The New York herald., 1922-08-27
John Bartram's Garden.

John Bartram's Garden.
The Philadelphia Pablo Ledger
has been taking the Quaker City au-
thorities to task for the state of neg
lect into which the fine old Colonial
Bartram mansion with its surround
ing botanic garden has been per-
mitted to fall.
1t lacks only nine years Of being
two centuries since, in 1871, the Bar
tram house was built on hill over
looking the lower SchuylkiIl. Ada
cent to it was the first botanical gar
den established in America. JOHN
BARrRAM was Americas pioneer bot
anist. What JOHN JAMES AUDUBON
was to American ornithology JOHN
BARTRAM was to American botany.
His fame and the fame of that gar
der of his on the Schuylkill spread
through the world of eighteenth CEN
tury science. LINNEUs said of him
that he was "the greatest natural
botanist in the world" In letter
OF introduction, dated September /,
ITS, BENJAMIN FRANKLIN wrote: Il
believe you will find him to be at
least twenty folio pages, large paper,
well filed, on the subjects of botany,
fossils, husbandry and the first crea-
tion."
BARTRAM was great traveller as
well as a great botanist. AT time
when such a trip meant hacking, a
way through wilderness with perils
from savage men and savage beasts
he went to the headwaters of the
rivers of Pennsylvania and New
York. At the age of 70 he made an
extended exploration of the ST. Johns
River in Florida. He published a
survey Of the staple products of all
the then English North American
colonies. Wherever he went he made
copious and conscientiously accurate
notes of soil, climate, natural pro-
ductions and opportunities for culti-
vation. He prepared the first COM
prehensive account from personal OBJ
servation Of the country's agrieul-
/ tural and faunal resources.
| Meantime his Schuylkill botanic
garden had become one Of the show
places Of the new world. The fine
work of JOHN BARTRAM,-the father,
was zealously continued by WILLIAM
BARTRANr, the son, who was born in
1873. Besides maintaining and
expanding the garden, WILLIAM
BARTRAM extended his scientific re-
searches to chronological and kin
dred topics. He had accompanied
his father on the Florida exploring
expedition and later made a jour-
ney up the St. Johns River on his
own account. When he got back he
wrote a narrative of the trip of
which CoLERIDGE, the poet, philoso-
pher and critic, saids 1.-THE latest
book of travels / know, written in
the spirit Of the old travellers, is
BARTRAM's account Of his tour in
Florida. 1t is a work of high merit
in every way"
When WILLIAM BARfRAM died in
1928 the family mansion and the
botanic garden were maintained by
his descendants until 1883, when the
city of Philadelphia purchased them
for $4,000, being inspired by the
highly laudable purpose of making
them public trust to be maintained
in perpetuity. The mansion and
grounds were then regarded as his
torical monuments.
And now the Public Ledger quotes
a Observation-Disclosures of JOHN
BARTRAM as saying that the condition
Of the property is "disgraceful and
deplorable," and that "the place has
gone to rack and ruin ever since 1t
was taken over by the CITY," This
condition is regrettable from several
viewpoints. 1t is wholly out of har-
mony with Philadelphia's traditional
attitude toward the historical shrines
OF which she Is the custodian.