). 'Phere are copies of this and the following at the Arnold Arbo- retum and in the offices of Olmsted Bros., Brookline.

Topographical Map of Land Adjoining Bus.s'ey Farm Homestead (l879).

Plan of the Arnold Arboretum Showing the Progress of the Work. By H. S. Codman (l887). Printed in the Ann. Rept. of the Direc- tor for 1886-7.

Guide Book Map. This map is not accurately dated but appears to have been made about 1903 and printed by the Walker Litho- graph Co. of Boston. It has gone through many editions and modifications, and was used in the Arboretum Guide Books until 1934.

Bird's-eye View of the Arnold Arboretum. This sketch was made by J.T. P. Bijhouwer about 19^7. In slightly modified form it is at- tached to the current guide book recently published.

(other ma})s of considerable interest are those of Peter's Hill and other lands added to the Arboretum after its first planning. Most of these, together with many detailed plans of roadways and other improvements, are to be found in the offices of the Park Department of the City of Boston).

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INDEX TO SERIES 4

VOLUME III

Synonyms are in italic ; illustrations in bold face type.

Abeliophyllum distiehum, 7 Aeseulus, -14- Almond, Chinese, 14 Ames, Oakes, 4t2 Arbor-vitae, 6*2, 68 Arnold Arboretum, bkarly uses of' land, 41

Historical sketch, 48

Map of lands about the

year 1710, 49

1770, 5.5

1810, 59

1840, 67

Map showing relative a-

mounts of drifting in the snow of January 23-24, 1935, 88 and the Bussey Institu- tion, Map showing the num- bered areas described in this bulletin, {)late faeing ]), 4-5 Ash, 48, 58 Flowering, *2 Autumnal coloring, 17 Azalea, 60 — collection, 58, 60 “ Mongolian, 8 Haeeharis halimitblia, *26, *28 Balkans, 1

Beech, 58, 60, 6^

Benjamin Bussey, Estate of, 48 Benzoin aestivale, 26, 28 Berberis aggregata, 26

Prattii, 26

recurvata, 26

— dietophylla, 26

— Franeisei-Ferdinandi, 26

— pol^’antha, 26 Birch, 48, 51, 58, 61

— River, 46, 47, 69 Buckthorn, 44 Bussey, Benjamin, 72

— Estate, 48

— Hill, 58

Institution and the Arnold Arboretum, Map showing the numbered areas described in this bulletin, plate facing p.45

Calluna vulgaris, 18

alba, 19

eoecinea, 19

euprea, 19

hirsuta, 19

multiplex, 19

nana, 19

Caragana Boisii, 26

Catalpa, 1-8, . ) 1 , a 8 Ceanotims americanus, Cercidipliyllum, 4 t

— japoniciini, 5 Cercis canadensis, ^ Chaenoineles, 9

— japonica, 10, 1^

“ — alpina, 1*2

— lag^enaria, 10 “Alba,’* 11

“Balt/ii,** 1 1 “Cardinalis,** 11

— — “Columbia,’* 11

“Kermesina semiplena,**

1 1

“Macrocarpa,’* 11

“Marmorata,*’ 11

— — “Nivalis, ’* 1 1

“ Rosea plena,’* 11

“Sano’uinea semiplena,’*

1 1

“Simonii,*’ 1*2

— Maulei, 10

— sinensis, 9

— superba, 10, 152 Chaste tree, 18 Cherry, 48

— Flowerino-, 14

— Mt. Fuji, 14

— Sargent, 14 Chestnut collection, 61 Choke-cherry, 16

Climatic conditions, January, 33 Conifer, ol, 652, 63, 69 Cornelian cherry, 6

Corn us kousa chinensis, ^6 ^ mas, t)

— officinalis, ()

— paucinervis, 526 Crab-apple, 13, 69

— Classification of, 252

— collection, 66

— Hawthorned-leaved, 21 Mandshurian, 13

— Oriental, 21

— Park man, 13 Crataeofus, 9, 66 Cydonia, 9 Cypress, Bald, 62 Cytisus albus, 26

— elongatus, 26

— nioricans, 2?

— puro-ans, 27

— purpureus, 27

— ratisbonensis, 27 Daphne Mezereum, 31 Dawson, Jackson, 46 Deutzia, 61

— hypoglauca, 27

— hypoleuca, 27

— magnifica, 27

— rosea, 27

— scabra plena, 27 Dipelta ventricosa, 27 Dogwood, 47

Elm, 48, 51, 53 Erica carnea, 31 Eucommia ulmoides, 27 Euptelea polyandra, 8 Fir, 51, 61, 66

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Forsyth ia, 48, 58

— japonica saxatilis, 7

— Korean, 7

— ovata, 7

— suspensa, 81 atrocaulis, ^27

— viridissima, ^27 Fraxiniis Ornus, 2 Genista pilosa, 27

— tinetoria, 27, 81

viro-ata, 27

Goldsmith Brook, 45 Gore's Meadow, 44 Grewia parviHora, ^27 Hack berry, 47, 58 Hamamelis vernalis, (> Hawthorn, 48 Heather, 18

— Winter care in NewKnoland,

19

Hedera helix, 1 H e 1 i a n t h e m inn n u in m u 1 a r i u m straminiuin, 27 Helwinoria japoniea, 27 Hemlock Hill, History of, 57 Hickory, 60, 61, 69 Holodiscus discolor ariaefolius,

27

Hornbeam, 6^, 68 Horse-chestnut, 45

— collection, 70 Iberis Tenoreana, 81 Indifrofera amblyantha, 27 Injurious effects of winds in the

Arnold Arboretum, 88

Ivy, Enolish, 1

Juniper, 62, 68

Katsura tree, 5

Kerria japoniea plenidora, 27

Koelreuteria paniculata, 18

Kolkwitzia arnabilis, 27

Larch, 51, 61

— Golden, 61 Lespedeza cyrtobotrya, 27

— formosa, 27 Lewis House, 46

Lilac, 1, 18, 48, 51, 58, 69

— Visit to the home of, 1 Linden, 45

— collection, 70 Locust, Black, 2

Lonicera fraorantissima, 7, 81

— oynochlamvdea, 28

— Henryi, 28

— Maackii podocarpa, 28

— microphylla, 17

— praedorens, 7, 81

— Standishii, 7 lancifolia, 28

— Vilmorinii, 28 Magnolia, 44

— Chinese, 5

— conspicua, 5

— denudata, 5

— kobus, 5 borealis, 5

- Soulanoeaiia, 5

— stellata, 5

rosea, 5

~ Y ulan, 5

[ 79 ]

Mains baccata, 18, ^2^2, *28

jiracilis, 18, ^8

iiiandsliurica, 18

— l)revipes, *2^2, ^28

— coronaria, '2‘2 Dawsoniana, 18, l.> doribunda, "28

- t'lisca, 18 Halliana, "2"2

Parkmanii, 18

— bupehensis, "2'2

- ioensis, "2'2

— micronialus, "2*2

— |)runif()lia, "2"2

— Sartjenti, "28, "2 1-

— Sieboldii, "28

— spectabilis, 22

— theifera, 28

— toriii^oides, 21

— zunii, 28 Maple, 4-4, 48, 31 Mt. Domogled, 8 Mulberry, 48, 31 Neillia sinensis, 28

— thibetiea, 28 Oak, 38, 38, bb

— collection, bl White, b8

Oleaster, 48

Ox^'dendrum arboreum, 18 Pachistiina myrsinites, 28 Palmer, E. J., 42, b8 Persimmon, 47 Phellodendron, 44 Pine, 44, 31, bO

Plane-tree collection, 4b

Plants, Late flowering, 81

Plum, 48

Ikmioideae, P

Poplar, b8, bb

Privet, 48, 38

Primus ineisa, 14

— mira, 28

— Pad us, lb

eommutata, lb — glauea, 1 b

— Sargentii, 8, 14

— serrulata horinji, 28 subhirtella autumnalis, 81

— tomentosa, 8

— triloba multiplex, lb

— virginiana, lb

— yedoensis, 14 Pseudocydonia, 9 Pseudolarix amabilis, 17 Pterocarya, bl, b9 Purdom, William, lb, 28 Pyrus, 9

Quince, Chinese, 9

— Classification of, 9

— Flowering, 9 Redbud, 2

Rhododendron dauricum, 8

mucronulatum, 8

sempervirens, 8, 81

Ribes cereum, b Robinia pseudoacaeia, 2 Roehel, Anton, 4 Rosa multibracteata, 28

— omeiensis pteraeantha, 28

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Rosa rubrifolia, 17 Salvia officinalis, 28 San Jose scale, 1 1 Sargent, C. S., 42, 68 Sciadopitys, 62, 68 Shad bush, 44 Snowfall, January, 88 Sophora viciifolia, 28 Spiraea, 61

— Henryi, 28

— Miyabei glabra ta, 28

— nipponica, 28

— Veitchii, 28

Spring at the Arnold Arbore- tum, 5

Spruce, .51, 61, 66 Stephanandra Tanakae, 28 Sumac, 44 S.vringa vulgaris, 1 Taxodium, 68 Tax us, 68

J'emperature, January, 88 Tilia, 44

Tree legumes, 51

Tulip-tree, 44 Tupelo, 47

Varnish-tree, Golden, 18 Viburnum, 47

— affine, 81

— betulifolium, 28

— erosum, 81

— fragrans, 6, 28, 81

— lobophyllum, 28

— setigerum, 28 Vitex agnus-castus, 18

— Negundo incisa, 17 Walnut, 60

— group, 61 Willow, 45, 68, 66 Wilson, E. H., 16

Winds in the Arnold Arbore- tum, Injurious effects of, 88 Winter injury in the Arnold Arboretum, 14

Comparative studies of,

25

Witch-hazel, 47 Yew, 62

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