Botanical and Cultural Images of Eastern Asia, 1907-1927
Explorers
Joseph Hers (1884–1965)
It was Joseph Hers, an administrator of the Lung-Hai and Pien-Lo railways, who first approached Sargent with a proposal to collect specimens for the Arboretum.
Stationed in Chengchow, Hers was superbly situated to range far and wide collecting and photographing plants. In 1919 Hers wrote Sargent that although his “own knowledge of botany is, I regret to say, very limited, I happen to live in a part of China where very few botanical collections, if any, have been made, and as I enjoy frequent opportunities to travel in little known districts . . .” Enclosed with the letter was a list of trees and shrubs that included a number of new species, and Hers offered to send “seeds, or cuttings, or photos.” More about Hers.
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