The Director's Report
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The Director’s Report THE ARNOLD ARBORETUM DURING THE FISCAL YEAR ENDED JUNE 30, 1980 In the extended introductory to my first annual report I laid out the basis for a future policy, firmly anchored in the wise precedents set by our founders, which can reconcile to mutual advantage our respon- sibilities in university research and instruction, and in public educa- tion and amenity. This year we have been principally concerned with planning and organization and a start has been made in a search for the necessary financial support. Readers will consequently notice sev- eral changes, and in particular, newcomers to our staff. I have been torn between writing a short summary of the year’s achievements - a course advocated by some of my colleagues - and the rather detailed account which lies beyond you. I chose the latter in response to com- ments from some of our readers, and in the belief that many of you share a close personal interest in at least some aspects of our many endeavors. This year past marked major progress at both Cambridge and Jamaica Plain. The new extension to the Harvard University Herbaria Building was opened on May 23rd, 1980, at a ceremony attended by President Derek Bok, Dean Richard Leahy, Professor Farish Jenkins, chairman of the Biology Department, and the directors of the Arnold Opposite: Afamiliar view through the front entrance to the Adminastration Building of the Arnold Arboretum at Jamaica Plain. Photograph by S. Geary. 238 THE Policy was defined and of the present Dr. Richa Sheila Geary, assistant lit Hicks, curatorial assistar plan for the restoration of B feasibility study was corn three problems: the best n commensurate with their Olmsted’s and Sargent’s d the best means for their re~ ity; and, briefly stated, w preted for the public (see sented to the Living Coll June 1980, the National S two years for the purpose tem. This involves acquir University Herbaria), devi computer storage, and ve~ and entering them into th~ for our living collections in of the American Horticult will continue, for the PSD( access to the records of otl access for others to ours; computer would prove too One hundred and eigh~ living accessions are recor records that must be contir located for monitoring an revised since 1969. They a consequently have sufferei sions that have followed 01 aration of a completely m scale, the boundaries of the established. A grant propo; involve complete remappir creation of a simplified col sale, as well as a new set of the end of the fiscal year. Under the direction of collections and chairman 1980 saw a marked furthe~ on the grounds. This was enthusiasm of the ground~ * Goodell, and to an except~ ’ ceeded a good group in th 240 I Arboretum and the Gray I coupled with careful cultural practices appear to have effected a 15% reduction in oil this is a conservative estimate in rooms for faculty and othe~ consumption, though view of the cold and winter. The cold has been and expansion room for the open storage facility has been alluded to in previ repainted. The exposed steel superstructure of the headhouse and administration which after two was in the sections on the herba building, only years again badly for reorganization of the ii affected by rust, has been cleaned and recoated with a new rust and Jamaica Plain, which, thou weather resistant paint. needs, lacks sufficient offic During the year the Southwest Corridor Project, which was dis- ganized for visitor reception cussed in my previous report, began reconstruction operations on the itors to the Arnold Arboret~ section of the line abutting our South Street tract. The line was and the lowered from the Arboretum Road area be provided for them; :i removed embankment library collection, part of ~ underpass northwards to the present Forest Hills Station. Gary Koller architect for the new in have free access. The abser assisted John Frey, the landscape station, worked with the Massachusetts of constant and justified c plant selection and Bay Transporta- in for a land link public services one of whose tion Authority architects site planning projected new and the arboretum the South Street oversee these alterations,v between the station through pected to begin in the comi tract. Two further negotiations involving use of the tract are in pro- The renewal of the Natic cess. The city’s water department is searching for downstream sites in to the herbaria for an addit the Stony Brook drainage, where dams can be constructed for tempo- grant for curation of the liv rary impoundment of floodwater, to reduce the back-up of polluted that occurs in the Back Fens rain. They will further assist us tc water Bay following heavy the standards of excellence for] Goldsmith Brook, which flows through the meadow between Ad- accessibility to the scientific ministration Building and the Arborway, and Bussey Brook, which Street tract of the Arnold integrate the collections as a flows from the arboretum through the South records system. i Arboretum, both drain into the Stony Brook. A dam has been sug- the between the South Street tract and I shall be reporting on the gested along boundary adja- collections of the Arnold Art cent city land, and this would lead to periodic short-term flooding of the wetlands that the northern sector of the tract. is an integral part of the Bost occupy Meanwhile, is additional sta- to an increased number of the Boston Police Department considering building honoring the three hundre( bles on the same city land. An alternative site for the stables, in and toward the southern end of our South Street tract could be advanta- Boston, but also due to the fa increasing costs of gasoline. geous as it would not, like the first, impede our projected access to the ter serve our visitors and we new Forest Hills station. It might encourage greater visitation of the arboretum the mounted as well. be self-financing from the r by police the of a new accessions the manager of buildings and pu Following approval policy by Living in line with our for eventual and oversee these developr Collections Committee, which is plan plementation. restoration of the Sargent and Olmsted plan, additions have been Bentham A new assistant superviso placed on the grounds following the sequence in the original our Case Estates at Weston and Hooker botanical classification, wherever conditions have al- concentrated on renovating lowed. Dr. earlier listed 2500 situated there, and on integi Stephen Spongberg potentially hardy woody not in our collections. Our effectively with operations a plant taxa currently represented long-term wild. We mean- tion for the new plant materi objective will be to introduce these anew from the while aim to from in cultiva- expeditions by our staff, as acquire propagants genotypes already where of known Mr. Harold whose acquired during restoration c tion, possible provenance. Hillier, nization of our nurseries wi ---- --- - nurseries in Hampshire, England, contain one of the most com- year we plan to define futur prehensive collections of wild woody taxa in cultivation, and to which Arnold Arboretum collectors have contributed new material over li Improvements made at the Dana Greenhouse included the addition of axr-cap insula- tion to glazed walls, while axr-xnflated co-polymer film coaenng was installed over roof areas. The result was a 15% reduction xn fuel consumptxon. Photograph by P. Del Tredici. many years, has generously agreed to make available to us propagat- ing material from his own arboretum. We take note of this example of the mutually beneficial collaboration that we continue to enjoy with the nursery trade. I will allude to others later in this report. Several major additions to - and relocations of - individual col- lections have already been started. Dr. Richard Weaver, who is now proceeding with detailed plans for the restoration of individual collec- tions, together with Mr. James Burrows personally laid out the posi- tion of each plant, oversaw and assisted with planting. Mr. Gary Koller, who has supervised all operations, has concentrated on review- ing, and, where necessary, organizing remedial action on collections in special need of horticultural attention or repropagation. During the summer and fall of 1979, a total of 465 plants was added to the living collections in Jamaica Plain. These plants were from 114 different accessions representing 86 botanical taxa and 14 cultivars; several taxa were planted in large masses. Examples are 18 plants of dwarf Rhododendron dauricum (1 wild accession), 18 plants of El- liottia paniculata (3 accessions), 13 plants of Kalmia latifolia (4 accessions), all at the base of Hemlock Hill; and 21 plants of Rhododendron chapmanii (2 accessions), behind the rockery. During the spring of 1980, a total of 523 plants was added to the living collections in Jamaica Plain. These plants were from 285 separate 246 accessions representing 251 botanical taxa and 5 cultivars. All of the cultivars were planted in the new beds below the dwarf conifer collec- tion. In general, the shrubby plants were planted in well-prepared beds. These beds may not look natural at present, but the bed prep- aration greatly facilitated the planting and should increase the plants’ chances of survival. It is intended that the beds will eventually take on the appearance of a mass planting. Approximately half of the existing Philadelphus collection was propagated in 1976 and the successful propagants, exclusive of cul- tivars, were planted this spring. A total of 85 individuals representing 34 accessions of 16 taxa were planted out. A few of the best remaining specimens will be maintained in their present location, the proper place in the Bentham and Hooker sequence, but so as not to clutter the area under the tree legumes, the bulk of the collection has been relocated along the path leading to the 383 South Street entrance.