356 



The Journal of Heredity- 



large proportions, setds Ixing grown in 

 many parts of the world. A great farm 

 at Verrieres-le-Buisson, near Paris, has 

 been used since 1815 for seed-testing 

 experiments, and much experimental 

 breeding has been done here in re- 

 cent years by Hagedoorn, Meunissier, 

 Mottet, and other geneticists in the 

 emplcjy of the firm. Adjoining it is the 

 estate where Philippe spent most of 

 his time engaged in his own genetic 

 experiments, the active direction of 

 the business having been taken over 

 by his brother-in-law, Comte d'Etienne. 



Another very imjKjrtant figure in 

 French agriculture is his uncle I\Iaurice, 

 who, at Les Barres, has one of the 

 greatest collections of shrubs and trees in 

 Europe, and who has long been ]jresident 

 of the Academic d' Agriculture. He 

 published a book on "Horticulture in 

 the United States" in 1894, and the 

 monumental "Fruticetum Vilmorinian- 

 um," in 190.S. 



A letter written to President Fairchild 

 by Maurice de Vilmorin on June 17 

 re\-eals how the trained horticulturists 

 of France have been drafted into mili- 

 tary service to such an extent as to 

 endanger the existence of the remarkable 

 collections created at great expense by 

 the Vilmorins and others. 



"In fact," M. de Vilmorin says, "I 

 am so destitute of workmen that I 

 scarcel)' am in a position to maintain 

 the ])lants of my numerous collections. 

 I can do nothing more until the cir- 

 cumstances are fortunately changed for 

 a better standing." 



Henri, a younger brother of Philippe, 

 has made several visits to the United 

 States, the last just prior to the war, 

 and has many friends here. 



THE VILMORINS IN THE WAR 



The de Vilmorin family has lived up 

 to its military traditions in the war, 

 Henri being an oflicer in the navy and 

 the other four brothers having commis- 

 sions in the army. Philii)pe's work as 

 interpreter has been mentioned. Vin- 

 cent returned from China to join his 

 comi)any and is understood now to be 

 with the French exjjedition at Salonika. 

 Louis has commanded a section of 

 automobile guns and won two medals 



and mention in dispatches for his gallant 

 conduct. Jean was hit by four bullets 

 at Peronne almost as soon as the war 

 began, was captured by the Germans 

 but exchanged, recovered, and is now 

 believed to be in Macedonia with his 

 regiment of cuirassiers. 



One of Philii)])e de \'ilmorin's great 

 services to genetics was the organization 

 of the Fourth International Conference 

 on Genetics, held in Paris, September 

 18-23, 19 1 1. This conference was made 

 possible largely by the de Vilmorin 

 family, which furnished most of the 

 necessary funds. Philii)])e was secre- 

 tary, and on him fell a large share of the 

 expense as well as work connected with 

 meetings, entertainments, and jmblica- 

 tions. He issued for distribution to 

 the members a ])amphlet giving a brief 

 history and bibliography of genetics, 

 had bronze medals made for the foreign 

 delegates, and edited the large volume 

 of proceedings, the cost of publishing 

 which was defrayed by him jjersonally. 



The most imj^ortant of his published 

 work in genetics has dealt with wheat. 

 The breadth of his interest and informa- 

 tion is shown by a publication on the 

 beet-sugar industry of the United States, 

 another on the culture of ginseng in 

 Korea and Manchuria, and another on 

 the tobaccos of commerce. He took a 

 keen interest in flower gardening, and 

 was responsible for three imjjortant 

 publications of the finn: "Les Fleurs de 

 Pleine Terre," "Le Manuel de Flori- 

 culture," and the "Hortus Vilmorini- 

 anus." The first two are standard 

 works on flower gardening in Europe, 

 while the third is a large and valuable 

 rejiort on the appearance and behax'ior 

 of little known plants which the firm 

 has tested at its various gardens. 



While the influence of French workers 

 in genetics has been large, the number of 

 men actually engaged in this science has 

 always been relatively small. Science 

 can ill afl"ord the loss of a man like 

 Philippe de Vilmorin, who combined 

 great wealth, high social ]:)osition, and 

 leadershi]) in an immense business 

 organization, with a {profound enthusi- 

 asm for genetics, and who used all his 

 possessions so freely to advance the 

 science to which he had devoted his life. 



