King's wide-ranging friendships with many figures of importance in the garden world of her day enhanced her influence. She counted among her friends and correspondents Charles Sprague Sargent of the Arnold Arboretum, and landscape architects Fletcher Steele, Ellen Shipman and Martha Brookes Hutcheson, and many more of the best-known garden personages in both the U.S. and Great Britain. Louisa Yeomans King believed in gardening as a force for democracy, as a means of bringing people together, and as a way for women to establish themselves in a number of garden-related professions. These themes, too, suffused her work until her death in 1948, and formed an important part of her appeal in an age when many looked to the garden as a solution to the problems of modern life.

King, Mrs. Francis. From a New Garden. New York, NY: Alfred A. Knopf; 1930. Introduction by A. P. Saunders. More about color, plants, design advice, Southern gardens, garden books. Her only book about Kingstree, her second major garden.

King, Mrs. Francis and Fothergill, John. The Gardener's Colour Book. New York, NY: Alfred A. Knopf; 1929. A book for the gardener to use, not read. Includes a color guide with associated calendar and references to gardener Gilbert Pullen.

King, Mrs. Francis. The Little Garden. Boston, MA: The Atlantic Monthly; 1921. Mrs. King's best seller. Designing, planting and maintaining a small garden. General advice for the beginner. Illus.

King, Mrs. Francis. The Little Garden for Little Money. Boston, MA: The Atlantic Monthly; 1924. How-to garden book for the budget minded. Exploration of planting concepts including combinations and color.

King, Mrs. Francis. Pages from a Garden Notebook. New York, NY: Charles Scribner's Sons; 1921. A varied collection of magazine articles: color, plants, design, English and Spanish gardens, professional opportunities for women in horticulture, and a how-to start a garden club. Also a chapter on the Arnold Arboretum.

King, Mrs. Francis. Planning Your Planting. Np: Montgomery Ward; 1936. King wrote this book for Montgomery Ward at the height of the Depression. It describes and illustrates plans for small gardens of various types.

King, Mrs. Francis. Variety in the Little Garden. Boston, MA: The Atlantic Monthly Press; 1923. Thoughts and suggestions about small gardens. Second in the ninevolume Little Garden series she edited and persuaded friends to contribute to. She wrote two herself. Includes chapters about specific plant materials, plans and photos.

King, Mrs. Francis. The Well-Considered Garden. New York, NY: Charles Scribner's Sons; 1915; rev. 1922. One of King's most important books. Emphasizes color theme, plant combinations, importance of design. Revised edition deletes five chapters, adds two others.

King, Mrs. Francis. "Two Days at Palm Beach." Landscape Architecture. July 1924: XIV(4): 235-242. Discussion of Palm Beach estates and gardens. Mentions work of Addison Mizner. Reflects Spanish influence of landscape design in the area. Illus.

McCormick, Harriet Hammond. Landscape Art Past and Present. New York and London: Charles Scribner's Sons; 1923. Limited edition (1,200 copies). Introduction by Mrs. Francis King.

Rohde, Eleanour Sinclair. The Story of the Garden. Boston, MA: Hale, Cushman and Flint; 1933. "American Gardens" by Mrs. Francis King. Brief essay on colonial and modern gardens.

Bits and pieces about Louisa Yeomans King can be found at the Woman's National Farm Garden Association Collection, Schlesinger Library, Cambridge, MA and in the correspondence between King and C. S. Sargent at the Massachusetts Horticulture Society, Boston, MA.

Contributed by Virginia Lopez Begg

Landry, Theodore E., b. 1899, d. 1980. Theodore Landry, one of the first practitioners of landscape architecture in Louisiana, had limited early schooling, receiving formal education only through the 7th grade.

However, throughout his life, he was an avid reader on a variety of subjects. He also supplemented his education by taking courses in engineering at the University of Iowa, Brigham Young University, and Louisiana State University, as well as a number of short technical

courses.

Landry became a licensed and registered landscape architect in 1930 and he, together with his wife Lou Bird Landry, also a landscape architect, established professional status for landscape architecture in Louisiana. An active member of professional organizations, Landry helped establish the Louisiana chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects, and was the first president of the Louisiana Landscape Association. Landry's practice encompassed residential and industrial landscape design, as well as the design of church grounds. He was an ardent promoter of the preservation and restoration of plantation gardens along the Mississippi River corridor. His restoration projects include many of the most significant landmarks in the corridor, representative examples include "Afton Villa," "Oaklawn Manor," and "Madewood." After WWII, Landry began a crusade to alert people about the vanishing architectural and landscape heritage of the region. In 1964, he addressed the ASLA National Convention in Fort Worth, TX on this subject.

Laney, Calvin C., b. 1850, d. 1942. Calvin C. Laney was born on February 18, 1850 in Waterloo, Seneca County, NY. He attended the Episcopal Parish public school in Waterloo and studied for two years at the Waterloo Academy. Before moving out of his hometown, Laney spent several years in the wholesale and retail grocery business, and taught school for one year. Laney then worked as a surveyor with the Railroad Engineering Corps (1871-1872), preparing surveys along railroad routes to be constructed. Following this, he worked as an engineer with the various railroads in the region until 1885. In 1886, he opened a surveying office in Rochester, NY.

In 1888, the Park Commission of Rochester hired Laney to make topographical surveys of the parks and boulevards then being proposed for the city. These park lands were being secured for public use at that time under the direction of Frederick Law Olmsted, Sr. Upon Olmsted's recommendation, Laney was appointed Surveyor for the park system (1888) and later named Superintendent (1889). In the published report of the Commission, spanning the years 1888 to 1898, Laney is listed as Superintendent and Engineer, with John Dunbar shown as Assistant Superintendent. In this capacity, Laney was responsible for the preparation of all plans for park improvements and engineering works not provided by others. Many of the designs provided by the Olmsted firm for individual parks in Rochester were developed only to a preliminary stage, with few detailed to the level of full construction drawings. Laney, in communication with the Olmsted firm, oversaw the construction of these parks, most likely using his own judgment on a number of construction related decisions.

Laney's reports in several volumes of the Park Commission Annual Reports provide evidence of his participation in all aspects of park work, from land condemnation and payment, to soil preparation, extensive plantings, drainage improvements, the construction of drives, shelters, service buildings, and the management of the parks, including policing. He also reported on communication and collaboration with Superintendents in various cities, noting, for example, a gift of water lilies from R. H. Warder, Superintendent of Lincoln Park (Chicago, IL), and a visit to William McMillan, Superintendent of the Buffalo, NY Parks for advice and an opportunity to view this well-developed system of parks.

Laney's knowledge and interest in plant materials is demonstrated in his reports on the native plantings in the parks. The additions of both native and exotic plants was

undertaken during the development of the parks during his tenure. For example, large numbers of fast-growing saplings were planted in Genesee Valley Park to act as "nurse" trees, providing shade and cooler soils for slower-growing, more desirable hardwood trees. Another horticultural interest is detailed in a description of a study of hawthorn trees undertaken after an autumn 1899 visit by Professor Charles Sprague Sargent of Harvard's Arnold Arboretum (Jamaica Plain, MA). In his work to develop his book Silva of North America (1891-1902), Sargent visited Rochester and examined hawthorn trees (Crataegus species) growing along the Genesee River. Laney, working with John Dunbar and M.S. Baxter of his staff, then made a systematic study of hawthorns in the region. This study resulted in Sargent's naming and describing "10 groups and 41 species of crataegus indigenous to the Rochester region." Laney notes in his account that the "discovery of these small trees is a great addition to the list of plants useful in landscape architecture."

Laney continued in the position of Superintendent and Engineer of the Rochester, NY Park Commission until 1920, and during his 31 years in this position, he oversaw the development of the entire Rochester parks system, including large parks calculated at 843 acres and small

NY, 1888-1898.)

LeConte, Louis, b. 1782, d. 1838. Louis LeConte, born in 1782, was the son of John Eatton LeConte, Sr. (17391822) and Jane Sloane, and a descendent of Guillaume LeConte, a member of a prominent Huguenot family that arrived in the U.S. in the late 1600s and settled in New Rochelle, NY. Louis LeConte's father moved with his brother and uncle to Georgia in 1760, where they purchased land in what is today Liberty and Bryan Counties, and established "Woodmanston Plantation."

LeConte studied at Columbia College (graduated 1799), and the College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York, where, in addition to his medical studies, he studied botany under the tutelage of Dr. David Hosack. LeConte returned to "Woodmanston" in 1810, where he applied advanced techniques to the cultivation of rice, indigo and other crops. He established a laboratory for experimentation and kept up with the latest scientific methods, maintaining extensive correspondence with scholars in the U.S. and abroad. Many distinguished botanists and plant scouts visited the plantation, including Stephen Elliot, John Abbot, William Baldwin, Thomas Nuttal and John Torrey. Scottish plant scout Alexander Gordon visited "Woodmanston" in the 1830s. In an article written for John Claudius Loudon's Gardeners Magazine (Vol. VIII), he described LeConte's garden as "decidedly the richest in bulbs I have ever seen."

LeConte's botanical garden at "Woodmanston" introduced to the South the latest varieties of plants available in the country, obtaining them, at times, directly from European sources. Among these introductions were the Chinese magnolias, several varieties of camellias, notably the

Louis LeConte. The LeConte pear, introduced from "Woodmanston Plantation" in the 19th century. (Bailey, The Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture, 1937 Ed.)

Camellia sasanqua 'Alba' and 'Rosea,' and many types of bulbs. The LeConte pear, which was introduced from "Woodmanston," became a staple in southern orchards because of its apparent resistance, at that time, to blight, and it is still found growing wild in abandoned coastal orchards in the South. LeConte also introduced southeastern native plants to the rest of the country, including sweetshrub, mockorange, and cherry laurel. Although his papers were destroyed during the War Between the States, it is believed that he was a contributor to Torry and Gray's Flora of North America. Louis LeConte died at "Woodmanston" in 1838.

Davidson, Grace Gilliam. "Georgia's Famous Scientists, the LeContes." Atlanta Journal. 20 September 1934. Chronicles the lives of the LeConte family members who were notable scientists.

Hedrick, U. P. A History of Horticulture in America to 1860. New York: Oxford University Press; 1950. A discussion of the LeConte pear, with one paragraph describing Louis LeConte's contributions to horticulture in the Southern states.

Kurtz, Lauri Fuller. "Life Story of the LeConte Brothers and their Contribution to Science." Atlanta Journal Magazine. 10 November 1935: 2, 15. Relates LeConte's life as it highlights his sons John (a founder of the University of California at Berkeley) and Joseph (friend of John Muir and co-founder of the Sierra Club).