July 14, 1917 



HORTICULTUEE 



35 



Philippe dc Vilmorin 



The death ou Saturday, June 30, of Philippe de 

 Vibiiorin, the head of the great seed house of Vilmorin- 

 Audrieux et Cie, has beeu cabled from Europe, but in- 

 formation of the manner and jjlace of his death has 

 not yet reached this city. 



Philippe de Vilmorin was born at Yerrieres-le- 

 Buisson, near Paris, in 1872 and on the death of his 

 father, Henry in 1899, became liead of the house. Tlie 

 first of the Viimorins, also Philippe, who is known to 

 have been interested in plants, was bom in 1746 and 

 went as a boy from Lorraine to Paris to study botany 

 and became acquainted with Pierre d'Andrieux, a 

 seedsman and botanist to Louis XV, whose shop was on 

 the Quai de la Megisserie on tlie site of the building 

 still occupied by Vilmorin-Andrieux et Cie. This 

 Philippe de Virmorin afterwards married d'Andrieux's 

 daughter and became a partner in his house, and on the 

 death of d'Andrieux in 1779 he became the owner of the 

 business and the next year changed the name of the 

 house to Vilmorin-Andrieux. The first seed catalogue 

 which appeared in France was published by this house 

 in 1778 and contained one hundred and forty-eight 

 pages. The publication of this catalogue, which fur- 

 nished much useful information about plants and their 

 cultivation, established in France the seed business on 

 a scientific basis. 



The fact is interesting that the relations of the Vil- 

 morin family with America date from the time of this 

 first Philippe who, being a friend of the French bot- 

 anist Michaux sent by the French Government late in 

 the eighteenth century to explore the forests of eastern 

 North America, was able to cultivate successfully in 

 France many American trees. The first Philippe de 

 Vibnorin died in 1804 and was succeeded by his oldest 

 son, Pierre Philippe-Andre, who was bom in 1776 and 

 lived until 1862. It was he who created the Arboretum 

 at Les Ban-es, now one of the French Forest Schools, 

 where he made interesting experiments to prove the 

 value of different geographical forms of important for- 

 est trees. Andre de Vilmorin and Asa Gray were cor- 

 respondents and intimate friends, and from this friend- 

 ship my intimacy with the younger members of the 

 Vilmorin family owes its origin. It is interesting that 

 at Vibnorin's house Gray once met the younger 

 Michaux, then a very old man. who is known to all 

 students of American trees as the author of a classical 

 work on the trees of eastern North America. In 1843 

 Andre de Vilmorin turned over his business to his old- 

 est son, Pierre Louis, usually known as Ijouis, who car- 

 ried it on until 1860. He wa> particularly interested 

 in vegetable physiology and in cliemistry, and by care- 

 fully conducted e.xperiments greatly increased by the 

 imjirovement' of their seeds the yield of wheat and 

 sugar beets. His Catalogue syuonymique des Fromonts 

 published in 1850 is considered a classic. He died be- 

 fore his father, and when his ol'^ost son Henry was only 



seventeen years old. Tlie business, however, was man- 

 aged by Henry's mother until 1866 when he became 

 head of the house. Henry carried on his father's ex- 

 periments for the improvement of seeds and was active 

 in expanding and improving the business of the house 

 and in recording the results of his experiments and ob- 

 servations. Among his best known publications are 

 Les Meilleurs Bles, and a Catalogue meilwdique et 

 si/nonyinique des p-i7icipales varieies de Pommes 

 de terre, containing descriptions of more than two 

 lumdred varieties. Two other books of his have had a 

 great influence in increasing the knowledge and love of 

 horticulture. Tliese are Les Flews de Pleine Terre and 

 Les Plant es Potageres- 



Henry de Vilmorin was several times in the Unitel 

 States and had many friends in this country. He died 

 suddenly in 1899 and was succeeded by his oldest son 

 Philippe, great-great-grandson of the founder of the 

 house which in the hands of his family has done more 

 tlian any other for the improvement oi agriculture and 

 horticulture. 



This Philippe de Vilmorin, like all the members of 

 bis family, was a great traveler and a remarkable lin- 

 guist. He came several times to this country, the first 

 time as a boy with his father. He has more than once 

 been around tlie world and was once in the Soudan, these 

 journeys having been undertaken in the interest of Vil- 

 morin-Andrieux. He is the author of several books 

 published Ijefore the war, the most important perhaps 

 being his catalo.sme of plants cultivated at Verrieres, the 

 family home near Paris where there is one of the most 

 interesting collections of trees in Europe gathered by 

 four generations of Viimorins, and large collections of 

 flo-ivering shrubs and alpine plants in which Philippe 

 de Vilmorin was particularly interested. During the 

 war he has lived chiefly in London where his knowledge 

 of the principal European languages, his charming per- 

 sonality and his many friends have made his services 

 valuable to the English Government. 



Arnold Arhoretum. 



An American Seedling Lilac 



The new .lilac illustrated in this number of Horti- 

 culture is one of several notable seedlings raised by 

 John Dunbar, assistant superintendent of parks at 

 Rochester, N. Y., and named by him after his wife. 

 "Adelaide Dunbar" is a seedling from Aline Mocqueery, 

 a single bright purple red. It is a full semi-double, 

 with flowers J to | of an inch across. The unfolding 

 blossoms are maroon or dark crimson, changing to vio- 

 let red when fully open. Tliey are borne on large com- 

 pound clusters. The young shoots are dark colored and 

 the unfolding leaves have a dark tinge. Adelaide 

 Dunbar is said to be the darkest colored red lilac that 

 has yet been introduced to cultivation. 



Mr. Dunbar has named five other seedling lilacs as 

 follows: President Lincoln, A. B. Lamberton, William 

 C. Barry, General Grant, General Sherman. He re- 

 gards Adelaide Dunbar as the most distinctive of 

 them all. 



