Arboretum Set up at Cherokee
For Study of Mountain Plant Life
By JOHN PAWS
Cherokee ? Outdoor nature edu
cation is receiving a new boori
here at Cherokee through the new
ly-created Cherokee aboretum.
For the first time, visitors tc
the Great Smoky mountains car
study in one concentrated area the
fabulous and unequaled variety ol
plant life native to Western North
Carolina.
Sponsored by the non-profit
Cherokee Historial Association, the
arboretum is now open to the
public. No charge of admission is
being made.
Although in its infancy, the ar
boretum has more than 15,000
plants representing 149 native spe
cies which flourish along the first
three nature trails to be opened
on a 30-acre plot.
Eventually, the arboretum will
contain what is expected to be the
greatest collection of native plant
life in America. This goal is ex
pected to be reached within the
next five years.
Unlike other botanical gardens,
the Cherokee aboretum has been
designs to be as naturalistic as
possible, with many original fea
tures dictated by the location and
climate.
In effect, the institution will be
a key to the Great Smoky Moun
tains so far as plant life is con
cerned.
In Natural Setting
For here, on a forested plot ad
joining Oconaluftee Indian Village
every tree, flower, plant and shrub
native to the Great Smokies will
be concentrated in a natural set
ting so visitors may enjoy them
with ease and at first-hand with
out hours and miles of toYtuous
hiking.
n.i : -a _ ...I I tkn
DuumiMS wnu nave aiuuim n?
native wonders of the Great Smok
ies say they have more than 100
varieties of trees, 150 species of
shrubs and more than ISO species
of flowers.
All of these, and more ? as they
are discovered ? will be included
in the Cherokee arboretum .which
is a project conceived and exe
cuted by the non-profit Cherokee
Historical Association.
"We plan to develop the arbore
tum into the outstanding garden
of its type in America," explained
Harry E. Buchanan of Henderson
ville, association chairman, who
originated the idea for the devel
opment.
To supervise the long-range de
velopment of the arboretum, the
Cherokee Historical Association
has retained Doan Ogden of Ashe
ville, a landscape architect.
Working with Ogden is Frank M.
Crayton of Asheville, an 83-year
old mountain man who probably
knows more about plants native to
Western North Carolina than any
other living person.
Flowers have been a consum
ing interest of Ogden's since he
was 9 years old and his own ar
boretum near Kenilworth Lake in
Asheville is one of the show places
of Western North Carolina.
In addition to his work here, Og
den is retained by the Michigan
Flower Show in an advisory capa
city for the Chrysler Exhibit whose
theme next spring will be "In and
Around the Smokies." He 'will
truck more than 5,000 native moun
tain plants to Detroit for the show.
Crayton, a native mountain man,
worked with the Vanderbilt nurs
ery in Biltmore for more than 35
years and has collected botanical
specimens from the Great Lakes to
Florida.
Knows Latin Names
Although Ire did not go to school,
Crayton can speil off the botanical
names of plants as if Latin were
his mother language. And ironi
cally, he is completely lost if you
ask him the common names of na
tive plants.
Crayton says he has collected
hundreds of thousands of plants
since he became interested in bot
any some 60-years ago. It was he
who collected the 13,000 plants
that have been set out in the Chero
kee arboretum and he will go right
on collecting for the project here
"as long as I can get around in the
mountains."
His real hobby is searching for
rare plants, and a few years ago he
re-discovered the Elliotia shrub
which had been lost for TS years.
Crayton claims that be is tbe
only man slive who knows the hab
itat of the kalmai cunesta, a rela
tive of the mountain laurel.
"I'm not telling where you can
find it," he said, a twinkle in hi*
blue eyes, "because if I did, then
folks would go and tear it up and
then soon it would be gone. But
you'll see it here in the Cherokee
arboretum."
He explained that it would be
some time before the Cheorkee ar
boretum would be i flourishing,
blooming garden.
Ta Bloom Next Year
"The flowers we have planted
now won't be blooming until next
year," Crayton said, "and the tree*
snd shrub* won't go in until tbe
sap goe* down. But just is soon a*
we get some frost we will start
putting them in."
Ogdaa explained that of the more
than ISO species of plants now in
the arboretum they include seven
kinds of trilUums, blood root, liver
wort, turk's cap lilies, mandrakes,
six kind* of violets, orchids, bone
aer, ironweed, three kind* of gol
denrod, two kind* of beard tongue,
the ran silver rod, golden aster,
the wild geranium wood betony,
snow trillium and ran iron drag
m Jacm.-Uw-yuU.it. ,
Others no* marked alone the *r
boretum's three nature trails In
clude the four-leaved loosenlife,
wild columbines, showy orchids,
dwarf bleeding-hearts, coral root,
(lowering milkweeds, squirrel
corn, Dutchman's britches, rattle
snake plantain, wild onions, merry
bells, showy skullcaps, wood ane
mones, meadow rue, wild ginger,
pink lady slipper. Solomon's seal ?
both true and false ? rattletop, pas
sion flower and blue cohosh.
The plant life along the trails is
marked so the visitor can easily
identify the speciei. The marker!
carry both the scientific and the
common name, and where possible
the Indian name.
Ogden explained that the piantt
have been located according to
their natural habitat such as shade
and soil and have not been grouped
according to families.
"They have been located accord
ing to ecology," Ogden said. "That
is, to their relation to their envir
onment and to each other."
Both Ogden and Crayton agree
that there could scarcely be a bet
ter location for such a project than
the plot selected, since the trails
rise in altitude almost a thousand
feet from its lowest to its highest
point
Contains 31 Acres
A stream winds its way through
the 30-acre plot, and rustic bridges
cross it at several points.
The objective will be to concen
trate living plant life where vis
itors may examine it carefully and
at length. Here, in a few hours,
one may gain a greater knowledge
and understanding of native plant
life than in many weeks of journey
ing.
Three trails have been designat
ed. One is the Sachem and Squaw
trail, another the Tsali Trail and
the third, the Sequoyah Trail.
The plant life bordering along
these trails will constitute a botan
ical garden in themselves. There
will be "read-as-you-go" labels and
at certain points there will be
groupinga of every variety of a cer
tain plant, flower or ahrub. For ex
ample, the varloua varieties ol rho
dodendron will be concentrated in
one spot to give a key to the shrubs
later seen growing in their natur
al habitat elsewhere along the ,
trails with other plants and flowers
and shrubs.
It is the feeling of officials of
Cherokee Historical Association
that the Cherokee arboretum -lo
cated in the center of one of na
ture's last strongholds ? will do
much to inform citizens of their
plant life.
When completed, the arboretum
will be one of the leading educa
tional, inspirational and recreation- I
al features for residents and visit- '
Proper Gear is Must
In Enjoying Fall Camping
By DION HENDERSON
The fellow who starts out zest
fully to enjoy autumn without
proper gear is like the man who
sits down at at banquet without any
silverware.
urs to Western North Carolina and
the Great Smokies.
"It can easily become one of the
show places of America," Ogden
predicted. "I firmly believe it will
become a mecca for nature lovers
and for folks who never before .
bave shown much interest in plant i
life." i
And it's harder to see the full
platter go by untouched than to
miss it altogether.
Proper gear for autumn out
doors involves all the items calcu ,
luted to prevent blistering, boil
ing, scratching, freezing and other
mistreating of the human body
The" family man particularly should
take advance pains to prevent later
ones when his flock finds out the
weather has changed. After flitting
about beach and meadow in sum
mer attire for months, the family
ought to be prepared for the
morning when the water freezes
in the bucket outside the tapt.
Autumn calls for clothing that
is warm and dry without being
heavy. Getting wet in a swim suit
and getting soaked in woolens are
two very different experiences.
As a matter of fact, this love
liest time of year to be abroad on
field, stream and camping ground
puts a price on your luggage. No
morp of summer's living out of
the glove compartment. You need
the summer wear, and winter wear
too ? arranged so you can switch
clothes twice a day as the sun
waxes and wanes. Even the mid
South can seem colder than the
Arctic by the dawn's chilly light
and be hotter than the third ring
in Saturn by noon.
Since the fall outings ? hunt
See CAMPING, Page 6, Section 2
FIRE PREVENTION WEEK ? OCT. 3-9
How Much
Would
You Lose
How much of a "bite" could FIRE
put on your bankroll? Unless your
property is adequately insured,
FIRE may some day wipe out your savings of a
lifetime ... set you back financially for years!
Don't take this chance. Check your insurance cov
erage TODAY!
The best time to stop a fire is before it starts. Thaf s
why Fire Prevention is so important . . . and we're
all for it! Check your home for fire hazards. Don't
overload your wiring system. Keep paints and
other combustibles away from fire. Don't let
waste materials accumulate. Keep matches out
of children's reach. Don't smoke while working
with inflammables ... or in bed.
Watch your cigarette butts. Do all these things.
They'll help reduce the danger of fire. But they
can't eliminate the risk entirely . . . nothing can!
So do one sensible thing MORE. See to it that your
fire insurance fully covers the PRESENT - DAY
value of your property. Ifs the only sure way to
keep FIRE'S greedy hand out of your lifetime
savings!
CONSULT ANY OF THESE; AGENTS FOR FULLY-PROTECTIVE FIRE INSURANCE COVERAGE
John A. Baker Agency
Wad* Bldf. Phone 6-4777
Morehead City
L. H. VICKERS
Carteret Realty Co.
704 Arendell St. Phone 6-4377
Morehead City
ROY T. GARNER
Farm Bureau Mutual
Insurance Co.
of Columbut, Ohio
Phone 266-1 Newport, N. C.
John L. Crump
828 Arendell Si. Phone 6-4000
Morehead City
G.. W. Duncan
Insurance Agency
?17 Front St. * Phone 2-8321
Beaufort
Mutual Insurance Agency
S. A. Chalk, Jr. C W. Summerlin Mr.. E. G. Phillip.
Fir.t-Citizepy Bank Bldf. Phone 6-4336
J. P. Harris Co^^,
Turn?' St. Beaufort
Earl Mason Agency
432 Front St. Phone 2-4866
Beaufort
David Murray Insurance
Royal Bldg. Phone 6-4356
Morehead City
& Gibb*
M??kttd City Pho? 8-3107