The Washington times., 1912-07-07

The funeral will take place at 2:30 y.
m, Tuesday. 1t was Mr.. Smiths wish
that his funeral be conducted under
Masonic auspices, and this wish will be
carried out. Part of the ballbearers
will be members of the Association of
Oldest Inhabitants. of which Mr.. Smith
had long been a member, and the rest
will be chosen from the Masons. The
services will be held at the Scottish
Rite Temple and the burial will be at
Rock Creek.
The body was taken to the undertake
ing establishment of Thomas s. Ser
geon, 1011, Seventh street northwest,
this morning where it was prepared for
burial.
Superintendent Smith was first at
Tracked with heart trouble last October.
He ralliel from the attack and for -
time was apparently in good health.
About a month ago. however, he had
another attack and 1t was known at
once that It would be impossible for him
ever again to rise from his bed.
Physical Condition Good.
During this time he has surprised
even his closest friends by his remark
able amount of reserve strength. The
life in the open that had always been
his and the physical care he had taken
of himself during his youth had served
to furnish him with a most excellent
constitution.
Several times during the illness 1t was
thought that Mr.. Smith could not live
an hour. At one time his heart stopped
beating for four minutes and 1t was
thought that he was dead. But he was
revived by stimulants and has lived
% - atv,
Held Position Sixty Years.
For nearly sixty years the superin-
tendent of the United States Botanic
Gardens, William Robertson Smith, was
one of the most picturesque figures in
the National Capital.
Scotch to the core, as ardent in his
love for the heather and the highlands
of his native land as he was for his
plants and flowers, the aged men asked
no prouder title than to be called gard
ener." He disliked the term superin-
tendent He was equally opposed to
the highfalutin and Latin word horti-
culturist. But it made him happy when
he was addressed as gardener.
William Robertson Smith was born
In Athelstone Falls, East Lothian,
Scotland, in 1898, on a day and month
which even his closest friends profess
not to know. By heredity and environ
ment he was destined to be a gardener,
Tor his rather had been one before him.
He was left an orphan, however, and
was reared by grandmother, who ap-
prentlced him, before he had had much
schooling. to the gardens of Hon. Thon-
as Mitchell innes, at Fantesy. East
Lothian, and later to Lord Elcho. who
was later Earl OF Wemyss.
Attends Night School
AS journeyman gardener he went to
the estate of Lord Abercrombie near
Sterling, and before he was sixteen
years OF age he had served with tho
Duke of Athole. at Dunkel, Perthshire,
and at Mt. Melville, near st. Andrews.
Fifeshire. There he attended night
school and put some finishing touches on
his education. Then he was appointed
to the Royal Tew Gardens, working
there two years.
With the purpose or improving his
fortunes, and also taking advantage Of
the superior educational facilities for
the poor man in the United States, he
crossed the Atlantic In November, 1858.
directly after completing his work with
Peter Lawson's Sons Nursery, at Edin-
burgh. At first he went to Philadelphia,
but on a trip to Washington he was
offered an opportunity to take charge Of
the Botanic Gardens, which then con-
sisted of patch of flowers and a cot
tage tucked away in corner of the
Mall. He accepted 1t.
since then his career has been in
terwoven with the Botanic Gardens
of the Capital. and little can be told
Of one without bringing in the other.
fifty years in Washington better than
be. He fought in the battle OF Bull
Run with the Federals. but not as an
enlisted man. He was compelled to
return to the city to care for his
plants and flowers shortly afterward.
Ambitious for Gardens.
Under his direction the Botanic Gar
dens have been developed and ex-
panded to their present proportions.
Although he rarely spoke on the sub
ject, the gardens fell far short of his
ambitions for their growth and he
was often impatient with the apathy
and indifference of Congress over
them, which, he, maintained, should
be the pride of the entire nation. He
always lived In the midst of the gar
dens, in the little red brick cottage
which was erected shortly after his
advent mere. His wife has been an
invalid. suffering from mental dis
ease, for more than twenty years, and
has been in an institution in Baltimore
during that period. He leaves no
old Scotch friends in the city, he had
no companions in his declining years
save his housekeeper. ~.
A romantic episode in his life is in
NOlNSu III Nlc OI OHS OI MS dS-
sistant gardeners. John Clark. Smith
was best man at Clark's wedding in
Scotland the night before he sailed for
the United States in 1858. He was ur-
gent in his demand that Clark come
to Washington and depart from his
native Scotland. Clark. however, re-
fused to come until about fourteen years
ago, and since that period has been
Smiths ''right-hand man" at the gar
dens
Since boyhood the two men had been
almost brothers in. their devotion to