Scope and Content
The papers of
George Ring IIIof
Fairfax, Virginia, consist of 2,832 items
(17 Hollinger boxes, 5.5 linear feet), 1925-1987, chiefly
correspondence, printed material, working notebooks, and
questionnaires, all pertaining to his membership in the
American Rhododendron Societyand his
interest in the hybridizers of rhododendrons, both
contemporary and past.
Ring's correspondence with other rhododendron enthusiasts
and members of the
American Rhododendron Society, arranged
alphabetically by correspondent or topic, constitute the first
series of his papers and includes such general topics as
advice about growing rhododendrons, the exchange of plants,
pollen, seed, and cuttings, orders from nurseries, articles in
the
Bulletin, and requests that he give talks before various
plant societies. Files on several rhododendron projects are
also found in this first series.
The most prominent topic in this collection is the stellar
contributions of nurseryman and fruit grower
Joseph Benson Gable(1886-1972) of
Stewartstown, Pennsylvania, in pioneering
the development of hardy hybrids of rhododendrons, such as
those found in his own special collection at "Little
Woods."
Several files in the first series discuss the efforts of
the
Gable Study Group, a committee of the
Potomac Valley Chapter of the American Rhododendron
Society, formed in 1973, whose objective was to
establish a listing of Gable evergreen azaleas and
rhododendrons known to be growing in gardens and arboretums.
Among these are: correspondence of
Caroline Gable, especially about locating
old letters between
Guy Nearingand Gable;
Phil Livingstoneabout the Gable chapter
in
Hybrids and Hybridizers;
Orlando Prideabout Gable (November 19,
1978) and copies of Gable letters (November 28, 1978);
Maletta Yatesabout Gable's collaborative
relationship with her husband,
Henry Yates; and talks by
George Ringabout the contributions of
Gable (July 1980 and n.d.). Much of the material pertaining to
Joe Gableis located in the second series,
which will be described later. The results of the work of the
Gable Study Groupwas later published as a
chapter in
Hybrids and Hybridizers.
George Ringwas the chairman of the
Gable Study Group.
Other studies or surveys represented in Ring's papers
include:
Hybrids and Hybridizersin the correspondence of
Phil Livingstonand
Frank West; the
Nearing Study Group(see also
Emil Bohnel, September 11, 1980); the
Rating Project which attempted to rate various rhododendrons
according to their performance in severe cold and heat
conditions (Ring was the
Eastern Chairman of the Rating
Committee); and the "Good Doer" Rhododendron Survey
of all
American Rhododendron Societychapters.
This survey resulted in a compilation of rhododendrons and
azaleas which grow best for each area of the country to be
included in the national
American Rhododendron Societybook of
"good doers."
Talks by
George Ringinclude: "Value of
R. Yakusinianumfor
Hybridizing" (October 24, 1982); "Rhododendrons and Hot
Weather" (September 1980); "Rhododendron Growers and New
Instructions" (June 1980); "The Gable Azaleas" (July 1980);
"Rhododendron Hybridizing" (1979); "Small Rhododendrons and
Azaleas for Rock Gardens in the Washington, D.C. Area"
(January 29, 1978); "Species vs Hybrids" (January 14, 1978);
"Talk for Peg" (April 28, 1977); and "Talk Given at Anna
Arundel Community College (September 1975).
Other undated talks include: "Rhododendron Growers and New
Introductions," "The Best of the East for Western Gardens,"
"Who is a Hybridizer?, "An Absolutely Up-to-Date Method of
Growing Rhododendrons and Azaleas from Seed," "Hybrids and
Species Selected by Joseph Gable," "Culture of Rhododendrons
and Azaleas," and "Hybridizing and Growing Rhododendrons."
Other topics include: Ring's correspondence with
Japanese nurserymen such as
Kenichi Arisumi,
Koichiro Wada(see also
Walter Beasley, December 2, 1982), and
Hideo Suzuki; the
International Rhododendron Body(
Ralph Sangster, June 19, 1983);
Taiwanspecies of rhododendrons (John
Patrick, May 21, 1973); "A Fifty Year Report on Rhododendrons
in Western Pennsylvania" by
Orlando Pride; "hardy" forms of
rhododendron species (
Esther Berry, December 1, 1977); and a
photograph of
John Wister,
Frank West,
Raymondand
Jane Goodrichand
George Ring, 1975 (see
John Wister).
The second series contains several notebooks of research
material pertaining to
Joseph Gableand his career as a
hybridizer and other material which formed the basis for two
chapters in the book,
Hybrids and Hybridizers, "Joseph Benson Gable" and "Contemporary
Hybridizers."
Several of these notebooks contain copies of old letters
between Gable and
Guy Nearing(1890-?), who corresponded
(ca. 1930-1950) about hybridizing thousands of rhododendrons
and exchanged ideas and methods, and letters between Gable and
Henryand
Maletta Yatesof
Frostburg, Maryland. Yates collaborated
with Gable for many years, growing many of Gable's seedlings
and developing several azalea and rhododendron hybrids from
them.
Other notebooks include: one with articles about
rhododendrons from
The National Horticultural Magazine(1932-1952); four of
Joe Gable's own working notebooks
concerning rhododendrons, including notes of his hybrids
(1925-1935), a rhododendron bed list (1932), inventory (1936)
and azalea cuttings (1936); a notebook containing the
questionnaires sent out to Eastern rhododendron hybridizers in
order to identify contemporary hybridizers working to develop
attractive plants hardy for particular areas of the country
for a chapter in
Hybrids and Hybridizers; a working notebook for
Hybrids and Hybridizers; a notebook containing the
Gable Study GroupReturns used for the
Gable chapter; and a Gable notebook which contains transcripts
of the notebooks and file cards kept by Gable and other
miscellaneous material relevant to the
Gable Study Group.
A third series contains an alphabetical arrangement of
various nursery and supply company catalogs.