THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA. 



1S3 



The seeictary reported tliiit tlie Executive Committee luul 

 reoommemled tlie following ciiiKlidntes for memliersliip: Artliur 

 P. Perley, Soiitli Bend, Ind.; Wuiicn II. ilaiinint;, llarrisliurg, 

 Pa.; K. H. Huntington, Council ISIwll's, Iowa; M. C. Eljel. ilailison, 

 N. J.: John B. Corwin, Newhiirgli. X. Y. ; ilenry II. Eekert, 

 Niagara Falls, X. Y.; James (). Howard, Castile, X. Y. ; E. S, 

 Letts. Denver, Col.; Arthur A. Deisihgald, Chisliolin, Minn.; 

 David Campbell. Svracuse. X. Y.; Xolson Crist, Atlanta, (ia.; 

 Edward A. Phillirick. Detroit, Mich.; Robert L. Parker, Hartford, 

 Conn.: Frank Hamilton. Xew York. X. Y.; George W. Hess. Wash- 

 ington. D. C. Tlie ap]ilii"iiits were (dccted to membership by 

 unaiiiiiious vote. 



I'lesident KicluuHU named \\ illi;iui J. Zaitniaim, Xew York 

 City: Theodore Wirth. Minneapolis. .Minn.; Emil T. Mlsche, Port- 

 land. Ore., a Committee on Xominations for the selection of can- 

 didates for officers for the ensuing year. 



Prof. Frank A. Waugli. jirofessor of landscape architecture of 

 tlie -Massachusetts Agricultural College, Amherst, Mass., was 

 ne.\t introduced and presented a brief sketch of the life and works 

 of Andrew Jackson Downing. He (laiil a glowing tribute to the 

 great master of lamlscape gardeiiiiig. Kcfening to the life of 

 Downing, Prof. Waugli said: •'Andrew .lacksoii Downing must be 

 remembered to us first of all :is a nurseryman. It was in this 

 field that his life began. In this Held he learned great lessons 

 which yielded him the most substantial and obvious help in other 

 lines of work. Moreover it was through his nursery work that 

 he reached and profoundly influenced liundreds of men in other 

 parts of the country. It is probably true that Downing's stanth- 

 est personal disciples were the men who formed their attach- 

 ment to him at this point. His andiitectural work was of very 

 considerable consei|uence. While uniloubtedly it reiuesented tliat 

 part of his thought which has ). roved of least wortli to us in 

 our generation. ,vet it was credited in its time with far-reaching 

 influence for good. In any study of his intellect and character it 

 is obligatory to take into the account the wide, serious and fruit- 

 ful stud)' which he gave to this subject. 



"His literary fame rests upon a most substantial basis, seeing 

 his product Iiad lioth matter and style. He had real lirst hand 

 information to comnniiiicate. Much more than that he liad souml 

 personal opinions a product of careful personal study by a most 

 exf raordiiuiiy mind. This information and these opinions were 

 otlered to tlic world in the best Iitei';iry dress of the times in a 

 style clear, finished and distinguished. 



"The feature of his service^ to us. aii{l .uir \\lii(li seems to have 

 been widcU oM'ilnnked. wa^ hi- practical c>t:iiilishniciit in .\nicv- 



ica of the prufi-ssioii of landscape architecture as it is now fash- 

 ionably called, though he always spoke of it under the good old 

 English terms of landscape gardening. Other men hail undoubt- 

 edly practiced this art in Ameiiea before him. but his genius 

 soaVed so far above all else that had ever been dune as to put 

 the whole ])rofession upon a new plane. 



"Out of this story which we necessarily trace with much dilH- 

 eulty of the personal inlluenee of Downing in the beginniugs of 

 the Virofession there emerges, however, one conspicuous incident. 

 Calvert \ aux has already been ineiitimied as eoming to America 

 in 18.51) to be associateii "with Downing in his professional work. 

 This very able and well-trained young architect doubtless had a 

 consider.able inllueuec upon his acute and impressionable partner; 

 but it is quite certain that the strong qualities of Downing left 

 their imjirint upon Vaux. The professioi'.al work undertaken by 

 them jointly was continued by Vaux after Downing's death. .\nd 

 then, a few" years later another most fortunate juncture occurred 

 when Vaux m his turn became professionally associated with the 

 late Frederick Law Olmsted. With the long and notable career 

 of Olmsted landsca|ie architecture became an established and 

 recognized profession and one in which the highest ideals were so 

 tirnily fixed as to never again be lost or obscured. The triple 

 association of Downing. Vaux and Olmsted forever formed the 

 great opening chapter ni the history of the landscape profession 

 in America." 



Mr. Oglesbv Paul, landscape gardener at Fairmount Park. 1 liila- 

 delphia.'Pa.." was on the program to deliver a lecture on "The 

 Preservation of Xatural Woodland Under Park Condition-. 

 Owing to illness Mr. I'anI was enable to be iiresent. but ho had 

 scut his paper and views, whicli were projected on a curtain from 

 ■r stcreopticon, to Mr. Herman ilerkle. of the Xew York Zoological 

 (iardens, and who read the paper. Mr. Paul's paper entered ml., 

 the various phases which surround the upkeep of the woodland, 

 saying, "To jireserve natural woodlands under city conditions is a 

 costly^ and ditVicult work, perhaps the mo-t difficult of all park 

 main'tenance. And." speaking of condition- in Philadelphia, "the 

 funds are far too small to handle the situation iiroperly, but in- 

 terest in it is steadily growing to all departments of the city gov- 

 ernment so that now we find the city engineers deflecting strc.ds 

 and sewers to save forest growth on areas likely to b<' iieipiircd 

 for park purposes. No artificial park landscape, even though 

 planned by a forester, has ever approached the noble dignity and 

 infinite loveliness of our Eastern forests, and surely none of 

 these is fairer than onr Wissaliickon. so we feel that they are 

 worth all and more tiiaii they .o-t f.. pic-.Tv,-." 



siiowKOdMs Of- roi.i.WKi r. i a\v\ Mn\vi-:K roMP.\NY. converted in'to r, at r room t-or .\.Mf':RirAN .\.^poci.\tiox of park 



.SL'PERINTEMiENTS' CONVEXTION. 



