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March 2, 1911. 



The Weekly Florists^ Review* 



15 



JACKSON DAWSON. 



Jackson T. Dawson, who January 7 

 was awarded the George R. White 

 medal of honor for eminent services in 

 horticulture, has for a long term of 

 years been one of the best known hor- 

 ticulturists in New England. He is 

 also well known all over the United 

 States, as well as in Europe. He was 

 born at York, England, in 1841. He 

 came while a child to the United States 

 and at the tender age of 8 years 

 worked in the nurseries of an uncle 

 at Andover, Mass. A few years later 

 he went to Hovey's then noted estab- 

 lishment at Cambridge, from which 

 many new things were introduced. The 

 Civil war found our friend fighting for 

 the Union. He was twice wounded 

 and has a leg which still reminds him 

 of that terrible conflict. Even during 

 the war he took an interest in the trees 

 of the south, and sent many packages 

 of seed home to Massachusetts. 



Mr. Dawson became well known to 

 a large part of the public when it was 

 stated that he had found a good sized 

 colony of the real Scotch heather grow- 

 ing wild. In 1871 he was offered a 

 position under Francis Parkman, of the 

 horticultural department of the Bussey 

 Institution. In 1873 Prof. C. S. Sar- 

 gent took the place of Mr. Parkman, 

 and a little later assumed the director- 

 ship of the Harvard Botanic Gardens. 

 Mr. Dawson supplied him with many 

 plants and thus familiarized himself 

 with plants from all parts of the world. 

 He became specially interested in the 

 wild roses of Japan and started to 

 hybridize them, obtaining as a result 

 of his crosses such varieties as Dawson, 

 the first of the rambler type raised; 

 William C. Egan, Lady Duncan; Farqu- 

 har, a popular variety; Arnoldiana 

 Sargent and others. 



As a result of twenty-five years or 

 more of labor the Arnold Arboretum 

 has become one of the Meccas for all 

 tree lovers in the New World, and 

 every European arboriculturist makes 

 it his shrine. Here are gathered to- 

 gether, from all parts of the globe, all 

 trees and shrubs which will withstand 

 the winters of New England. All trees 

 and plants in the Arboretum have, with 

 few exceptions, been planted by Mr. 

 Dawson. 



As a propagator he stands without a 

 peer. He first showed nurserymen how 

 to graft conifers. He was first to raise 

 rhododendron seedlings in quantity un- 

 der improved methods. Of these latter 

 he now has some 20,000 in sixty varie- 

 ties from China, introductions of E. H. 

 Wilson's. He has grafted many hard- 

 wooded trees, such as oaks, chestnuts, 

 hickories, maples, etc. In an interview 

 he said: "Eternal vigilance has been 

 the secret of the success which has 

 come to me. All the oaks, elms, ashes, 

 catalpas, birches, beeches, conifers, 

 junipers and the rest of the thousand 

 and one varieties and species of trees 

 and shrubs which we have here have 

 been under my eye all the time through 

 these years. In one year I collected 

 50,000 native shrubs to plant in the 

 Arboretum. I also collected all the 

 laurels and yews." 



Prof. C. S, Sargent said: "Jackson 

 Dawson seems to be able to look at a 

 plant and tell you what its affinities 

 are — that is, what it may be grafted 

 upon. He is a real wizard in this line. 

 He seems to know the art of grafting 

 by intuition, what stock to use, in what 

 condition to use it, and how to use it. 



Jackson Dawson. 



This knowledge and skill he has ac- 

 quired by patient practice and by lov- 

 ing the things with which he works. 

 Plants seem to respond to affection 

 and he has that affection in large meas- 

 ure. In addition to the great numbers 

 of trees and shrubs he has raised here, 

 no one can tell how many hundreds of 

 thousands he has sent to every part of 

 the United States and to all the coun- 

 tries of Europe." 



Mr. Dawson is a member of the 

 Massachusetts Horticultural Society 

 and has won many medals at its shows 

 for his novelties. He is one of the 

 original charter members of the Gar- 

 deners' and Florists' Club, serving on 

 the executive committee in 1888, as 

 vice-president in 1892 and president in 

 1893. His youngest son, Henry, oper- 

 ates the Eastern Nurseries; an elder 

 son, J. Frederick, is a member of the' 

 firm of Olmsted Bros., the noted land- 

 scape architects; one son, Charles J., 

 who for some years was in the nursery 

 business and also secretary of the Gar- 

 deners ' and Florists' Club, is deceased. 

 Two daughters, Mrs. Harold Blossom 

 and Miss Laura Dawson, are living. 



Many visitors to the coming national 

 show will remember Jackson Dawson 

 well, and no doubt many of them will 

 embrace the opportunity to see the 

 Arnold Arboretum, which is beautiful 

 even when vegetation is dormant. Mr. 

 Dawson is 70 years of age, but few 

 days elapse when he is not to be seen 

 at his accustomed stand,^ caring for his 

 thousands of seedling trees and shrubs, 

 many of which will some years hence 

 make wonderful additions to our gar- 

 dens. W. N. Craig. 



Randolph, Vt. — H. M. Totman is re- 

 modeling his store, adding to its 

 attractiveness and improving his facili- 

 ties for handling the trade. 



FINE THINGS NOTED BY KNIGHT. 



One of the choicest collections of 

 twelve hybrid cypripediums ever exhib- 

 ited was .staged by Mr. McKenzie, head 

 gardener for E. B. Dane, at the spring 

 Boston show last week. It consisted of 

 some of the finest crosses and several 

 of them exhibited for the first time in 

 the United States. The names follow: 

 Cypripedium aureum Virginale x Ac- 

 tceus; Cypripedium x aureum Candida, 

 a most beautiful tj'pe of light colored 

 C. aureum; Cypripedium Leonidas mag- 

 nificum, one of the darkest of Lathami- 

 anum types; Cypripedium "Venus (in- 

 signe Sandera? x niveum), carried two 

 superb flowers, perfect creamy white; 

 Cypripedium aureum Kox had five splen- 

 did, well-developed flowers, the best type 

 I ever saw; Cypripedium aureum Hyea- 

 num, a large, bold flower, choice and 

 scarce; Cypripedium Gay Gordon, ex- 

 hibited for the first time in the United 

 States, a cross between Thompsonianum 

 magnificum and Lady Wimburne, the 

 most magnificent hybrid I have ever 

 admired; Cypripedium signatum car- 

 ried seven magnificent flowers; Cypripe- 

 dium Thompsonianum and Cypripedium 

 Lady Wimburne completed this excel- 

 lent group. 



What is acknowledged to be the larg- 

 est specimen of Cymbidium Tracyanum 

 in the world was exhibited by Mr. Har- 

 vey, head gardener to Mr. Leeson, carry- 

 ing fifteen spikes of perfect flowers, 

 averaging twelve flowers to a spike. 



Dendrobium nobile Virginalis was in 

 perfect form and its pure white flowers 

 were admired. Thousands of people in- 

 spected these groups with great interest, 

 denoting that orchids are to become uni- 

 versal favorites. The latter was ex- 

 hibited bv W. C. Eust, gardener to Dr. 

 C. G. Weld. Thomas Knight. 



