(1931–1932) of the USDA to the Caribbean Islands
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ORIGINAL ARTICLES The Bahamas and the First Extensive Expedition (1931–1932) of the USDA to the Caribbean Islands Raquel Chavarria https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1067-2436 Florida International University Brett Jestrow https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0343-3146 Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden Ethan Freid https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3890-7022 The Bahamas National Trust Javier Francisco-Ortega1 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5719-7188 Florida International University https://doi.org/10.15362/ijbs.v26i0.369 Abstract Sponsored by Allison V. Armour and led by David Fairchild, a plant hunting expedition organized by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) targeted the Caribbean Islands and the Guianas between December 31, 1931 and April 1, 1932. Three other agricultural scientists joined this plant collecting enterprise: namely, Leonard R. Toy (from the University of Florida) and Harold Frederick and Palemon H. Dorsett (both from the USDA). Seven of the Bahamian islands were explored between December 31, 1931 and January 15, 1932 and between March 29 – April 1, 1932. This contribution focuses on the Bahamian itinerary followed during this voyage. Documents and photos housed in the U.S. National Archives and the Library and Archives of Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden; herbarium specimens found in the U.S. National Herbarium; and David Fairchild’s published accounts were the basis of our research. A total of 106 plant samples (89 species), including herbarium specimens and material for the USDA, were collected in this archipelago. Collections of an unidentified palm grown in the USDA Chapman Field Station, Miami resulted in the description of the Bahamian endemic Coccothrinax inaguensis in 1966 by Robert W. Read. The team failed to collect landraces of sea-island cotton and wild cotton species, even though that was one of the main priorities for the team. Accounts of this visit were covered by two of Nassau’s newspapers: The Nassau Guardian and The Tribune. Introduction publication “Flora of the Bahama In 2012, The Bahamas National Trust, the Archipelago,” by Fairchild Tropical Botanic University of The Bahamas (then the College Garden plant taxonomists Donovan and of The Bahamas), Fairchild Tropical Botanic Helen Correll (1982). During this meeting, Garden, and Florida International University members of our team delivered an oral organized an international symposium to communication which focused on the three celebrate the 30 year anniversary of the field trips that noted American plant explorer David Fairchild (Figure 1) made across these 1 Corresponding author: [email protected] R. Chavarria, et al. 2020. Journal compilation International Journal of Bahamian Studies, 2020 34 R. Chavarria, et al. First Extensive Expedition of the USDA to the Caribbean Islands. islands. This presentation resulted in a The 1931-1932 USDA Plant Hunting contribution that was published in the Expedition to the Caribbean Islands proceedings of this meeting (Francisco- and the Guianas Ortega et al., 2014). Subsequent to this work, The first official comprehensive plant additional research was conducted in the U.S. hunting expedition of the U.S. Department of National Archives at College Park, MD; the Agriculture (USDA) to the West Indies U.S. National Herbarium, Smithsonian visited The Bahamas, the Greater and Lesser Institution, Washington DC; and the Library Antilles, Trinidad, Tobago and the Guianas and Archives of Fairchild Tropical Botanic and took place between December 1931 and Garden. New documents, photos, and plant April 1932 (Figure 2). This was not the first specimens from the first plant hunting trip time that the USDA organized a plant that David Fairchild (1869-1954) undertook germplasm survey in the Caribbean islands. to The Bahamas were found, and they are the Previously, David Fairchild (founder of the subject of the study presented here. Section of Seed and Plant Introduction of the USDA) and his benefactor, businessman Figure 1 Barbour Lathrop, collected plant material in the islands of Barbados, Grenada, Jamaica, and Trinidad in January, 1899 (Fairchild, undated). However, this earlier expedition had a much more limited scope than the one that took place between 1931 and 1932. Figure 2 Note: Itinerary followed by the 1931-1932 USDA expedition led by David Fairchild in The Bahamas. Dates concerning visits to each island can be Note: Left to right, Palemon H. Dorsett and David found in Table 1. Outward (in red) and return (in Fairchild standing near a Hernandia sonora L., blue) trips are shown. Numbers indicate the mago (Hernandiaceae) individual in the house of temporal sequence followed by the Utowana as it David Fairchild in Coconut Grove, Miami. Photo cruised across the archipelago. was taken in December 1931 shortly before they joined the first expedition of the USDA to the Caribbean islands. Photo credit: unknown. The main aim of the 1931-1932 multi- Courtesy of the Library and Archives of Fairchild country endeavour was “to search for the Tropical Botanic Garden. wild relatives of cultivated cotton, also varieties of palms native to the regions, International Journal of Bahamian Studies Vol. 26 (2020) R. Chavarria, et al. First Extensive Expedition of the USDA to the Caribbean Islands. 35 visited, as well as new, rare and valuable Dade County; Harold Frederick Loomis plants deemed worthy of introduction and (1896-1976, Figure 2), an entomologist and trial in the United States, and its possessions” botanist from the Miami USDA Research (Dorsett, 1936, p. 1). Within these goals, Station at Chapman Field and the noted collecting “sea-island cotton” was one of the USDA botanist and plant collector, Palemon main objectives of this enterprise (Dorsett, H. Dorsett (1862–1943, Figure 1), two 1936, p. 2; Fairchild, 1934). This is a crop additional members were Jordan C. Mott that was developed through hybridizations (1857-1932) and Allison Armour (1863- between Gossypium barbadense L. and G. 1941). The latter was a businessman from hirsutum L. (Stephens, 1976). It was Chicago who was one of the main supporters relatively important in the West Indies and in of David Fairchild’s plant collecting the southeastern United States because of its enterprises (Francisco-Ortega et al., 2012). high quality, long, silky fibres (Stephens, Regarding Jordan Mott, he was also a 1976; Porcher & Fick, 2005). wealthy businessman from New York and a Geographically, the term “sea-island” refers friend of Armour. to the many small barrier and tidal islands The voyage took place on board Utowana, a that are scattered across coastal areas of research yacht that was owned by Armour, northeastern Florida, Georgia and a great that between 1925 and 1933 was used portion of South Carolina. Traditionally, it extensively by David Fairchild for his USDA has been considered that sea-island cotton expeditions to the ‘New’ and ‘Old World’ was originally grown in the southeastern (Fairchild, 1930; Francisco-Ortega et al., United States from seeds that came from the 2012, 2014, 2018, 2019). island of Anguilla, Lesser Antilles (Moore, 1934) or from The Bahamas or Barbados The party departed from Miami on December (Dorsett 1936, p. 2). Between the 18th and 30, 1931 and returned to Miami on April 2, the middle 19th century, cotton was a 1932. Plant material was collected across all significant cash crop of The Bahamas (Eneas, the visited islands and continental areas 2013, pp. 12, 160), and this was a primary (Dorsett, 1936). Further details pertinent to reason these islands were targeted during this the work that was conducted in Haiti and to expedition, as it was believed that they might the full itinerary can be found in Francisco- still have remnants of this crop. Ortega et al. (2018, 2019). As a result of this Unfortunately, this target was not achieved, expedition, David Fairchild (1934) wrote a and the expedition returned to the United popular article with an overview of this plant States without any major landraces or exploration initiative shortly after his return collections of sea-island cotton, neither from to the United States. The Bahamas was The Bahamas nor from any other Caribbean visited between December 31, 1932 and island (Dorsett, 1936, p. 695; Fairchild, January 15, 1932, during the onward trip to 1934). the Guianas, and between March 29, 1932 and April 1, 1932 during the return voyage to Notable expedition members included David Miami (Table 1, Figure 4). A total of seven Fairchild as the expedition leader, his islands were explored: Cat Island, daughter Nancy Fairchild (1912-1976), and Conception Island, Great Inagua, Eleuthera, his wife Marian Fairchild (1880-1962). The New Providence, Mayaguana, and Rum Cay. agricultural scientists were Leonard R. Toy The Bahama itinerary was influenced by the (1900-1973, Figure 3), a horticulturist who death of one of the expedition members, worked at the University of Florida State Jordan Mott, who passed away on Rum Cay Experimental Station at Homestead, Miami- on January 7, 1932 when Utowana was International Journal of Bahamian Studies Vol. 26 (2020) 36 R. Chavarria, et al. First Extensive Expedition of the USDA to the Caribbean Islands. Figure 3 Figure 4 Note: Leonard R. Toy collecting seeds of the legume Stylosanthes hamata (L.) Taubert Note: Harold Loomis standing near an individual of (cheesytoes) in Great Inagua, January 15, 1932. Ficus americana in the garden of Arthur C. Langlois This material was specifically collected for the (currently The Retreat Gardens, Bahamas National USDA fodder specialist Roland Mckee. Photo Trust), Nassau, January 1, 1932. USDA accession credit: Palemon H. Dorsett (1936, p. 167, negative number 95691. Photo credit: Palemon H. Dorsett 57741). Courtesy of the U.S. National Archives at (1936, p. 79, negative 57644). Courtesy of the U.S. College Park, MD. National Archives at College Park, MD. Table 1 Dates for the itinerary followed by the 1931-1932 USDA expedition led by David Fairchild in The Bahamas. Map of itinerary can be seen in Figure 2.