Evening star., 1940-03-10
By 3. Y. MORRISON.

susg 2. rass 1esg. Actin: Is
riculture.
Along the western shore of the
AnAcostik. River, lying roughly be-
tween r and M streets NE, and
extending west as far as Bladens-
burg road, lies . hilly tract Of ap-
proximately 400 acres which one
day will form the nucleus Of one
Of the worlds greatest collections
Of woody plants.
,. Authorized by Congress in 1927,
the National Arboretym has been
taking shape slowly Is one small
parcel of land after another has been
acquired and developed. Compared
with some of the nationally known
arboreta, the local development Is
not especially large. The Missouri
Botanical Garden, for instance, in
cludes a total of over 1,675 acres.
The Arnold Arboretum, however,
comprises only about 265 acres.
Conceived Years Ago.
, The idea of a National Arboretum
originated many years ago in the
minds Of nature lovers horticultur-
lists, nurserymen, foresters and other
scientists. Among the early cham
pions Of this cause was the late DR..
F. v. Coville Of the United States
Department of Agriculture, Mrs.
Frank B. Noyes and Frederic A.
Delano, who is chairman Of the Ma
tional Advisory Council of the Ar
boretum.
The present chief Of the Bureau
Of Plant Industry, DR.. E. c. Auchter,
under whose general supervision the
arbol etum Is being developed, is an
enthusiastic supporter Of the plan
for a great national arboretum here
for research workers and students
Of nature from all parts Of the coun-
try. Eventually, it is hoped, prac-
tically every woody shrub or tree
from all parts Of the world that is
adapted to our climate Wall be
growing In the arboretum.
The science of genetics, which
has done 50 much to improve some
Of our common crop plants, such
rs wheat and corn, has only re-
Gently been applied in the breed
ing Of trees and shrubs. With this
great storehouse of material from
all over the world, breeders of trees,
shrubs and flowers will have an
opportunity to cross our native
species with those from foreign
lands for the development of i'm
proved strains as the wheat breed
ers have done so successfully.
Improvements Being Made.
So far the actual development OF
the arboretum has been slow but
steady A large share of the funds
appropriated by Congress has been
earmarked for the purchase Of the
land. A well-planned system of in
expensive roads has been built and
the area has been fenced to protect
the native growth already there. A
c. c. G. camp is located on the
grounds and the boys from this
camp have provided most Of the de-
velopment work so far.
About half of the area is open
land, formerly in cultivation. This
part Is being improved by drainage
where necessary and by turning un-
der soil-improving crops in prepara-
ton for future paintings. Nursery
plots have been planted with both
domestic ard foreign material, and
when tiese plants are large enough
they win be used In a systematic
development OF the arboretum.
The site tn itself has many ad-
vantages. Although 1t lies within
the city and is easily accessible to
all, 1t Is not likely to be threatened
by city conditions that would be
harmful to plant life. The natural
topography Of the arboretum site Is
varied. There are two eminences
one known as Mount Hamilton
close to Bladensburg road, and the
other Hickey Hill, the highest point
in the ridge that borders the Ana
costa River. Between them lies
rolling ground that is traversed by
Hickey Greek. The terrain is 50
constituted that there are fair
amounts of relatively level land and
gentle slopes as well as more marked