Charles Sprague Sargent and the Arnold Arboretum

400 Pages·1970·18.063 MB·English

by  Silvia Barry Sutton

Charles Sprague Sargent
and the Arnold Arboretum
Charles Sprague Sargent in 1919
Charcoal drawing by John Singer Sargent
Charles Sprague Sargent
and the Arnold Arboretum
S. B. Sutton
Harvard University Press
Cambridge, Massachusetts
1970
© Copyright 1970 by the President and Fellows of Harvard College
All rights reserved
Distributed in Great Britain by Oxford University Press, London
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 73-120322
SBN 674-11181-8
Printed in the United States of America
Preface
About four years ago, when I learned that Professor Rich-
ard A. Howard, Director of the Arnold Arboretum, was
looking for someone to investigate the early history of the
Arboretum in anticipation of its one-hundredth anniversary,
I offered myself as a candidate for the task. Since then, I
have spent the greater part of my working hours preparing
this book, in the same building where Charles Sargent once
officiated, within the Arboretum.
To speak of the Arboretum in its first half century is to
speak of Sargent. The Arboretum was his creation—a prod-
uct of his talent as an administrator, horticulturist, and
botanist. He devoted himself with passionate intensity to in-
stitution-building and to his study of trees. That he under-
took this work at some expense to his personal life is revealed
in the contents of the letters and stories which survive him.
His correspondence is singularly lacking in emotional con-
tent; he is remembered by all—family and associates—as
an introverted, stern, scholarly gentleman.
The second important figure during the early years of the
Arboretum was Ernest H. Wilson, whose colorful adventures
as a plant hunter in the Far East brought public acclaim to
the institution.
The efforts of these men took them far beyond the bound-
aries of the Arboretum: Sargent tramped the North Amer-
ican forests; Wilson explored remote corners of China.
Though their world of great estates and horticultural pomp
has nearly vanished in an urban-oriented society, their work
speaks urgently as the gracious, green spaces of forests and
gardens diminish.
More people have aided me in this project than I can hope
to thank properly. The Arnold Arboretum staff patiently
answered my relentless questions, and reminisced for me,
though none of them, of course, knew Sargent or Wilson.
Bernice Schubert, Carroll Wood, Professor Howard, and Gor-
don DeWolf commented upon the manuscript; Dr. DeWolf
ran down countless bothersome details. The former Libra-
rian of the Harvard University Herbaria, Mrs. Lazella
Schwarten, and her successor, Victor Marx, traced letters
and books for me. I must also thank Mrs. Mildred Pelkus,
Mrs. Thomas Walsh, and Miss Sonia Adrouny for helping
me through the mechanics of manuscript preparation.
Sargent's correspondence is scattered widely. I have tried
to obtain copies of letters for the Arboretum library or, failing
that, to read the originals and make notes. Individuals
throughout the country and in Europe have been helpful,
and to list them would occupy more than a page. However,
I especially appreciate the assistance of Charlotte W. Stove
at the American Museum of Natural History; Mrs. Ernest
Jesse Palmer; Arthur O'Keefe, formerly of the Department
of Parks and Recreation of the City of Boston; the late
Henry F. duPont, and Augustin H. Parker, former Chairman
of the Committee to Visit the Arnold Arboretum. My single
disappointment in obtaining original material came when,
despite the efforts of the University Librarian at the Uni-
versity of California, Berkeley, I was unable to see the letters
which Sargent wrote to the late John Muir. I mention this
incident because I know I am only one among many whose
research has been hindered by the unavailability of the
Muir collection.
Sargent's daughter-in-law, Mrs. Dagmar Sargent, spoke
with me and was kind enough to read the manuscript. I also
wish to acknowledge the cooperation of the Sargent family
in permitting me to quote freely from Sargent correspon-
Preface
vi
dence, and particularly of Mrs. Russell W. Davenport and
Winthrop Sargent in providing me with anecdotes and let-
ters. I am similarly thankful to Mrs. Muriel Wilson Slate for
permission to quote from the letters of her late father,
Ernest Wilson; and to her husband, Dr. George Slate, for
sharing his memories. The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew,
has graciously given permission to quote unpublished letters
of Sir Joseph Hooker and Sir William Thiselton-Dyer.
Mrs. K. A. Bunker, the late Mrs. Alfred Rehder, John Wister,
Mrs. William Ellery, Mrs. Van Wyck Brooks, and Mrs. Roger
Ernst all supplied me with helpful information.
Like others working in the field of botanical history, I have
found the several works of Andrew Denny Rodgers III in-
dispensable to my study. I am indebted to Miss Sheila Pim
of Ireland, for permission to quote from her biography of
Augustine Henry, and to Mrs. Elswyth Thane Beebe for per-
mission to quote from Sargent letters which she published
in Mount Vernon: The Legacy. I remember with pleasure
the kindly, unhurried interview granted to me by Walter
Muir Whitehill, Director of the Boston Athenaeum; his asso-
ciate, David McKibbin, who is working on a biography of
John Singer Sargent, generously shared his familiarity with
Sargentiana. I am grateful to Hunter Dupree and to Joseph
Ewan both of whom took time to read the manuscript and
make detailed suggestions for its improvement. Professor
Ewan, aware of my project from the beginning, graciously
located several letters and bits of information for me.
S.B.S.
Jamaica Plain
February 1969
Preface
vii

Contents
Foreword by Richard A. Howard xi
Part One. Beginnings
1. The Importance of Being Sargent 3
2. The Shadow of Asa Gray 22
3. Sargent on His Own 50
Part Two. The Arboretum and Beyond
4. In the Nation's Forests 77
5. Changing of the Guard 121
6. One Success and One Failure 143
7. The Arboretum Grows Up 171
Part Three. The Treasure Hunt
8. Journeys to the East 197
9. Ε. H. Wilson: Our Man in I-ch'ang 223
10. Wilson in Japan, Rock in Tibet 249
Part Four. Last Glances
11. Crataegus: A Thorny Problem 279
12. Giving Out Advice 299
13. Looking Backward and Forward 314
14. Epilogue 344
Notes 351
Index 371
ix
Illustrations
Unless otherwise indicated, illustrations are
reproduced by courtesy of the Arnold Arboretum.
Frontispiece Charles Sprague Sargent in 1919;
charcoal drawing by John Singer Sargent
Courtesy of the Trustees of the Sargent-
Murray-Gilman-Hough-House Association
Charles Sprague Sargent, ca. 1862
Courtesy of Mrs. Dagmar Sargent 9
Henry Winthrop Sargent, 1870 16
Asa Gray 37
Horatio Hollis Hunnewell and Sargent, 1901 135
Jackson Dawson, ca. 1900 180
The Sargent family, ca. 1885 191
Ernest Wilson, 1930 251
Joseph Rock, ca. 1926 271
Alfred Rehder, 1917 326
Sargent in the Arboretum, ca. 1904 331