330 



ARBORETUM 



ARBORETUM 



planned under the direction of Frederick Law Olm- 

 sted, to police the grounds and to assume all taxes 

 which might be levied on the property during the 

 thousand years for which the contract was made. In 

 return for this assistance, the university agreed to 

 open the arboretum to the public from sunrise to 

 sunset during every day of the year, reserving, however, 

 entire control of all the collections and of the grounds 

 with the exception of the drives and walks. Work on 

 the roads was begun by the city in 1885, but through 

 various delays in construction, the planting of the prin- 

 cipal collections of trees and shrubs was not under- 

 taken until the following year. In 1894, seventy-five 

 acres, known as Peter's Hill, and a part of the Bussey 

 farm, were added to the arboretum by the President 

 and Fellows of the university, and in 1898 were opened 

 to the public by an encircling road built by the park 

 department of the city. This contract with the city of 



been understood by its management, is to increase 

 the knowledge of trees and other woody plants. 'I'd 

 accomplish this, something more than the collection 

 of living plants hardy in eastern Massachusetts con- 

 templated by the trustees of James Arnold's will was 

 necessary, and the Arnold Arboretum as now organized 

 is, first, an out-of-door museum in which the public can 

 see the trees and shrubs of the north temperate zone 

 conveniently arranged; second, a dendrological station 

 and laboratory in which the scientific study of trees is 

 carried on, and third, a bureau of publication, explora- 

 tion and exchange through which botanical exploration 

 in different parts of the world is undertaken and the 

 results and products of these explorations made known 

 and distributed. 



In the arrangement of the out-of-door museum the 

 living collection of trees and shrubs the species to 

 facilitate study have been arranged in groups of genera 



310. Kalmia in bloom at the Arnold Arboretum. 



Boston is of great value to the arboretum, for, as it 

 cannot be moved from its present location without the 

 consent of the university and the city, there is little 

 chance that, however valuable the land may become, 

 the people of Boston will ever consent to give up a 

 public park of unusual character and great beauty. 

 The assumption of all taxes by the city during 1,000 

 years insured by this contract may become an impor- 

 tant contribution to the arboretum. 



The Arnold Arboretum occupies 220 acres of meadow, 

 hill and valley. It forms one of the series of Boston 

 parks with which it is connected by a broad parkway. 

 It is close to the Forest Hills station of the New York, 

 New Haven & Hartford Railroad, and it can be reached 

 from all parts of the city by two lines of electric cars. 

 Its natural features are a broad meadow along the 

 northeastern boundary, and three high hills separated 

 by narrow valleys through one of which flows a small 

 stream. One of these hills is covered by a remarkable 

 growth of hemlock trees, and natural woods, in which 

 large individuals of many of the trees of eastern New 

 England are found, cover other parts of the arboretum. 



The purpose of the Arnold Arboretum, as this has 



and families in a natural sequence whenever conditions 

 of soil and situation have made this possible, a further 

 attempt being made to arrange the planted groups in 

 harmony with the native woods and the other natural 

 features of the ground. All the groups of trees, shrubs, 

 and all the natural woods are easily reached by grass 

 paths which extend to all parts of the grounds. In the 

 case of the trees of North America, several individuals 

 of each species have been planted, but want of space 

 has generally made it impossible to plant more than 

 one individual of an Old World species. In the groups - 

 of American trees, one specimen is planted with 

 abundant space for the full development of its brandies 

 and the others are arranged in a compact group to show 

 their habit under such conditions. 



For the convenience of students, the shrubs of genera 

 in which there are no hardy trees, and all vines, have 

 been arranged in a sequence of genera in long parallel 

 beds near one of the principal entrances; but the shrubs 

 belonging to genera in which some of the species are 

 hardy trees have been planted in connection with the 

 groups of trees of these genera. In addition to the 

 shrubs in the general shrub collection, supplementary 



