NATIONAL ARBORETUM COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE, HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, The committee met at 10 o'clock a. m., Hon. Gilbert N. Haugen (chairman) presiding. The CHAIRMAN. The committee meets this morning to give consideration to H. R. 10278, a bill introduced by Mr. Luce. (The bill under consideration is as follows:) [H. R. 10278, Sixty-eighth Congress, second session] A BILL Authorizing the Secretary of Agriculture to establish a national arboretum, and for other purposes Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the Secretary of Agriculture be, and he is hereby, authorized and directed to establish, within or contiguous to the District of Columbia, a national arboretum for the propagation of trees and plants. For the purposes of this act the Secretary of Agriculture is authorized to occupy, subject to the approval of the President of the United States, for the purposes aforesaid, any areas which now belong to the United States or which may hereafter be acquired by the United States along the Anacostia River north of Benning Bridge. SEC. 2. The Secretary of Agriculture is hereby authorized to expend a sum not to exceed $300,000 for the acquisition of land for the purposes of this act. Such land may be acquired in the discretion of the Secretary of Agriculture by private purchase or by condemnation proceedings, which shall be in accordance with section 3 of the provisions of the act of Congress approved August 30, 1890, providing a site for the enlargement of the Government Printing Office (Stat. L., vol. 26, pp. 412 and 413). SEC. 3. The arboretum established by the Secretary of Agriculture under this act shall be a national arboretum in the most liberal sense. It shall be under competent scientific direction, in order to stimulate research and discovery, and shall be administered separately from the agricultural, horticultural, and forestry stations of the Department of Agriculture, but it shall be so correlated with them as to bring about the most effective utilization of its facilities and discoveries. SEC. 4. The Secretary of Agriculture is authorized to recognize and consult an advisory council in relation to the national arboretum to be established under this act to include representatives of the following organizations: National Academy of Sciences, National Research Council, Smithsonian Institution, Carnegie Institution of Washington, Garden Club of America, Botanical Society of America, American Society of Landscape Architects, American Association of Nurserymen, national audubon societies, American Forestry Association, American Pharmaceutical Association, and American Association for the Advancement of Science. STATEMENT OF HON. ROBERT LUCE, MEMBER OF CONGRESS, STATE OF MASSACHUSETTS Mr. LUCE. It has fallen to me to have the privilege of introducing in the House the bill to authorize the Secretary of Agriculture to establish a national arboretum, and for other purposes. I do not profess to be an expert on this subject, but have that interest which comes from a long delight-a lifetime delight-in everything relating to out-door life, and the interest that anyone who tries in a general way to acquaint himself with the scientific development and generally in regard to the study of these things to the end that the common welfare may advance. This is somewhat due to the chance that my district is in close proximity to one of the great arboretums of the world-that which is connected with Harvard University, and lies in that part of Boston commonly known as Forest Hills. That institution has for many years served as an inspiration to those who pursue this branch of science and has contributed greatly to our knowledge of forestry and all kindred subjects. It was through some knowledge of this institution, as well as similar institutions in various parts of the world that it has been my fortune to visit, that I accepted, gladly, such responsibility as attaches to the introduction of the bill. The discussion of its technical merits, however, ought to be left to men who have more direct contact with the subject. and wider personal experience relating thereto. Before asking them to take up the burden of the presentation of the case I would say just a word as to the site, in order that there may be no misunderstanding as to how the program lies in my own mind. As a member of the Committee on the Library from the time I came here, nearly six years ago, I have been, of course, in touch with the affairs of the Botanic Garden, which comes under the jurisdiction of that committee. Soon after I came here there was presented to the committee a proposal that the Botanic Garden be transferred to the Mount Hamilton site. After a through hearing on the subject I took a Sunday afternoon and went out there alone, that I might not be prejudiced by the comment of others, and spent several hours studying the ground. If any gentleman present has not seen the site I should recommend that as soon as the days are somewhat more pleasant, he do the same thing. I am certain that if he goes there he will return with the conviction that this tract ought to be in the possession of the District, and ought to be kept from private development. It is one of the few large areas within easy reach of the congested part of the city that yet remain available for the purpose of recreation and enjoyment. The proposal that our Botanic Garden should be taken away from its present site, however, struck me as open to two objections. In the first place I doubted if conservatories that were maintained in large part for the delectation of the visiting public would better be removed to that location, at such a distance, and, in the second place, I knew very well from the temper of my colleagues in the House that it would not be done. It is quite manifest that the Members of the House desire that their conservatories shall be kept within easy reach of the Capitol. In accordance with that desire the House and Senate have passed, and within a few days the President, if I am rightly informed, has signed a resolution authorizing the study of a new location for the Botanical Garden, which shall be near by its present location. I think we may take it for settled that the House intends to keep its conservatories nearby. This has made possible the treatment of the arboretum project as a quite distinct and separate affair. The two are now in no way interrelated, as they have been for years in the discussions in Congress and in the press; let it be very clear, then, that this bill in no way relates to the treatment we are to give to the conservatories of the House of Representatives. It contemplates that the Mount Hamilton tract shall be taken over for the study of trees, and, I presume, the larger of the shrubs, included in that item being the study of such things as the cultivation of grapes and small fruit Mr. TINCHER. How much land is in this tract? Mr. LUCE. I think about 360 acres or thereabouts, besides the marsh lands which are in process of development under our park scheme. How many acres there may be available in the marsh lands in addition to this 360 acres or so, I could not say. Mr. TINCHER. I see this bill authorizes the payment of $300,000 for it. Mr. LUCE. I have no knowledge of the value of the land and would be quite incapable of saying whether that is a fair price or not. The CHAIRMAN. Where is the site; where is the land located; on both sides of the river, or where? Mr. LUCE. On the west side of the Anacostia River; between that and the Bladensburg Road. Mr. KINCHELOE. Who owns the land? Mr. LUCE. I do not know. Mr. KINCHELOE. Do you know whether it is for sale? Mr. LUCE. I do not know. Mr. KINCHELOE. You do not know what it could be bought for? Mr. LUCE. I do not, and perhaps that answer will meet the natural suggestion likely to arise in your minds that this is a real-estate deal. Mr. TINCHER. The fact that you fix a $300,000 appropriation, I thought, would indicate that the man who drafted the bill had an idea that this land could be bought for that much, and what it was worth. Mr. LUCE. Probably; I did not draft the bill myself. Mr. RUBEY. There are people here who will tell us? Mr. LUCE. I have no doubt they will be able to tell you the value of the land. I want to get into the record that during the time this Mount Hamilton project has been in prospect no human being has ever approached me on the subject of its purchase-I mean no human being interested from a financial point of view. Mr. KINCHELOE. Did you say there were over 300 acres, exclusive of this marshland? Mr. LUCE. So I think. Mr. KINCHELOE. Would it be contemplated to use the marshland for arboretum purposes, too? Mr. LUCE. I think the experts who follow me will point out the utility of taking lands of that class, particularly for the study of such trees and shrubs as feed on water very largely; the marshlands are to be developed, anyhow, for park purposes. The CHAIRMAN. Where is the tract of land located, Mr. Luce? Mr. LUCE. On the northeast corner of the city, on this side of the Anacostia River. As you take the highway ordinarily used going to Baltimore, you reach it a few blocks beyond the end of Maryland Avenue, and it runs along that road, just at a guess, about a mile, and lies in between that and the river, with several elevations of considerable size that are covered with trees, and that give it the variety in topography and character of soil which I think the experts will tell you would be particularly desirable for the cultivation of all sorts of trees. I presume they will explain to you the importance of large areas. One of the gentlemen told me a while ago, for example, |