St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1900-09-19
Death of a Great Gardener.
He Introduced the SeedIess Orange INTO
America and Founded the Patrons
of HusbaudPy.

DedLIl Vi OhCoI NoA hShSA'
He Introduced the seedIess Orange into
America and Founded the Patrons
of HusbandFy.
WILLIAM SAUNDERS, A GREAT GARDEN
Err the planner of Fairmo unit parkin Phila-
delphia, president ofthe park commission
of Washington, D. c., the most impor-
tant member of the force of the national
department of agriculture, master fruit
grower, and the lntroducer OF the navel
seedless orange of Brazil to cultivation
in the United States, has cied at his
home in Washington, in his 18th year.
The service of such man as Saunders to
his day and generation dwarts the heroes
of war and the bosses of politics. Saun-
ders had spent his long life in the interest
of genuine progress and the pleasure and
profit of the people. and had added to
the sum of human happiness in no slight
degree. Born in the venerable Scotch
university town of st. Andrews, in
County Fife, he was the defendant J.
generations of gardeners. In his youth
he went with his father to India, accom-
panying Scotch gentleman who lived
most of the time in that country. 1t
was his fathers intention that William
should become a minister and to that
end he studied at the college of Madras,
and finally at the divinity college; but
life in the gardens appeared to his Ma
ture-loving soul more important than
theology, and he chose the ancestral to
the great grief of his mother, who had
the true Presbyterian notion of the min
isterial profession, and never quite for
gave him for his refusal OF it. He went
to the famous Kew gardens in the sub
urbs of London, and thence he shortly
after came over to this country, along
with J F. Meehan, also a well known
gardener, and ever since they have been
friends and co-workers in horticulture in
Philadelphia. 1t was while they were
associated in Germantown that Saun-
ders designed Paramount park, the pride
of the Quaker city, and afterward he de-
signed Hunting park, and Mr.. Meehan
has continued his work. The first inn
portant work OF Saunders was Clifton
park. an estate of 400 acres belonging to
Johns Hopkins, the founder of the uni
versity bearing his name,-a tract of
land now in the heart of the city of
Baltimore. 1t is now almost 40 years
since William Saunders went to Wash
ington, on the creation of the bureau of
agriculture in 1862, and it is to him
that the agricultural grounds and park
owe their laying out and their great
beauty. Mr.. Saunders never liked the
artificial, but he made in these grounds
compromise between that idea and the
ease of Nature, which he preferred. AS
president of the federal districts parking
commission he gave great attention to
the minor squares, circles, triaugles, ETC..
which make the city so beautiful; but
the agricultural grounds remained the
pride OF his heart. 1t was in 1868 that
his attention was called to the seedless
orange of Bahia, Brazil. by letters writ
ten by an American woman; he secured
IN 1870 dozen young trees, and from
them have sprung the now very great
stock of the navel orange of southern
California, where alone they are really
thrifty and profitable. Another achieve
ment of William Saunders is not COM
monty associated with his name; it was
the organization of the association called
"the Patrons of Husbandry," and
popularity "the Grangers." This organ
ization is OF consequence in many parts
of the country, although inNew England
it has not amounted to much. This
note concerning Mr.. Saunders does not
begin to tell of the great work he has
done in large variety OF gardening
work and fruit culture, Tor in this latter
direction his experiments in the propaga-
ton Of fruits have been of the greatest
value. But it outlines and characterizes
the extraordinary service of Que man to
the best interests ofhuman life Spring
field Republican.