JOURNAL 
OF 
The New York Botanical Garden 
VoL. XIll March, 1912. No. 147. 
THE LETCHWORTH PARK ARBORETUM. 
All interested in forestry and the conservation of our forest 
areas will be glad to read the article, entitled ‘“‘ A Great Living 
Tree Museum,” which appeared in the February issue of the 
Review of Reviews. This is by Chas. M. Dow, trustee of the 
American Scenic and Historic Preservation Society, and director 
of Letchworth Park and Arboretum. This undertaking is to 
be known as the Letchworth Park Arboretum, and will be laid 
out on broad lines, as indicated in the following quotation from 
the article referred to: ‘‘ The principle upon which the Letch- 
worth Park Arboretum is established is that it shall consist of a 
permanent collection of the various species of the world’s timber 
trees likely to thrive in this northern climate, planted scien- 
tifically, to test their value and illustrate the processes of develop- 
ment, so supplying not only knowledge for knowledge’s sake, but 
also knowledge for practical use.”’ 
f the one thousand acres comprising Letchworth Park, about 
five hundred are open meadows and fields, long under cultivation, 
and it is here that the arboretum is to be established. It is 
planned to devote irregular blocks, an acre or more in extent, 
to one or more kinds of trees of commercial importance. Due 
regard will be had for landscape and color effects, and the planting 
will be so close as to rapidly establish forest conditions. And 
when this condition is reached, here will be a place where the 
economic timber trees of temperate regions the world over may 
be studied, and their value to this country determined. It is 
difficult to estimate the worth of a collection of this kind or of its 
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