300 



Tlio following letter furnished for the minutes by Mr. Price, will ex- 

 plain the history of the purchase of the oaks in Europe. 



Office of Chief Enginebk, 

 OF Faikmount Park, 

 Philadelphia, Dec. 10th, 1874, 

 Hon. Eli K. Price, 



Chairman Com. on Nurseries, §-c. 

 Dear Sir: — One of the objects aimed at in establishing the Michaus 

 Grove and Nursery, was to have in the Park not oaly a school for study, 

 in which might be seen trees, of valuable quality, but also the means of 

 detecting the spurious and unreliable varieties which are sold for pure 

 species. In order to do this, we should be able to show every variety of 

 Oak that will live in this climate, including the sports with the names 

 attached by respectable nurserymen at home and abroad. This is just 

 what I have endeavored to do. Immediately after the resolution by Park 

 Commission, of May 14th, 1870, authorizing the expenditure of $500 for 

 Oaks, several respectable arborists were consulted as to where a collec- 

 tion of Native Oaks could be had, and the result was to get some 12 or 

 15 species of American Oaks, being all that I found in American Nurse- 

 ries differing from well-known species already growing in the Park. 

 Several young trees of each of these species were bought and planted on 

 the site selected for a Michaux Grove. Catalogues were then procured 

 from several foreign Nurseries, naming over 100 species and varieties of 

 the genus Quercus. On my visit to England, in 1872, Dr. Hooker, the 

 learned Director of Kew Gardens, was consulted, and several of the largest 

 British Nurseries were visited, and over 80 so-called species and varieties 

 of Oaks were examined. On my next voyage in 1873, other nurseries 

 were visited, and then the first order was given for foreign trees, embracing 

 from 8 to 6 plants of each of some 100 species and varieties and sports, 

 with the names they bore in the catalogues of the most respectable Nur- 

 series. When the invoices were received, it was evident that some of the 

 names were misspelled. As the requisite corrections could not be made 

 at the time, the bills were laid before the Park Commission for payment, 

 the names forwaided ia the English invoices were unchanged with the 

 expectation of having the proper corrections made at an early day. The 

 work of correction was commenced, but has been interrupted by my 

 illness, and thus the uncorrected lists were unexpectedly laid before the 

 Philosophical Society. The examinations made during my illness, show 

 that a large proportion of the names are to be found in the list f)ublished 

 by Paxton in his Botanical Dictionary, and also in that most complete 

 descriptive work, the Arboretum, of London, and also, elsewhere. While 

 I have been preparing this statement in a condition of great suffering 

 and almost of helplessness from the violence of continued pain, my wife 

 has kindly marked 49 of these identified names with descriptions from 

 which any expert Botanist may recognise the plants. This work of 

 identification, Mr. Estabrook is quite willing to undertake as soon as the 

 spring shall bring out the foliage. Truly yours, 



JNO. C. CRESSON, Chief Engineer. 



