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Albert Kellogg was born in Connecticut USA on 6th
December, 1813.. He eventually became a medical student at the Medical
College of South Carolina and graduated with his M.D. degree from
Transylvania University in Kentucky. Kellogg was drawn to California in
the gold rush of 1848. However, when he arrived he found that it had
already peaked and he decided to move to San Francisco, California. It
was there that he resumed his medical practice and also opened a
drugstore. It was during his journey to California that he was
introduced to the diverse flora associated with that area. He became an
important botanical collector, and was also one of seven men who
organised the California Academy of Sciences in 1853. One of his
forward thinking ideas was the inclusion of women in scientific and
natural history work, and and he subsequently hired two women as
curators.
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Professor Albert Kellogg,
aged 72
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He travelled in the western states of the USA, especially Oregon and
North California in the years 1843-44. He made the earliest scientific
description of the big trees of California, which appeared in 1845 and.
also explored the republic of Texas with John J. Audubon, at the time
of its annexation to the United States. He later made botanical
explorations along the western coast of America from Terra del Fuego,
to Alaska. In 1867 he visited Alaska in the capacity of botanist of the
special expedition under Prof. George Davidson, of the U.S. Coast
Survey, and made large collections of the plants of the coastal region,
of which he furnished complete collections to the Smithsonian
Institution, the Philadelphia Academy of Sciences, and the California
Academy of Sciences. He was a frequent contributor to scientific
journals and to state and national reports. His more important work
consists of 400 beautiful botanical drawings of the West American Oaks
(1889), and at the time of his death he had in preparation a similar
series covering the West American pines.
Kellogg’s speciality was the study of trees and he was the first
botanist to undertake a systematic study of Sequoiadendron giganteum
in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, which even today is valued because of
its thoroughness and accuracy.
Kellogg spent his last years in Alameda, near San
Francisco Bay and died on March 31, 1887.
So far we have just looked at his American
activities. Let us now consider Professor Kellogg's
role in the development of the Garden.
The first Director of our Garden, James Hector, had the problem of
sourcing plants for the new Garden. He was concerned that timber and
firewood were in short supply in parts of the developing colony, and
the provision of suitable shelter in grassland areas to protect farmer
homesteads and provide stock shelter was seen as a priority. The need
to trial plants to see what was suitable for our soils and climate was
recognised by the authorities. In 1868 in Christchurch Edward Robinson
and Aubery Park Station in Canterbury received some tree seed from
Professor Kellogg. This was successfully raised, and Professor Kellogg
was subsequently asked to provide the NZ Government with significant
quantities of Californian conifer seed which was imported by the
Government and Garden between 1870 and 1877, although some trees were
established earlier in the Garden from plants variously sourced.
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Giant sequoia first described by
Kellogg
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While some seed had been imported
privately, the first official purchase of seed was made in San
Francisco by William Gray of the Post Office. This was subsequently
distributed around the country, the Wellington Botanic Garden receiving
its share. Of the plants imported, two in particular were showing
significant promise – Cupressus macrocarpa and Pinus radiata. The
results confirmed the experience obtained from the first recorded
importation of Pinus radiata in particular, which occurred in 1859 and
which was performing well in many locations around the colony.
Eventually some 25.5 kg of Pinus radiata seed (not cones) was forwarded
from California, much of which was germinated in the Wellington Botanic
Garden and distributed throughout the country. This resulted in some
hundreds of thousands of plants being propagated and planted throughput
the country.
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1871 List of Conifers
suggested by Hector
to Prof. Kellogg
(Plant Names as in
original document)
Califoruian firs
Abies Douglcsii
Abies mertensiana
Silver firs
Abies picea bracteata
Abies picea nobilis
Abies picea balsama
Abies hookeriana
Abies menziesii
Abies picea amabilis
Abies picea grandis
Abies picea frascri"
Califoruian Pines
Pinus muricata
Pinus benthamiana*
Pinus fremontiana
Pinus insignis*
Pinus jeffreyi
Pinus coulteri
Pinus pondcrosa*
Pinus radiata
Pinus contorta
Pinus sabiniana
Pinus tuberculata
Pinus lambertiana
Pinus monticola
American firs
Abies alba
Abies nigra
Abies rubra
Abies canadensis
Pines
Pinus inops
Pinus mitis
Pinus resinosa
Pinus australis
Pinus rogoda
Pinus taeda
Mexican firs
Pinus llaveana
Pinus patula
Califomian
Cupressus macrocarpa*
Cupressus lawsonia*
Wellington gigantea*
Thuya gigantea
Sequoia sempervirens*
Juniperus californica
* Seed of the species
Hector suggested
and that were supplied by
ProfessorKellogg
arc marked
with an asterisk.
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In August 1871, James Hector, on behalf of the Colonial Secretary wrote
to Professor Kellogg (extract):
"I venture to ask your assistance in carrying out
the recommendations ....of the Committee of the Legislature on Colonial
Industries. The desire of the Government is not so much the
introduction of a great variety of forest trees as to be able to supply
the seeds of those kinds which are most likely to be raised
successfully in large quantities. Arrangements have been made to have
the seeds raised in local nurseries in the district where the young
trees are to be distributed and the Government has authorised the
expenditure of a sum not exceeding 200 pounds in the first instance for
the purpose of procuring the seed. I enclose a list only with the idea
of suggesting the species that we find most suitable to the climate -
no wish to limit you to the list or to require that all be sent. Mr
Richardson of Christchurch informs me that he had written to you fully
giving his experience in packing the seeds and I recommend you to adopt
his suggestions. "
It is interesting to look at the list of plants supplied
to Professor Kellogg and note that the plants he did supply have
stamped their character on our Garden.
This list was based on an earlier one Alfred Ludlam had prepared for
the Colonial Secretary; Ludlam explained the reasons for his
suggestions and gave advice on how the seeds should be packed.
Unfortunately the following advice was not always heeded.
"List attached is confined to varieties growing in
California as well as the best from Northern States of America and from
Mexico. New York should furnish Northern species whilst Government
should authorise seedsmen at San Francisco to obtain them as
opportunity offers (from Mexico). I mention pines from Mexico because
they are quite new to us in New Zealand and of a very beautiful
character and I think well suited to the New Zealand climate. I have a
few which arc doing quite well. While the government are spending money
on such a good object for the future I think they should obtain those
varieties which will give the plantations of the country character, a
collection such as I have named would be valuable to be distributed
over the Colony. The seeds should be packed in a canvas bag and hung up
in a cabin on the voyage"
Some idea of Professor Kellogg's collecting operations in California
were given in his reply to Hector 18 October 1871:
"The order for Californian forest tree seeds came
to hand so late that I find it impossible to send a full supply. These
seeds are mostly from my South Californian Coast expedition. My North
Coast expedition was not in by the time allotted, and though often
urgently written to for whatever could be sent here before the 10th
inst., none have come in, and only a few have been received from the
Sierras. I am unable to send any of the silver firs, and some of the
spruces here seldom open before frost, which sometimes holds off late.
Hence the list is meagre compared with what it ought to be, had a
previous understanding of the urgency of your requirements been
impressed upon the parties. Under the circumstances, I felt reluctant,
hesitating whether to make up a package or not; but at the suggestion
of Mr Collie, I concluded to do so. Another year they can mostly, if
not all, be ready perhaps early enough for - say 10th October.”
The first parcel of seed sent to the Garden occurred in 1871, with
importations continuing to 1884/85. The seed was either distributed, or
germinated and seedlings distributed widely throughout the country.
Pinus radiata seed weighing some 25.5 kg in total was received. The
full story of the plant importations, refer to Winsome Shepherd's
chapters in the Garden History. 2
In the establishment of the Pinus radiata plantation industry in this
country, recent studies have confirmed that some of the significant
breeding stock used by the industry can be traced back to plants
brought in and distributed through the Wellington Botanic Garden, with
a number of the currently used breeding trees carrying DNA markers from
specimens in the Garden. Professor Kellogg's procedure of randomly
collected seed from wild stock was a key feature of the establishment
of this species, and we, and indeed all New Zealander's, should pause
and thank this gentleman for his efforts. You can be certain that he
would not have contemplated that the plants he forwarded would play
such an important part in this country, and indeed throughout the
world.
Pinus radiata is endemic to central coastal California coast. The
northernmost stand is east of point Año Nuevo, the central stand
48 km to the south near Monterey and Carmel, and the southernmost stand
about 105 km away in the Pico Creek-Cambria area. In addition to these
three separate populations there are a further two island stands off
the coast of Baja California on the Isla Guadalupe and Cedros Island.
These last two populations are now considered to comprise a distinct
variety (Pinus radiata var. binata), and differ from the mainland form
in having two-needled fascicles, whereas the usual form has three. It
has been noted that the trees are generally unbranched from the
Monterey plantations, but are highly branched from the Año Nuevo
forest. The original seed was sourced from all areas, and both growth
forms can be seen in our old Garden trees.
Habitat loss from urban encroachment and the fragmentation of stands
remains the greatest threat to the native populations, which contain
the genetic diversity of this widely planted species. When the
understory is cleared, the health of the pine forest as a whole
suffers. Roads prevent the flow of genes and hinder range expansion.
Like a lot of coastal California, condensation of the coastal fog
provides an important moisture source; a decrease or change in the
distribution of fog could reduce the amount of moisture the trees
receive from fog drip. In addition, the reduction in natural fire
frequency resulting from development has encouraged the spread of
pathogens. All three of the remaining native stands of var. radiata are
infected and under threat of extinction from pitch canker, a fungal
disease native to the southeast United States and found (in 1986) to
have been introduced to California. When trees begin to die of the
disease, they attract bark beetles which provide a pathway for
infection of other trees. In some stands, 80-90% of trees are infected.
Plant breeders often want to introduce new characteristics into their
plants, and often this is best achieved by going back to the original
species and making selection of the characteristics desired. As
previously noted the native habitat stands are under pressure. Genetic
mixing is also though to be occurring, as modern trees have been
breeding there with the native stock. Therefore the plant breeders are
uncertain that many of the Californian trees in fact contain original
genetic material only. The plants in the Wellington Botanic Garden were
obtained from randomly selected stock, and those that have survived are
genetically pure species. We therefore have a store of genetic material
which is,and will continue to be, valuable to plant geneticists, not
only in this country but overseas as well.
In their native habitat the trees have an estimated natural life of
only 30-50 years. Our trees are now over 130 years old, and many are
showing their age. To preserve their valuable genetic material, a
number have been vegetatively propagated through cuttings, and these
are now growing in the Garden, and will be planted when established to
ensure the survival of these trees for future generations, valuable not
only to us because of their history, but for their diverse genetic
material.
Next time you pass a radiata pine, give it a hug. You
owe it and Professor Kellogg a special vote of thanks for the
contribution made to the prosperity of this country, not to mention the
unique vista the trees provide to our Garden.
Many individuals involved in the initial
establishment of the Garden have been honoured by having a feature
named after them (Hector, Ludlam, Buchanan, Bramley, Wakefild). Perhaps
it is time to grant similar recognition to Professor Kellogg, he
deserves it - The Kellogg Grove where the propagated Pinus radiata are planted, or
by naming a path – e.g. the unnamed path off Pine Hill Path past Pinus roxburghii's (not a
Californian tree) towards Druid Hill and the other pines is also a
possibility.
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