Biological Institutions 67 



University. It was established about fifty years ago by a 

 gift of $100,000 by James Arnold of New Bedford, and the 

 setting apart of a tract of some 200 acres by joint arrange- 

 ment between the city and the university. It forms at the 

 same time a part of the splendid park system of Boston, and 

 a "museum of living trees." Here are gathered together 

 trees and shrubs from temperate climes in all the world, the 

 old New England hemlocks, a bit of the "forest primeval" 

 of the Pilgrim fathers, the firs and spruces of the Rocky 

 Mountains, the oaks of England, the cedars of Lebanon, and 

 the funereal cypress of China, with roses and cherries from 

 far away Japan. 



In the arrangement of the grounds formality has been 

 thrown to the winds. Well trimmed lawns, rows of trees 

 and flower beds with square corners have been subordinated 

 to Nature's beautiful carelessness in the planning of the 

 gardens. And yet through all the apparent disorder, there 

 runs an orderly arrangement whereby related plants are 

 brought together, and each family of tree and shrub has its 

 own appointed place in the general plan. 



Under the direction of Professor Sargent, head of the Ar- 

 boretum, has been developed a museum, library and herbarium 

 containing specimens of the wood of all American trees, 

 showing its structure when cut with or across the grain, and 

 when polished or smooth. There are records also of the 

 physical character of different woods, their specific gravity, 

 heat value, amount of ash, etc. The herbarium contains a 

 collection of woody plants from all parts of the world, while 

 the library is one of the best collections on trees in existence. 



From the Arboretum have come Professor Sargent 's * ' Silva 

 of North America, ' ' a classic on American trees. Here too was 

 written his "Forest Flora of Japan," the result of extended 

 travel and research in that country. As author of the report 

 on our forests in the tenth census, the director of the Arbor- 

 etum brought to the notice of the people of the United States 

 their wonderful, but rapidly vanishing timber resources, and 

 paved the way for the development of forest conservation and 

 the establishment of our forest reserves. 



The Arboretum also has served as pioneer and guide in the 

 establishment of botanical gardens elsewhere, both private 

 and public, aiding notably in the development of the New 

 York Botanical Garden. Many new importations from 

 abroad have been tested here, including those of commercial 

 as well as artistic value. Of these might be mentioned among 

 many others, the tung oil, lacquer, pistachio and hardy rubber 

 trees of China, brought from the Celestial Kingdom by the 



