March 16, 1912.] 



THE GARDENERS CHRONICLE. 



1C5 





AMERICAN NOTES. 



RETIREMENT OF DR. TRELEASE 



Dr. 



Engelmann collection. 



William Trelease has resigned the 

 directorship of the Botanical Gardens at St. 

 Louis, Missouri, formerly known as Shaw's Gar- 

 den, to which he was appointed in 1889, as he 

 desires to devote more time to scientific re- 

 search. Dr. Trelease was a pupil of America's 

 greatest botanist. Dr. Asa Gray, who recom- 

 mended him to Mr. Shaw in 1885 to be pro- 

 fessor at the School of Botany connected with 

 the Botanical Garden. On the death of Mr. 

 Shaw, in 1889, Dr. Trelease was appointed direc- 

 tor of the whole establishment under the trustees, 

 and he has succeeded not only in the fulfilment 

 of the purposes of the trust, but also in the de- 

 velopment of the establishment into one of the 

 most important in the United States. The gar- 

 dens, which are 65 acres in extent and have 

 30,000 square feet of glass, contain about 20,000 

 distinct plants, the collections of succulents, 

 Palms, Cycads and Orchids being exceptionally 

 rich. Cacti, which have always been in favour 

 there, are represented by a large number of 

 species. Bromeliads also are numerous and well 

 grown. The gardens are open to the public free 

 of charge on every day in the year except Sun- 

 days and holidays, something like 100,000 persons 

 visiting them annually. There is also a library 

 of botanical and horticultural works, numbering 

 some 50,000 volumes, and a herbarium of about 

 half a million specimens, which includes the 



These are all devoted to 

 scientific research and horticultural and botanica! 

 instruction, the cost and maintenance of which, 

 some £8,000 per year, were provided by the 

 founder, Mr. Henry Shaw. The history of this 

 public benefactor is interesting. He was born 

 in Sheffield in 1800, and at the age of 18 went 

 to St. Louis, where he started a small shop for 

 the sale of Sheffield ware, the shop, a single 

 room, being also his living quarters. Shaw pros- 

 pered, and at the age of 40 he gave up business 

 and travelled in Europe. On seeing Chatsworth 

 he was fired with the desire to have a large gar- 

 den of his own. Returning to St. Louis, he set 

 to work, and with the assistance and advice of 

 Dr. Engelmann, Asa Gray, Sir William J. 

 Hooker and others, he proceeded to construct a 

 park and garden on approved botanical horti- 

 cultural lines. He engaged a gardener, Mr. 

 James Gurney, from the Botanical Gardens, 

 Regent's Park, with whom he was always on the 

 most friendly terms. His garden was both wife 

 and child to him, for he never married. He 

 died in 1889, one of the most honoured of Ameri- 

 can citizens, and was buried in the garden which 

 he had made. His will contains the following 

 characteristic passage: — "Whereas I have for 

 many years been engaged in laying out and estab- 

 lishing a botanical garden with a museum and 

 library connected therewith, which is now known 

 as the Missouri Botanical Garden, with the de- 

 sign at the tinie of my death to convey the same 

 with other property to be for ever kept up and 

 maintained for the cultivation and propagation 

 of plants, flowers, fruits and forest trees and 

 other products of the vegetable kingdom. . . ■ 

 and devoted to the science of botany and horti- 

 culture and allied objects." Accordingly, he left 

 an immensely rich estate to be managed by 

 trustees so as to provide ample means for the ful- 

 filment of his wishes. In addition to the large 

 out-put of botanical work from the Missouri 

 Gardens, much of it by Dr. Trelease, there is also 

 a school for botanical students and a school of 

 horticulture, funds for which were provided in 

 the will. The selection of boys for horticultural 

 scholarships is left to the director. They can 

 enter at the age of 14. and are lodged, paid 

 wages, and trained for six years. Such an in- 

 stitution would be of immense service to horti- 

 culture in this country, but men of the qualities 

 of Henry Shaw are scarce. The nearest approach 

 to him was the late John Innes, who left his 

 estate at Wimbledon, together with a large sum 

 of money, to be devoted to the promotion of hor- 

 ticulture and to the training of gardeners. Among 

 Shaw's bequests were £200 annually for a ban- 

 quet to the trustees and their guests ; £80 

 annually for a dinner to the gardeners and their 

 friends; £100 annually for a flower show in 

 St. Louis ; and £40 annually for a sermon in 

 the cathedral on " The wisdom and goodness of 

 God as shown in the growth of flowers, fruit and 

 other products of the vegetable kingdom." 



CHINESE BRAMBLES. 



FOR SHRUBBERIES, PERGOLAS, AND 



PLEASURE GROUND. 



(Concluded from p. 148. ) 



Rubus chroosepalus, Focke (see fig. 69). 

 The chief value of this Rubus lies in the foliage, 

 which is evergreen, very ornamental, and may be 

 compared with that of a Lime tree. Plants 



Hupeh, and Mr. Wilson collected seeds in the 

 neighbourhood of Ichang at an elevation of 

 4,000 feet. The best use for the plant is to 

 cover a pillar, pergola or fence. 



R. flagelliflorus, Focke.— The valuable fea- 

 tures cf this Bramble are the elegant habit, 

 evergreen leaves, and ornamental fruits. The 

 plant grows to a height of 8 feet or more. 

 stems are Lrown in colour, slender, and fur- 



The 





i 



IPhotograph by C. P. Raffili 



Fig. 68. — rubus playfatrit: an evergreen species 



(See p. 166.) 



at Kew last year made growths 6 feet to 7 feet in 

 length. The stems are slender, and furnished 

 with a few spines. The leaves are simple, cor- 

 date, measure 4 inches by 3£ inches, are glab- 

 rous' above, and white beneath. The flowers are 

 borne in large panicles, and have no decorative 

 value; the fruits are small and black. Mr. A. 



found this species in the province of 



The 



gin 



Henry 



nished with a few spines, 

 ate-acuminate, with an irregular serrated mar- 



they are 4 inches to 5 inches long and 

 3 inches to 4 inches wide, rich deep-green on 

 the upper surface, the under surface clothed 

 with a thick, dull-coloured felt. The flowers 

 are white; the fruits are of a medium size and 

 glossv black. The species is a native of Central 



