THE MAN WITH THE THOUSAND-YEAR TREE GARDEN 



BY FRANK A. ARNOLD 



THE man Charles Sprague Sargent. The place 

 the old Bussey farm owned by Harvard Univer- 

 sity. The opportunity a bequest of $100,000 made 

 by James Arnold, of New Bedford. The man, the place, 

 and the opportunity have resulted in the Arnold Arbore- 

 tum, America's famous Tree Garden and the only institu- 

 tion of its kind in the world. 



Prof. Charles Sprague Sargent is known officially as 

 "Arnold Professor of Arboriculture in Harvard Univer 

 sity," and was born in Boston on April 24, 1841. He 

 served throughout the Civil War and was brevetted 

 Major "for faithful and meritorious services." He was 

 professor of horticulture 

 and director of the botanic 

 gardens of Harvard Uni- 

 versity from 1872 to 1879. 



It was in 1872 that he ac- 

 cepted the directorship of 

 the Arnold Arboretum and 

 for nearly 50 years he has 

 devoted his undivided time 

 and attention to its devel- 

 opment. 



"But how about the 

 thousand years?" someone 

 asks. 



There is in existence, 

 due to Professor Sargent's 

 foresight, a unique con- 

 tract, probably the only one 

 of its kind in the world, en- 

 tered into in 1882 between 

 the City of Boston and the 

 President and Fellows of 

 Harvard University. By the 

 terms of this contract there 

 is deeded to the City of 

 Boston the 220 acres of 

 land, consisting of hill, val- 

 ley and meadow, compris- 

 ing the Arnold Arboretum. 

 The City of Boston in turn 

 leases this land to Harvard 

 University for the nominal sum of one dollar a year for 

 the term of 999 years, the lease to renew itself at expi 

 ration and so on from time to time forever. The only 

 condition that the City of Boston exacted in connection 

 with this unusual contract was that the Arboretum should 

 never be closed to the public, and the city in turn agreed 

 to maintain the roads and paths of the Arboretum as a 

 part of its park system. 



The romantic story of the Arboretum is not as well 

 known as it should be. In 1868 a merchant in the Citv 

 of New Bedford, James Arnold by name, died, leaving 



PROFESSOR CHARLES SPRAGUE SARGENT 



The man who for the past fifty years has devoted his life to the develop 



ment of the greatest "Tree Garden" in the world. 



the sum of $100,000 for the purpose of increasing the 

 knowledge of horticulture. His trustees eventually 

 turned this money over to Harvard University, and after 

 the principal and accumulated interest amounted to $150, 

 000 this was used as the basis of establishing a Tree 

 Garden which should contain every form of tree, shrub," 

 and woody plant able to stand the climate of New Eng- 

 land. 



Professor Sargent was selected to take charge of the 

 enterprise. No more fortunate selection could have been 

 made, for as a young man Professor Sargent had shown 

 great fondness for horticulture and spent most of his 



time in caring for the trees 

 and shrubs on the beautiful 

 estate in Brookline belong- 

 ing to his father. Bring- 

 ing to his work that enthu- 

 siasm characteristic of one 

 who loves his profession, 

 he literally poured out his 

 very life and substance for 

 the purpose of making the 

 Arboretum the greatest 

 Tree Garden in the world 

 How well he has suc- 

 ceeded can best be seen by 

 a visit to the Arboretum it- 

 self. Here one will find a 

 valuable museum of trees 

 and shrubs from all over 

 the world, brought here 

 and planted under condi- 

 tions as nearly parallel to 

 their native habitat as pos- 

 sible to obtain. 



Explorers have been 

 sent out from the Arbore- 

 t u m invading territory 

 where the footsteps of man 

 have never been known, 

 and bringing back rare va- 

 rieties of trees and shrubs 

 with which to enrich this 

 collection. As an editor and writer Professor Sargent 

 is known on two continents. For ten years he was 

 editor of "Garden and Forest," the most complete maga 

 zine of its kind ever published. "The Silva of North 

 America" may perhaps be considered his greatest 

 achievement, being the work of a dozen years or more 

 and representing the most complete treatise on the sub- 

 ject in existence. He is also author of "Woods of the 

 United States" and "Forest Flora of Japan," "Report on 

 the Forests of North America," and numerous other 

 works and reports which have appeared from time to 



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