Arlow Burdette Stout records
Scope and Contents
The Arlow Burdette Stout Collection consists of correspondence, research records, lecture notes, personal papers, photographic material (photos, negatives, and lantern slides), photoengraving plates, artwork, journals, reprints, and awards. It covers his entire career at the NYBG (1911-47). There is a small selection of papers from his high school years (1899-1903) and graduate study at Columbia College (1911-13). The collection is a record of his research into the genetics and hybridization of Hemerocallis and studies of other economically important plants. The artwork consists of watercolor illustrations and pen and pencil drawings. All artwork has been transferred to NBYG Art & Illustration Collection #58. The collection also consists of two appendices. One consists of a chart of correlated hybrid files, photography, and artwork pertaining to the genus, Hemerocallis. The other is an itemized record of damaged photography discarded from the collection.
Dates
- 1899-1956
- Majority of material found within 1920-1955
Conditions Governing Access
This collection is open for research with permission from Mertz Library staff.
Conditions Governing Use
Requests for permission to publish material from the collection should be submitted in writing to the LuEsther T. Mertz Library of the New York Botanical Garden.
Biographical / Historical
Arlow Burdette Stout (1876-1957) was a botanist, geneticist, and expert in the hybridization of daylilies. He was born 10 March 1876 in Jackson Center, Ohio but grew up in Wisconsin. He graduated from Whitewater (Wisconsin) State Normal School (1908) gaining his B.A. degree at the University of Wisconsin where he later taught botany. He studied under Professor Robert A. Harper at Columbia University and received his Ph.D. in 1913. The NYBG appointed him Director of Laboratories in 1911, launching a 36-year career as a geneticist, plant-breeder, and educator.
Dr. Stout characterized his work as "experimental studies on the nature and genetics of intraspecific self- and cross-incompatibilities in the sexual reproduction of flowering plants." In 1919 he initiated an experimental study on seedlessness in grapes that resulted in the commercial introduction of many new kinds of grape. He had similar success with avocado cultivation. His primary research focus was the selective breeding of daylilies (Hemerocallis) that resulted in the development of stunning hybrid flowers. His research program at the NYBG spanned three decades in excess of 50,000 cross-pollination experiments, producing over one hundred viable Hemerocallis hybrids that revolutionized nursery breeding and popular interest in daylilies.
As Curator of Education and Laboratories at the Garden, Stout lectured widely and published over 350 scientific articles, including the landmark monograph Daylilies (1934, reprinted 1986). He established business relationships with local nurseries, notably the Bertrand Farr Nursery Company, in programs to evaluate and propagate his hybrid clones. He worked for several years in the 1920s with the New York Agricultural Experiment Station in Geneva, New York to produce hardier poplar trees.
Dr. Stout was an Honorary Life Member of the Horticultural Society of New York and an Honorary Life Fellow in the Royal Horticultural Society. He was a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Society of Naturalists, and of the Botanical Society of America. In 1937 he received the Thomas Roland Medal of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society. The American Hemerocallis Society established in 1950 a Stout Award in his honor, considered the most distinctive award in annual recognition of a Hemerocallis clone. In 1954 the NYBG awarded him its Distinguished Service Award for "outstanding contributions to the advancement of horticulture and botany." He died 12 October 1957 at his home in Pleasantville, NY.
Extent
44.8 Linear Feet (105 boxes)
Language of Materials
English
Arrangement
Numbers in brackets (ex. [14.2]) indicate the tentative [box.folder] numbers.
The collection is organized into ten series and two appendices:
- Series 1: Correspondence. 1905-1957 and undated. Arranged alphabetically.
- Series 2: Research Papers. 1914-1961 and undated. Arranged by genus. Subseries 2a: Genus Files: Acer - Vitis. Subseries 2b: Genus File: Hemerocallis. Subseries 2c: Rubus Subseries 2d: Research Notes.
- Series 3: Negatives. 1922-1948. Arranged by genus, then chronologically within genus.
- Series 4: Lantern slides. 1923-1948 and undated. Arranged by subject.
- Series 5: Lectures. 1929-1947 and undated. Arranged by subject.
- Series 6: Artwork. 1912-1941, 1990, and undatdd. Arranged by genus.
- Series 7: Personal Paper. 1899-1957 and undated. Arranged by subject.
- Series 8: Journals and Reprints. 1944-1956 and undated. Arranged alphabetically by author.
- Series 9: Photo Engraving Plates. Arranged by subject.
- Series 10: Awards. 1935, 1954, and undated.
Physical Location
Archives, The LuEsther T. Mertz Library, New York Botanical Garden.
Other Finding Aids
Immediate Source of Acquisition
This collection was transferred to the New York Botanical Garden Archives.
Processing Information
Originally processed by David Rose, Archives Assistant, March 1999 with grant funds from The New York State Department of Education Documentary Heritage Program. Converted to EAD in January 2006 by Kathleene Konkle under a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH-PA 50678-04).
- Appendix II. "List of Discarded Materials". This Appendix is an itemized record of damaged photography discarded from the collection. Discarded photos are listed here by: (1) Dr. Stout's photo negative numbering system, e.g. 32-011. The first two digits represent the year (e.g. '32), and the last three digits represent the number in the photo sequence in that year. (2) Following the photo negative number is a simple record of the subject of the negative, expressed either by (a) species name, e.g. dumortieri or 'fancy name', e.g. 'Apricot', or (b) hybridization number, e.g.1288-1, or, (c) both (a) and (b) or other designation. Hemerocallis, 1932: 011 dumortierii 2 | 012 middendorfii 1-3 | 013 Dr. Regel 4-6 | 014 255<br/> 015 416<br/> 017 447<br/> 020 Apricot<br/> 021 416, 417<br/> 022 417<br/> 023 466<br/> 024 dumortierii<br/> 025 Winsome<br/> 026 466<br/> 027 466<br/> 029 Estmere<br/> 031 aurantiaca major 34<br/> 032 715<br/> 033 1288<br/> 034 Queen of May<br/> 035 Auriole<br/> 035 Auriole<br/> 036 1288<br/> 038 696<br/> 039 ibid<br/> 040 1438-8<br/> 042 256<br/> 045 70-1<br/> 055<br/> 056 Sir M. Foster<br/> 057 416<br/> 058 495-33, 495-12<br/> 060 976-13<br/> 064 586-13<br/> 065 657-2<br/> 067 middendorfii<br/> 068 495-12<br/> 069 Golden Dream<br/> 071 aurantiaca major 35<br/> 072 1288<br/> 073 715<br/> 075 various<br/> 077 fulva 32-41<br/> 078 ibid<br/> 080 Korea 58-1<br/> 103 Japan 56-4<br/> 104 minor 3-8105 Japan 42<br/> 107 dumortierii<br/> 109 aurantiaca major 35<br/> 110 aur 25-1<br/> 118 447<br/> 120 various<br/> 121 ibid<br/> 123 thunbergii<br/> 124 middendorfii<br/> 125 fulva<br/> 126 aurantiaca<br/> <br/><br/> Hemerocallis, 1933<br/> <br/> 069 696<br/> 070 thunbergii<br/> 071 europa<br/> 071a europa<br/> 072 Kwanso 16<br/> 072b Kwanso 16, Japan 16-4<br/> 073 Japan 56-4<br/> 074 495-12<br/> 076a thunbergii 26, 27<br/> 079a 495-12<br/> 080 42-50<br/> 081 316-8<br/> 095 524-1 Dauntless<br/> 098 234-5<br/> 100 aurantiaca 33<br/> 100 ibid<br/> 113 fulva 32-41<br/> 152 140-1, 3<br/> 170 696<br/> 171 1871<br/> 177 nana 97<br/> <br/><br/> Hemerocallis, 1934<br/> <br/> 023 447<br/> 034 416, 417<br/> 044 Mikado<br/> 046 1919-18, -22<br/> 056 1939 bicolors<br/> 057 847-3 Saturn<br/> 060 1713-6<br/> 062 1060-1<br/> 064 316-7<br/> 072 Vesta<br/> 077 1163-3<br/> 079 60-3 China<br/> 080 1804-27, -12<br/> 082 1804-8, -25<br/> 088 1605-20<br/> 089 1695-4<br/> 090 1545-15,3,7<br/> 104 1282-1<br/> 107 1694-17<br/> 110 1600-2<br/> 118 1752-15<br/> 119 1624-61<br/> 121 49-2 Sonny<br/> 123 1635-34<br/> 124 1659-3<br/> 134 various<br/> 135 1604-5,8,10,11<br/> 139 1695-29<br/> 143 1629-18<br/> 147 1547-2<br/> 148 1685<br/> 149 1655-34 multiflora<br/> 150 1655-34<br/> 163 222 wild<br/> 169 1695-8<br/> 183 1608-2,3,7,9,12,19<br/> 184 1645-1,2,6,10<br/> 185 1695-10,16,22,27,33<br/> 186 1635-5,11,24,54<br/> 189 1659-1,3,12<br/> 190 1634-4,11,14<br/> 198 87-3 fulva<br/> 199 87-3 fulva Hankow<br/> <br/><br/> Hemerocallis, 1935<br/> <br/> 075 1919-22<br/> 092/093 1805-2,44<br/> 097 53-7 middendorfii<br/> 099 1423-2,7<br/> 101 minor 4, 8<br/> 105 1840-11<br/> 108a/b 2002-7<br/> 109 1808-15<br/> 110 752-4<br/> 113 aurantiaca 1<br/> 116 1882-8<br/> 118 1997-2, 7, 13<br/> 121 1769-10<br/> 122 1687-9<br/> 124 2034-1, 4<br/> 125a 1863-7<br/> 125b 1863-7<br/> 129 1467-1, 3<br/> 130 1862-9<br/> 135 aurantiaca major 3<br/> 138 868-30 Rajah<br/> 146 1799-6 The Port<br/> 147a/b 1980-4, 1939-38<br/> 160 49-2 Sonny<br/> <br/><br/> Iris, 1936<br/> <br/> 298 I 52018<br/> 299 I 65733<br/> 300 I 37-2<br/> 301 I 52018<br/> 302 I virginica<br/> <br/><br/> Lilium, 1923-1924<br/> <br/> 442 Lilies in flower<br/> <br/><br/> Lilium, 1924<br/> <br/> 369 L cordifolium<br/> 370 L cordifolium<br/> 371 L concolor<br/> 372 L aurantum<br/> 373 L candidum<br/> 375 L sp<br/> 379 L croceum<br/> 380 ibid<br/> 387 L sp<br/> 388 L sp<br/> 389 ibid<br/> 390 ibid<br/> 391 ibid<br/> 392 ibid<br/> 393 ibid<br/> 394 L tigrinum<br/> 399 L sp<br/> 400 L sp<br/> 401 L parvium<br/> 402 ibid<br/> 403 L canadense<br/> 404 L seedlings<br/> 405 L cordifolium<br/> 407 L superbum<br/> 408 L sp<br/> 436 ibid<br/> 453 L testaceum<br/> <br/><br/> Lilium, 1938<br/> <br/> Unnumbered - chestnut anthesis<br/> 13 L seed pattern charts<br/> 15 L candidum<br/> 16 L candidum<br/> 17 ibid<br/> <br/><br/> Lilium, 1925<br/> <br/> 526 L ser 65<br/> <br/><br/> Miscellaneous<br/> <br/> 24-428 Pear<br/> 24-483 Sweet Potato<br/> 24-484 Sweet Potato<br/> 24-485 ibid<br/> 36-36 Pigment Chart, autumn coloration<br/>
- Eaton, Mary E. (persons)
- Fragaria -- Research.
- Hemerocallis -- Breeding.
- Hemerocallis -- Genetics.
- Hemerocallis -- Hybridization.
- Hemerocallis -- Inflorescence.
- Hemerocallis -- Polyploidy.
- Hemerocallis -- Varieties.
- Lilium.
- Lobelia.
- New York Botanical Garden Archives.
- New York Botanical Garden. Research Laboratory -- Archives.
- Persea.
- Petunia -- Varieties.
- Plant genetic engineering.
- Plants -- Self-incompatibility.
- Rubus -- Reproduction.
- Tsuga canadensis.
- Vitis -- Varieties.
- Title
- Arlow Burdette Stout records
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- David Rose
- Date
- March 1999
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Sponsor
- Originally processed by David Rose, Archives Assistant, March 1999 with grant funds from The New York State Department of Education Documentary Heritage Program. Converted to EAD in January 2006 by Kathleene Konkle under a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH-PA 50678-04).
Revision Statements
- January 2006: Converted to EAD by Kathleene Konkle.
Repository Details
Part of the The Archives of the New York Botanical Garden Repository
New York Botanical Garden, Mertz Library
2900 Southern Boulevard
Bronx NY 10458 United States
ssinon@nybg.org