The Camden chronicle. (Camden, S.C.) 1888-1981, April 03, 1936, Page PAGE TWO, Image 2
1 -Open
Air Museum?
Heavily Endowed
(By I,aura I'l'iiiiiiM I iciiutiingway ill
Thu State's SoHqultounlul Edition;
Because winter usually is content
to ir?*a<l light ly in the coaxial ?-.< ?! i<>ij
of Soalii ('aroiina, and bn attKe iIu kj
I line Hlill has a way c * I stepping
l>IitIm I> i?11 < iisliinned feel, South Carolina
has hecoine the owner of tlx
nnfy ryprrr nfr TnirSTrrnr or I(hkind'Tff
the world, of nature and urt. wiiii a
Id! of philosophy thrown in.
Six yea I'm lavi, Arehep Milton Hunt*
iiiKton world traveler, parlon of art,
author of many voluble* of poetry
that have heon translated into several
lungiiHges, humanitarian, lover of nature
with Mrs. Huntington, wlio is
internationally famed uh Anna Hyatt
HuntiiiKton, sculptress eatne to Koutli
Carolina in search of a quiet spot
where they could cKcupc the rigors
of a Northern winter, and where they
could rent.
Approximately halfway between
Myrtle Beach and (Jcoitteiown, on the
old King's hlKhway, Mr. and Mrs. i
Huntington discovered Brookgreen,1
where it lay drouslng in the sunshine
of Waccumuw Neck, They knew in-'
stinctively that they had found Unquiet
spot they had been Keeking,
Mr. Huntington, who had establish
ed already 11 museums of various
kinds in the United States, and two
in Spain, recognized in the open climate
of this state, and in the topography
of the old gardens on Brookgreen
plantation, the requisites ideal
toward the establishing of yet another
museurn. Tills time It would he different.
lie forgot he had come to rest!
Mr. Huntington bought not only
Hrookgreen, hut three other neighboring
plantations, including Laurel Hill,
Springfield and The Oaks, tlx- home
of Thoodosia Burr for the brief period
she lived in this state with her
husband, (Inventor Joseph Alston.
Kach of these plantations had prolonged
formerly to one or another
member of the Alston?or Allston ?
family, as the individual possessor of
that name chose to spell it. In spite
of lost records, it can be said with
assurance that each of these former
rice plantations had been grants from
King Cleorge II, who had taken the
pains to reserve for his navy all white
pine trees found growing thereon, a
tree indigenous to a climate other
than that of the Carolina coast!
The estate purchased by Mr Huntington
numbers 7.000 acres Of this
he S<U aside 1.1 I I acres to he developed
into the open-air museum, - with
tiie intention of including the remaining
acres gradually. His plan is to
make o| this a museum of natural
history running from the fiora and
I it una of the Waccamaw river to tlxHora
and fauna of the sen. a distance
approximating three miles.
I he plan has progressed to the extent
that more than lit" specimens of
native flora have been placed within
tlx- garden, where they are thriving,
and where they present the year
round a spectacle of beauty through
their variety of blossoms. Each is
marked with a label of metal, giving
the botanical mime and the gctttls of
the plant. Eventually a catalog will
be compiled and placed oil tile in the
brick museum, wlx-re it will be available
to nature students for reference.
These plants are " exhibited" in open
air eases" that are elevated beds
arranged in tlx- curvatures of the high
serpentine brick wall that incloses
i lie open air museum The u all is :
built ot bi n K. hoicy , i>nib fashion, to
allow a I re.- < ireulatiun ul air around
lite plants, and (?. prevent the danger
"t it llei iitf le al during tin summer
Native \ i ties , 11111! i o\ er p. both ? - - r
' it ! flowering, and .sott.n and
I beaut Ify It
The collection of native fauna is
I growing hteailllIt is beginning to
tal<> till SOJ#fet III His of the Uhp?'< t of
'a /.(K), with Iftf hears, wild turkeys,
I swans, and other specimens.
I one hundred thirty pieces of mati
uury, worth $.'iOO,OOb, have been set
up in Brook gteen garden*. Some are
of h loll / ' and hollte of Stone. The
bronzes are considered the linest
American collection in lite world The
io?i?eun?, bodF? HO't>OiiiK --To
Spanish-Arable architecture, houses
; iu niches around Its oiyer walls the
piuccy. . A rufTuugulur pool
hi the center reflects In its still waters,
that appear now blue, now green,
the Intertwining tendrils of the na
oive vim's thai clamber over the pergola
roof.
Wrought iron gaffes of bluish-green
open in the walled museum, and
smaller ones Into the art museum
Flanking the lutter are two small
| bronzes that represent favorite subjects
of Mrs. Huntington's. These are
'the Joan of Arc and 101 ('id. Mrs.
Huntington has a Joan of Arc in the
Cathedral of St. John the Divine In
New Yi^rk city, and a Chi also in New
York and another in Seville, Spain.
Her work, which has won for her
many medals and honors, is found in
j the Metropolitan Museum of Art In
'.New York city, and in the Carnegie,
Cleveland, Sun Francisco, San Diego,
cuius.
Luxembourg and Edinburgh intisAmong
the sculptors represented at
Brookgreen, all of whom have received
number of honors, are Augustus
Saint (laudcns, (Jraetno Cerere,
James Harle Fraser, whose portrait
bust of Augustus Saint (landaus is in
the Hall of Fame, New York, and
whose Alexander Hamilton is in the
Culled States treasury building in
Washington; Paul Jennewoin, Alvln
Bleeskie, A. A. Weinman, Robert J.
Aitkin, whose marine monument
stands on Harris Island, and whoso
busts of Thomas Jefferson, "Henry
Clay. Benjamin Franklin, Daniel Webster
are in the Hal) of Fame; Mario
Korbel, whose "Night" in Brookgreen i
is no less beautiful than his "Andante"
in tiie Metropolitan Museum
or Art, and whose "St. Therese" is
in the Vatican In Rome; Ernest- W. j
Keyser, a former secretary, and Ches- !
ter Beach, a former president, of the
National Sculpture society; Herman
MacNeil, who received the designer's
medal at the Charleston exposition in
D?e2; Harriot H. Mayor; Mrs. Henry
Herring, Helen Journey. Abram
Relskle. S. Walker Hancock and R
Tait McKenzle, sculpture, editor, sur
genu, who formerly was house physician
to tin- governor-general of Canada
I he subjects, vary, hut running
through the entire collection is that
common theme of the mystic bond of
brotherhood between man and the
dumb creatures of nature. This is
j upheld by tablets, hearing excerpts
I ol verse suggesting subtle philosophy,
that are set into the entablatures on
the columns in the wall. There are
five placed, but the complete collection
will Include Jit.
No better example could he found
than (leorge Sterling's "Bumas":
"Hushed, ( ruel, ninher-oyed,
Before III.- time of the danger of the
da y,
Dt at dusk on the boulder broken
mountainside,
I hf great cats seek their prey.
i Soft padded, heavy limbed.
With agate talons chiseled for R.v.-i
or hate,
I In desolate places, wood.-u ..p granite
i bnnie.1,
, iu< gfi.it cats seek their mate.
j Rippling, as water swerved.
To tangled coverts. o- el -hadow ed
I and deep.
I In great ( ats go tor sleep.
I Seeking the mate or prey,
out of th?- darkness glow the ill?
satiate eyes
Man, who is more terrible than tie y,
! I>r< a111m lie i? no otherwise,"
A lii'* >i/ and Iif - 1?K?- jaguar m
bronze hv Anna Myall Huntington
[reaches down Mann ih?' wall ledge
above inls to a .'*? use ' Ii-11 I Willi
1 CttCtl.
Mr. Huntington has laid out I ho
garden inusouin after tho pattern of
L* UilU*iU>, fuMhw- humh?hI??im 4h?*
I bond wjih nature Concrete walks,
outline the wings, the roHervoir cool
.lui'UUi. tile huad, with the walks-rot?ning
out to the pair of boat landings
on tile rlv? r cuts inarking the antennae.
The original garden, with its
box-bordered walks, serves for the
body, and the central walk leading
underneath the patriarchal live oaks
of the old plantation avenue to the
entrance gate, Is the tail.
When Mr. Huntington set about to
build an open-air museum on Brookgrt'ifii
plantation, he chose as its site
t be original gardens. He recognized
in the rolling contour of the land from
tin- river toward the sea the ideal
facility for the old Spanish system
of irrigation, which he considered
best for the native flora in a semitropical
climate.
Water Is pumped underground from
the old rice canals back of the gardens
to a large circular reservoir pool
on the site of tlie original Alston
dwelling. From this tile blue-green
water is distributed through little
trickling rills to every point of the
garden. Here and there it is intercepted
temporarily by a small fountain
that furnishes the setting for a
piece of statuary. Small lead conduits,
following tlie natural slope of
tiie garden, are caused to overflow
whenever and wherever needed by
throwing into these at the desired
place a sand bag.
The irrigation operates also thru
hiiihII lead troughs alongside the conCrete
walks. By means of tills system,
Brookgreen gardens may be kept
fresh and green the year round.
Gravel walks are found in that part
tbat forms the original gardens, but
otherwise concrete walks are used.
These are the old kind that in the I
sandy soil of the coast, will sustain j
tlie weight of the carts bearing the
watering pots to the native flora.
A waterproof spray has coated the
bj?lck a "natural gray that harmonizes
with the statuary, the concrete walks,
tlie water, and the Spanish moss that
festoons the spreading oaks and the
towering magnolias.
For the .sake of symmetry the original
kitchen has been moved from
just back of the resorvior pool to a
spot opposite the art museum. This
is the only part remaining of the plantation
home in which George Washington
was entertained while on his
presidential tour of the South in the
early days. In the kitchen are s?'Veral
of the rooking implement in
which, perhaps was prepared the food
that was served "The Father of His
Country" when he was a guest at
Brookgreen.
For the sake of symmetry again,
a second boat landing and steps were
built in the rear wall a proper distance
from the original.
There is a popular legend that it
was down the old brick steps of the
plantation landing that Theodosia
Burr descended to take the small
i rail that bore her to The Patriot,
upon which. December 111, 1M2. she
embarked upon her ill-fated journey
to visit her father in New York, but
ibis lacks historical backing.
Beside the highway, near the entrance
to Brookgreen, is a stone that
t? IN ;i pathetic story in these simple
wouis: A monument to Theodosia
Burf. and graves- of her husband.
Governor Joseph Alston, and their
son. Aaron Burr Alston. Oaks cemetery,
miles."
The driveway into, Brookgreen is
one mile long. It is broken by three
circles beautified with native shrubbery.
The first pool is large. It lias a
waist-high coping of the honeycomb
brick, and is planted with native water
plants. In the center is a stone
equestrian statue by Mrs. Huntington.
The second pool is similiar. In the
center of that is a bronze showing
Diana, another of Mrs. Huntington's
favorite subjects. This holds the center
of an expansive terrnce. the entrance
of which is guarded by a pair
of stone lions holding within the
security of their paws the globe.
Mr. Huntington recently conveyed
to the state of South Carolina, thru
an eleemosynary corporation, Brookgreen
gardens, and the deeds have
been recorded. This corporation is
composed of Archer M Huntington,
president and treasurer; Anna Hyatt
[Huntington, vice president. C F.
1 Bailev of Newport News. Va . sec re*
I tary. In addition to these, the hoard
| of directors consists of Francis Smyth
j of New York City and C 1> Ford of
| Georgetown
j Tho cost of the 4,444 acres included
| in brookgreen gardens ran to $200,.
000 and that of the imporvements and
statuary to $800,000. For the purpose
of providing permanent maintenance,
Mr Huntington has endowed the garden*
with a fund of $1,200,000, mak
j in* the total value of this gift td the
statu well above two million dollar*.
What Mr. Huntington bus done for
embryonie talent tin? yearn will tell.
There seems something In the very j
atmospherv of the place conducive to ]
talent. It wuh there that Julia Peter- j
kin found the inspiration for several |
of her stories featuring the Gulluli
." gro that made her famous. For
Kern-rations these Negroes have lived
at ISrookgreen and on Handy Island
ju*r hack of It, and Mr Huntington
provides for their welfare by having
a physician from a neighboring town
attend their needs four days out of
each week.
Hrookgreen should hold an especial
attraction for artists for it was there
that Washington Alston, South Carolina's
internationally famed painter,
was born.
Hut this gift to the state of Houth
Carolina by a man, who came down
from New York and found a climate
more- satisfactory than any he had
encountered on his world travels caiiv
not be reckoned In the matter of dollars?so
far as value is to he considered.
Breeders Cross Oats
For Disease Control
In Improving the Binull grains, plant
breeders in the United States Department
of Agriculture in their cooperative
work with the State Agricultural
Experimental Stations seek varieties
that yield well, resist lodging and
shattering and are of good quality.
These are general aims. Hut there
are regional problems. For example:
In the South there is demand for
oat varieties resistant to crown rust,
in the upper Mississippi Valley breeders
work for resistance to stem rust.
The development of smut-resistant
oats Is a specific need In nearly all
oat-growlng sections. The discovery
<|hat there are definite races of the
oat Bmuts has complicated the problem.
Drought-resistant oats is a distinct
need in the Great Plains, and
where cereal hays are grown there
is need for improved varieties for
grazing and forage.
The oat breeder, with his knowledge
of genetics proceed^ with a high degree
of certainty to combine, through hybridization,
the characters he believes
essential for new and better
varieties.
OPEN FLOOD GATES
For the second time in its six years
of existence, the spillway of the Lake
Murray darn was opened Friday to
release excess waters from recent
rains.
Since Friday it lias been necessary
to open one gate off and on to keep
the water from rising above the mark
set by the government. Wednesday,
with new water from recent rains
pouring into the lake, another gate
had to be raised.
Employees of the Lexington Water
Power Co., said the dam, reputedly
the second largest earth structure of
its kind, was in good condition.
The gate was used about four years
ago under similar conditions.
A new kind of light, made by use
of a synthetic dust made from rocks,
combined with mercury and ultraviolet
electric rays, developed into a
brilliance equal to sunlight was
shown to scientific society in New
York this week.
Baby Born to Giants
Shreiveport, La., March 28.?Mfs.
Gertrude Kama, 28, who weighs 74$
pounds and Is one of the world's largest
women, gave birth to a daughter
weighing nine poiuids and three
ounces at a local sanitarium today.
The baby's father is Cliff Karns
who weighs 304. The combined weight ,
of her parents is 1,049 pounds.
The Karns have been married several
years and have traveled with
shows over the country.
Death of a Former Resident
Hartsville, April 1.?W. C. Blackwell,
82, died late this afternoon at
the home of his daughter, Mrs. G. B.
Gardner, after an illness of several
days. He -is survived by two daughters,
Mrs. Gardner and Mrs. Nettie
Melton of Camden; two brothers, J.
L. Blackwell, of Camden, and Steve
Blackwell, of-vShreveport, La.
Funeral services will.be held at the
Wateree Baptist church at Camden
Thursday afternoon at four o'clock.
Interment will be in the Quaker cemetery.
STATEMENT OF THE CONDITION OF THE
MERCHANTS ANI) FARMERS BANK
i.or.\tki> at bkt1 h'ne. s. c.. at the close of business
MARCH \. l
ASSETS
and Discounts $15,557.94
Overdrafts Secured by Cotton 4,897.63
Bonds and Stocks owned by Bank 8,225.00
Furniture and Fixtures 2.060.47
Banking House 1,068.75
Other Real Estate Owned 8,023.84
Cash on Hand and Due from Banks 36.274.68
Cheeks and Cash Items 455.70
Other Assets.
Collection Account 85.00
TOT AI $77,558.01
LIABILITIES
Capital Stock Bald In $20,000.00
Surplus 8,000.00
Undivided Profits Hess Expenses and Taxes 3.423.41
Heposlts
Demand $34,021.35
Time 11.175.61
Cashier's and Certified Checks... - 620.14
Total Deposits 4;>.S26.10
Other Inabilities:
Fertilizer Account 30$.at)
TOT AI $77,558.01
State of South Carolina. County of Kershaw
Before me came (J. B. McKinnon, CashffT of the above named bank, who,
upon beinK duly sworn, says that the above is a true statement of the
condition of said bank, as shown by the books of the bank.
O. B. McKinnon
Sworn to and subscribed before me this 24th day of March. 1936
Correct Attest: ~ l>oring
W. M. Stevens Notary- Public for South Carolina
T. M. Clyburn
looting Davis
I Directors.
WHEN BUYING j
FARM IMPLEMENTS
AND MACHINERY
Bear in mind that some day replacements will be necessary
and when they are needed, usually they ar
needed promptly. BUY FROM US:
McCORMICK?DEERING
MOWERS TRACTORS >
REAPERS AND BINDERS POWER UNITS
HAY RAKES ENGINES
HAY PRESSES * WAGONS
STALK CUTTERS DISTRIBUTORS
HARROWS, PLOWS, ETC
We Carry a Large Stock of
REPAIRS
For All Machines Made By:
INTERNATIONAL HARVESTER COMPANY j
WHITAKER & CO.
Rutledge Street Telephone 4 j
-W ..f~? 1 I r -V
\7T N0N ACID 17 i
V"V> HJRMING JL CVttllZCYS \
G row E| etterCotton and Corn j
V-C Fertilizers do more than just supply needed
plant-foods. They provide them in many different
forms for different stages of growth. They
contain the minerals that are so necessary/
They contain abundant magnesia?the fourth element?that
keeps your soil sweet.
It takes more than a shovel and a pair of scales
to compound such mixtures. Into every bag go
forty years of experience. It is because of this,
that in competitive tests, they have repeatedly
grown bigger and better yields. Talk your fertilizer
needs over with the V-C Agent. He's a
good man to know.
Virginia-Carolina
Chemical Corp.
?COLUMBIA, S. C.
/
35 million ton* ol experience beck of erer?
be| of V*C Tine Tested Fertilisers. o
LEWIS & CHRISTMAS AGENT CAMDEN, S. C