New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1881-10-23

A WEALTH OF SYLVAN TREASURE.

TNCNT-AN OLD LANDMARK USHER NJ" HANA
ITS DIS rRUCnoN THREAT NED.
When the aIysnturcr. who has set forth on rl-
orir,a- 70 the oldest arbo7etun on the continent
finds himself dropped in a Philadelphia railway
station and surrcniers TO IN aggrrs i've harkman.
Ia naturally asks 10 be driven to tho Bartran
Garden. That accomplished person will. at
once be covered with confusion - he
nelly inoIircs "Where is itl' The
pil,rim is astoundcd TO learn that
nr,ntatjon which was once the Mecca Of tree
iorars from all ,ar.p o. the globe is not familiar
s,ot tn every Phiadephiau, and before he re overs
himself the driver returns from consultation with
his comrade 10 suggest tnqGiriHglv: ;" Oh. y'n mean
fine Eastwic5 Place" The pl rim is not aware that
he means the Eastwick PIace-hut lie does. Years
ago the old garden passed from the
hands of John Ba7trsm', descendants into
the possession Of gentleman who had
made generous fortune in RI sian railway Hni"r-
priyes and who bmli fin" residence near IN" great
trees which the Quaker botanist had planted.
T., duo time the glitter of the new estab!is ment
eclip>cd the waning glori,s Of the garden, which 10
tbc needles, multitude was ,lya few acres OF wood
land on the river bank, having no more valne OF
impor ancc than any other remnant OF The rapidly
DISSEMINATING forest about tho city. Only n select
few appreciated the ar,oretnm for its IN
trtnsIc worth or it's interest as landmark
in the history OF American science, OF
"a the sjncular'y appropriate memorial OF
\ noble life Thus il happened that - n younger
more commercial and moro irrev rent generation
the name Of Ea-twicl, became more iamiIiar thah
that of Bartram. Fortunately the new pro rl'tor
had the good taste to letve standing h' arlct"r-
istc house of hewn stone which Bartran pun WI
h $ own hands Thecardrn too was left to lts VIII
until il has become tangled wildwood. But al
though it has been rndrly dealt with by the storms
OF $50 winters il still co taIns wealth oi Sylvan
treasure which will amply repay the explorer even
ar the expense of long journey.
Deeply cut in a broad stone on the GAME OF me
house is the legend ions ANS BARTEAM. 1871"
which tesffes that it has now stood.a iu'l century
and haf. The locltion is charming one on
hiah ground overlooking the Sclmylkili' and the
garden was planted on the slope between the house
and the right bank of the river Beyond the stream
stretches a low peninsula, and the Delaware GittcrS
like silver ribbon IN the distance. The tranquil
bean V of the spot il in perfect harmony with
the placid life Of Bartran and 70 it he returned
after his long and lonely Journeys in search OF new
plants with ever increasing pleasure. After living
here for fort, year. when he had reached the limit
OF his three and ten. lac coud think OF no more
appropriate place for putting recori the simple
creed which had guided him in his
studies and strvngs than over one of the
quantity carved lnels Of his house and fronting the
garden no loved. II remains today clearly legi-
bic as when it was freshly engraved.
IRIS COP ALONE ALMIGHTY LORD
THE Holy ApOED,
IOHN BARTRAM' l77O
These forty years were years Of uuremittng and
effective work Bred a farmer, BlrtrIm carly de-
veloped zeal for scientific research which could
not be s1pprcsse l. Thi. taste hc prnblby inherited
from his mother for his couSin-grrInln on her side.
was Humphrey Marshall, who planted IN Chester
County. Pennsy'yIn A. the s'con botanical garden
IN tins continent, aud whose Arbu,;rIum Amcd
cauum" was the first strictly American botlnic:i
work. Bartr1m's educational advantages hal
been Of the -cndcrc-t tut he acquired alter reach
ing manhood cpourh Latin TO enable him "a read the
works Of Lipueus, with whom he alto ward kept
NJ an urbrok,n c1rrespoudrucr and h. was no
les, an authority than the iilus IIous Sycdc
who pronounced him tho greatest natural
botanist in the worll.' Besides Linuuus be-
numbered among h's re- liar c,ponlcut-. Gro
uuyius >ir llus sloan, founder OF ia" British
Museum. Dr. FoihrrsilI, E1lu. John CLAYTON. Cor
dom Mlrl, Ca,csby. Mr. Mitchell and many other
emincu, men in Europe and America who's, memory
is preserved in a. plants named for them Ia hi,
search for f,ru, cd vegetable life he EIdr pr
lou, Journeys through the great North .rn
wilderness, which was infested with hostile
Iudiaut and secured the mountain,
and water courses southw,rl. until ~ seventy yrar-
Of age as Naturalist 10 the KIM with The mu.
njfccnt salary of fifty pou IDS per anuum. he rN-
plorcd the swamps al Florida. In those uhlr, he
detected more undiscovered plants than any OF his
contemporaries He would return ho ue with MS
,addlebays h.rstiug with secd- root, and cuttings
to exchange with Eur pean bo.ani O.. and
to stock the garden winch was his rri
His collection o! choice specimens grew Iapi .ly
until, considering the ain ,nttcs OF trlrspnrtat on
ms limited means and the imperfect state OF bojani-
cal science it was marycliously complete in every
department and worthy of the worldwide iauc
which it attained during the life Of il, founder AID
wlulr cared for by his son William, who was "A
naturalist of the first rank.
No doubt the pasture, and borders Of the Old yar.
den were once CAV with the bloom OF hcrhacruus
plants Indeed we know this for he wr t.s IN Sep
TENDER. 1860, My garden now makes glorious
appearance with its yirinia AMI Carolina flowers"
To- ay. however, little remains Of this humble
growth, and The stuTdic,t trcrsapd shrubs alone sur
y.ye. Many Of the specimens have lied OF o.d agr.
o. hers have been uprooel by the wind, other, have
been smothcrrd under tine rampant grow IA 1 their
fellows others still have been crowded out Of shape
ard are dragging out % distorted existence under
protest, while many hat remain are plainly q src-
oud third Grafton from seeds dropped by ,hrir
ancestors Ncvcrthe among the survivor, there l.
many q tree which w0uld make the fortn % Of an
ordinary collection. The glory of the gardcn i, a
Southern Cypress, which has few peers even among
the mosShung wonarchs OF the swamps of Vr-
GINA and the Carolinas. Young William Bartrnm
held tine tree while his father planted it, in l7ID.
and 1t now towers 1870 feet in the air, with a
trunk twenty -Gight feet in girth above the
swell lis base. These dimensions, however
convey no adequat idea of the grand proportions
and expression of the tree. The slecimens with
which Va are familiar in this latitude like fos- in
Central Park, for instance, are straight rs an
arrow, their short limb, furnished with feathers Of