The Harvard in -A Brief History

Marion D. Cahan

Begun in 1899, the Atkins Garden became a model for the development of many later tropical botanical .

The Harvard garden in Cuba was Harvard’s vir- , to seek his opinion about expand- tually unknown jewel. Few people, other than ing the sugar cane industry in Cuba. Wilson those actively involved in the study of tropi- discouraged him, believing that the climate cal , have ever been aware of its exis- of Cuba was not suitable for the enterprise, tence. While the garden was primarily devoted and warned against spending large sums of to the improvement of sugar cane for commer- money on a wholly doubtful venture. Atkins’s cial purposes, it was also the site of research response at the time was, "When one lawyer in other areas of tropical agriculture and gives me advice that I do not like, I go to . The unique blend of economic real- another lawyer," and so he consulted Profes- ity and academic vision that characterized the sor George Goodale of Harvard for his opin- garden produced farsighted results that sub- ion, who in turn consulted his colleague, sequently served as a model for the develop- Professor of the botany depart- ment of tropical botanical gardens in other ment. Both Goodale and Ames supported countries. Atkins’s proposal with enthusiasm, and his- As a center for tropical research and tory eventually proved Atkins right about the sugar cane investigation, the Harvard Botanic suitability of Cuba for expanded sugar cane Station was established on the Atkins sugar cultivation. estate at Soledad, Cienfuegos, Cuba, in the As a result of that first meeting in Cuba in summer of 1899 at a conference attended by 1899, Edwin Atkins gave businessman Edwin F. Atkins and Professors a gift of $2,500, of which $2,000 was to be Oakes Ames and George L. Goodale, both of used for a traveling fellowship in economic Harvard University. This meeting initiated botany. The recipient of this fund was to visit the development of what was to become one certain stations in the far eastern and western of the richest tropical gardens in the world. tropics where experiments on the improve- Without the vision of the those who were so ment of economically important plants, par- deeply involved in its conception and ticularly sugar cane, were in progress. implementation, this institution would prob- In these early days, there was no official ably not have been created. connection between the of Harvard University and the garden in Cuba- The Inception of the Garden the latter being Mr. Atkins’s personal As a businessman, Edwin Atkins was property-nor was there an endowment or interested in increasing the profits from his land to which the university had title. The sugar cane operation. He had previously con- cooperative efforts of Atkins and Harvard to sulted Edward Wilson, then Secretary of further research and development in the field 23

Enterolobium cyclocarpum (Legummosae) growing in the Harvard tropical garden in Cienfuegos. The tree is 50 feet tall with a spread of 100 feet. Photographed in 1928 by Alfred Rehder. of tropical botany served their mutual benefit. island became a colony of Spain, and slaves The first superintendent, Robert M. Grey, was were eventually brought in from to paid by the Atkins fund, chiefly for services work the fields that were created by cutting rendered in the development of sugar cane. down the indigenous forest. While the island Both Ames and Goodale were optimistic and was initially populated by the descendents of keenly interested in establishing a biological these slaves and by immigrants from Spain, institute in Cuba. Goodale, whose primary many other nationalities settled in Cuba, interest was zoology, "adopted" the garden on including an influx of North American his own authority. At a later date, Professor businessmen in the mid-1800s. Ames was appointed its first official director. The town of Cienfuegos, located on the western side of Cuba, was founded in 1819 as Early History a result of the development of sugar lands by The history of the garden is inextricably Trinidadian families who had come to the linked to the history of Cuba. Shortly after the island with their slaves for that purpose. Even- discovery of the island by Europeans, the tually the area became one of the most eco- native American Indians were either killed or nomically important parts of the island. An died as a result of introduced diseases. The American, Elisha F. Atkins, had established 24 ’

A panoramic view of the palm collection at the Harvard tropical garden. Photograph by E. G. Stillman, 1941.

A vista of the Harvard tropical garden. Photograph by E. G. Stillman, 1941. 25 26

Hura crepitans (Euphorbiaceae) growing in front of the Harvard house at the Harvard tropical garden in Cienfuegos. Photographed in 1928 by Al fred Rehder. a sugar business in Cuba in 1838, heading the At the age of sixteen, Edwin had left the firm called E. Atkins & Co. Initially he had family home in on January 24, 1866, started a banking commission business for and had sailed from New York to take charge Cuban sugar producers, advancing money on of his father’s business interests in Cien- sugar and molasses to be shipped to the fuegos. Initially a receiving clerk, within two . Through purchases and fore- years he was given responsibility for the closure proceedings, the Atkins Company management of the business, his father hav- eventually acquired many sugar estates, ing assumed the vice presidency of the Union including Soledad, the most important one Pacific Railroad, a post he held until his death developed prior to 1850. in 1882. When Elisha Atkins first came to Cien- The year 1882 marked the beginning of the fuegos, practically all the sugar business was Atkins sugar-producing business in Cuba. in the hands of Spanish merchants. This sit- Soledad, the primary plantation, which con- uation changed during the 1870s when beet sisted of 4,500 acres of beautiful land isolated sugar produced in Europe first provided seri- by hills and mountains, was taken over by ous competition to cane sugar. To counteract Atkins by foreclosure in 1884. With Edwin this situation, Elisha’s son Edwin expanded assuming active supervision, the mill was his father’s commission business to include ready for production within a year with a the actual cultivation and production of sugar. labor force comprised of Africans and 27

Chinese. He gradually acquired more land appointed superintendent of the garden, with and, within twenty-five years, had one of the his salary paid out of the Atkins fund. His most modern and progressively managed tasks were to lay out trial beds for vegetables sugar estates on the island. and to produce new varieties of sugar cane by In 1892, Edwin took over another large plan- hybridizing different strains. The overall pur- tation in the city of Trinidad on a long-term pose of the project was to develop cane that lease and became president of the Trinidad not only was resistant to the fungal diseases Sugar Company, eventually acquiring many but also had a higher sugar content. Perfect- adjacent sugar estates. The success of these ing his own techniques with great success, ventures attracted a large colony of Americans Grey remained in Cuba for over thirty years, to the area. maintaining a record of distinguished service In 1894, general political unrest spread until his retirement in 1936. throughout Cuba, due primarily to Spain’s During the first few years, operations at increasingly repressive presence on the island. Cienfuegos were largely devoted to the sugar Serious problems existed in the form of low cane work; however, Grey also imported many production, unemployment, theft, hunger, other plants and fruit trees from for and poverty. Because of these persistent experimentation, developing one of the largest difficulties, Atkins kept plantation employ- collections of tropical plants in the Western ment at a low level. Fostered by American bus- Hemisphere. An additional purpose of the iness interests, there was a growing sentiment garden, beyond the study of sugar cane, was in the United States to encourage the indepen- to introduce as many different kinds of plants dence of Cuba. The island was still under as possible and to experiment with their cul- Spanish military rule in 1896 when Atkins tivation. Letters from 1901 to 1902 sent to lobbied Washington to protect American Professor Ames by Hugo Bohnhof, an assistant properties. The political tensions ultimately to Mr. Grey, reported good results with let- led to the Spanish-American War, which Spain tuce, tomatoes, cabbage, beans, cucumbers, lost-along with Cuba, her last colony. A brief and artichokes. In later years, experiments American occupation of the island followed with bananas, cocoa, coffee, and rubber proved the conclusion of the war, and in 1898 the successful; however, cotton and tea crops were United States recognized the independence of failures. Cuba. In the early days of the garden, many of the best-known tropical fruit trees were estab- The Growth of the Garden lished on a trial basis. Citrus was one of the The original Atkins fund, established in 1899, early subjects of the research program; was to be used to support the garden after hundreds of hybrid mango seedlings were Edwin’s death. In 1901, the Harvard Botanic produced and tested. A choice collection of Station for research and sugar cane investiga- ornamental plants from Professor Ames’s con- tion was formally inaugurated, situated in the servatories in North Easton, , area called Colonia Limones, a barren but pic- were also sent to the garden in 1901, along turesque site. with seeds and plants from the Harvard Botan- Robert M. Grey, a renowned horticulturist ical Garden in Cambridge. employed by Professor Ames, was commis- sioned to visit Soledad in December 1900 to Sugar Breeding investigate the cane-flowering conditions and Before the inception of the garden, and dur- to locate a site for the new garden. He had ing its early years, the principal variety of lived in the warm tropics of sugar cane grown in Cuba, ’Cristalina,’ was and was admirably qualified for this new task performing badly because of a combination of in subtropical Cuba. In 1901, he was factors, primarily fungal diseases, exhausted 28

, and climatic problems. A small collec- years. Grey also hybridized oranges, grapefruit, tion of newer cane varieties was immediately mangos, and many other fruit trees that flo- planted, but these produced little or no wered in the garden. But sedges, planted improvement over the older cultivars. experimentally, grew so rapidly that they were Between 1902 and 1904, the first improved a costly nuisance and were eventually eradi- cane seedlings were produced as a result of the cated. Forage legumes and grasses also gave successful hybridization experiments unsatisfactory results. initiated by Grey. In 1908, experiments with flowering and During the cane breeding season of 1906-07, ornamental plants (northern annuals, herba- 320 clones, mostly hybrid seedlings produced ceous perennials, bulbs, and roses) failed by Grey, were retained for use in the cane- because of the hot, damp summer weather breeding program. Several varieties, superior and the prevalent fungal diseases. The rose to ’Cristalina’ in size and sugar content, were collection brought together in 1908 was dis- selected for large-scale commercial cultiva- continued in 1925, at which time there were tion. They proved drought resistant, disease about seventy different varieties. tolerant, and high yielding under a variety of On June 3, 1911, a forty-five minute cyclone soil types. The best all-round performer was severely damaged or destroyed buildings, trees, Harvard #12,029. and crops. Replanting was initiated immedi- In 1908, experimental hybridizing between ately and recovery was rapid. The following the best varieties of these commercial canes years were devoted to planting new species and Japanese canes took place. Eventually and increasing the garden area. By December these seedlings were crossed with Chinese 31, 1925, the garden contained 144 families, and North Indian varieties, and they too 629 genera, and 1358 species-exclusive of proved to be commercially successful. native species. By 1912, at the second Cuban National Exposition, the Atkins garden exhibited thirty Stronger Ties with Harvard distinct varieties of the new Harvard seed- Pleased with the sugar cane research and lings. These plants had the distinction of other developments at the garden, and by this being the only canes of Cuban origin among time deeply interested in the scientific the many others exhibited. Subsequently, approach to tropical agriculture, Atkins, on cane breeding on other estates in Cuba was December 9, 1919, gave $100,000 to perpetu- successfully carried out. ate the project. From the beginning, the Har- vard Botanical Station in Cuba and Harvard Building the Collections University had maintained a hazy relation- By 1903, the garden contained some 243 ship, as Atkins had never passed any land to genera and 400 species of plants. The grow- Harvard and had paid only for the expenses ing collection, constantly augmented by of the garden. imported plants as well as native species from In 1920, the connection between the garden different parts of the island, necessitated the and Harvard was cemented by this large gift construction of a second in 1907. of money, and the garden became a recognized Also in 1903, eighteen Cuban-grown banana part of the university. Edwin Atkins died in varieties were brought together to form a col- Cuba in 1926 at the age of seventy-four; his lection, which was still being maintained in wife continued the family interest in the 1926. There were, in addition, a few species garden throughout her long life. of cycads, a large palm collection, and a fine In 1924, the Harvard Biological Laboratory assemblage of bamboo and other grasses. was constructed at the garden, along with a Leading varieties of strawberries and their house for the use of scientists who came to hybrids were successfully cultivated for many study. Scholarships were available to Harvard 29

students interested in tropical biology. A new reached its zenith of beauty and diversity at section of several acres was added to the this time. The travel restrictions imposed dur- garden in the spring of 1929, devoted to the ing World War II, however, made it difficult cultivation and preservation of native hard- for botanists to travel to Cuba, and the num- woods and timber trees. Unfortunately, this ber of foreign visitors declined. project was short-lived; most of the trees were In 1946, the garden was divorced from the destroyed when the land was cleared for cane Arnold , and the name, once again, cultivation and other agricultural pursuits. was changed-to the Atkins Garden and In 1932, administration of the Harvard Research Laboratory, with Dr. Arthur G. Experimental Station in Cuba was transferred Kevorkian as the first resident director. His job to the and renamed The was to convert the garden to a tropical agricul- Atkins Institution of the Arnold Arboretum, tural research facility, concentrating on crops as voted by the Harvard Corporation; interest specifically adapted to the environmental con- then shifted from commercial crops to the ditions prevailing in Cuba. Dr. Kevorkian planting of tropical tree species imported from resigned in 1949, and Dr. Duncan Clement Florida, Jamaica, the East Indies, Australia, (Ph.D. Harvard ’48) became the new director. tropical Africa, and . Under his aegis, the garden assumed greater In the following years, the collections grew, significance as a scientific institute. more land was purchased, and numerous The garden flourished during the ensuing researchers came to the Atkins Institution to years, benefiting tropical research and hor- pursue botanical field work. The garden ticulture, and advancing the welfare of Cuba.

Some of the damage caused by a severe storm at an unknown date. 30

Professor j. G. Tack, of the Arnold Arboretum staff, at work pressing specimens in the Harvard house laboratory at the Harvard tropical garden in Cienfuegos. Photographed in 1928 by Alfred Rehder.

By 1957, the garden’s influence extended well or Jamaica. Those botanists who recognized beyond the confines of the island. the growing importance of tropical botany and In 1958, Cuban society was disturbed by who had made use of the garden’s facilities felt political unrest, and by 1959, the Communist a tremendous loss. Harvard University’s oper- revolution was in full progress. Initially this ation of the Cuban garden was suspended had little effect on the garden, and work there indefinitely on September 1, 1961. continued as before. By 1961, however, increased uncertainties and difficulties caused The Garden Tbday a breakdown in the operation. Dr. Clement With improved political conditions, it was left Cuba in January 1961, financial support hoped that the Atkins Garden and Research was terminated by Harvard in August of that Laboratory would be reactivated and would year, and all plant records were transferred to resume its former position in the Institute of Cambridge. Satisfactory operation of the Plant Sciences at Harvard. To date, this has garden had become a casualty of the deteri- not come to pass, but the monies set aside to orating political situation. support the garden are still used to support When diplomatic and consular relations research in tropical botany through the Atkins between the United States and Cuba termi- Fellowships administered by Harvard. nated, traveling to Cuba from the United According to Dr. Duncan Clement, who States became very difficult, requiring a visa wrote to the author on February 9, 1991, from from a third country such as Mexico, Canada, Pembroke Pines, Florida, the garden survives 31

Oakes Ames2014 A Harvard Botanist

Oakes Ames and his critical role in the history of the Cuban garden’s development and its absorption into the Harvard administration.

Oakes Ames was an instructor in botany at Massachusetts in 1971. Now called Border- Harvard from 1899 to 1909, and almost con- land State Park, it is open to the public. currently (from 1900 to 1910) was director Oakes Ames was a sensitive man with of the Harvard Botanical Garden in Cam- the mind of a scholar and the soul of a poet. bridge. A practical botanist, Ames had an He was deeply disturbed "by holding in extensive knowledge of plant growth and bondage one’s fellow man and driving him form. Shortly after he became director of to and from work by the note of the dole- the Arnold Arboretum, he interested Presi- ful bell, a kettle drum aided by the sting- dent Lowell in transferring the administra- ing of the lash." It was this bell that he tion of the Cuban garden to the Arnold brought back with him to hang over his Arboretum, and with the financial support house in North Easton, as if it were a sym- of Edwin F. Atkins, the garden in 1927 bol for him of the liberation of the slaves became known as the Atkins Institution of of Cuba. the Arnold Arboretum. It had been Ames’s Ames fervently hoped that the garden wish to endow a professorship at the garden would be a thing of beauty in addition and thus give it worldwide academic stat- to its practical and scientific value. He ure, but this never occurred. introduced showy palms and other trees Although Oakes Ames was involved in for the purpose of enhancing the appear- the development of a variety of economi- ance of the garden for visitors. A letter, cally important plants at the Cuban garden, dated December 17, 1930, from Modesto his prime interest was in orchids, which he Martinez to , who suc- collected from many sources, including ceeded Ames as director of the garden in Cuba, and cultivated in his in 1922, demonstrates how ably Ames North Easton, Massachusetts. His estate, succeeded: called Borderland, consisted of some twelve hundred acres and included a stone house The Garden is a Garden of Dreams, is a Paradise. (completely fireproof for the protection of Even the oriental trees and palms remmd the visi- his books) over which still hangs a huge tor of the biblical legend; I found, bordering a bronze and gold bell he purchased from the pond, the bullrushes where Moses was found by the Pharaoh’s daughter. One detail will give you estate at once used to call sugar Limones, an idea of how I felt m that Garden: I was for ten to tract the slaves and from work. This hours there, seeing every tree, every plant, every of land and the imposing stone house bush, without any food because I was so happy were transferred to the Commonwealth of and I was learning so many things. 32

today as a tourist attraction. He noted that of Edwin F. Atkms. Cambridge, Mass.: River- two tourist events involving the garden had side Press, privately printed. been mentioned in an article in El Nuevo Barbour, T. 1943. Natural at Large. Boston: Little, Herald (the Spanish language edition of the Brown. Miami Herald), excerpted from the Cuban newspaper Granma. These were, first, Cuban Barbour, T., and H. M. Robinson. 1940. Forty years of Soledad. 51: 140-146. Aviacion has inaugurated a new weekly route Scientific Monthly from to which Toronto, Canada, Cienfuegos, Grey, R. M. 1927. Soledad Estate, Cienfuegos, Cuba. In the paper called the "third most important Report of the Harvard Botanical Gardens. tourist destination in Cuba"; and, second, the Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard U. Press. German cruise ship Miss Berlin included in its between West Popenoe, W. 1929. The Harvard botanic garden at Soledad. Cienfuegos itinerary Key Harvard Graduate 37 281-285. and Grand Cayman. Granma emphasized that Magazine (3): tourists could enjoy the three four-star hotels Primary Sources from the Harvard University Archives: in the as well as other such city, attractions, Records of the Atkins Garden and Research Laboratory, as the "Jardin Botanico." 1898-1946; four containers. Subjects: Sl Ames, The most recent information on the garden Oakes: S2 Barbour, Thomas; S3 Kevorkian, comes from Professor Duane Kolterman of the Arthui; S4 Atkms Institution of the Arnold of at the of Arboretum; S5 Botany-Cuba. Location: Har- department botany University vard Archives: UAV231.xxx Puerto Rico. Writing in (July-August 1991), he notes that the garden Letters and writings of Ames, Oakes (botany); two boxes. is administered by the Academia de Ciencias Contents: Letters to his family and autobi- de Cuba: "It has a director, a small scientific ographical writings (MS), 1902-1949 This col- staff, and maintenance While the lection formed the basis for Pauline Ames personnel. Plimpton’s book about her father, Oakes Ames: collections are in fine the staff plant shape, Jottings of a Harvard Botanist (1979). expressed considerable interest in exchanging information and library materials with botanists and horticulturists outside of Cuba." Marion Davis Cahan is a graduate of , References an architect, and presently a volunteer at the Arnold Arboretum. She would be delighted to hear from any Atkins, E. F. 1926. Sixty Years in Cuba. Reminiscences readers who have visited the garden since the revolution.

CORRECTION: Ginkgo biloba In the article that appeared in the last issue of Arnoldia (vol. 51, no. 2, 1991) entitled "Ginkgos and People: A Thousand Years of Interaction," a sentence on page 10 reads, "The Ginkgo tree is apparently mentioned in the oldest Chinese herbal, Shen Nong Ben Cao Jing, dating from 2800 B.C. (Michel and Hosford, 1988)." According to Dr. S.-Y. Hu, a former staff member of the Arnold Arboretum, "I have turned the pages of the three volumes of Shen Nong Ben Cao Jing (1854 edition) page by page and checked the entries item by item. Ginkgo is definitely not in this publication." Since Michel and Hosford do not cite any sources for their statement that Ginkgo is mentioned in Shen Nong Ben Cao Jing, their statement must be considered as unfounded, particularly in light of the fact that no Chinese-speaking authors mention this reference.