Henry Nehrling (May 9, 1853 – November 22, 1929) was an American

ornithologist Ornithology is a branch of zoology that concerns the "methodological study and consequent knowledge of birds with all that relates to them." Several aspects of ornithology differ from related disciplines, due partly to the high visibility and th ...

and

horticulturist Horticulture is the branch of agriculture that deals with the art, science, technology, and business of plant cultivation. It includes the cultivation of fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, herbs, sprouts, mushrooms, algae, flowers, seaweeds and no ...

Life

Nehrling was born in the town of Herman, near Howards Grove, Sheboygan County, Wisconsin. His father was Carl Nehrling and his mother was Elizabeth Ruge. His early education he received from his mother and his grandfather and he was later sent to a Lutheran parochial school located several miles from his home. His daily walks winter and summer to and from school, through then the primeval forest, familiarized him with every aspect of nature and helped to develop the passionate love for the outdoors, the birds and flowers, that characterized his entire life. He then learned the haunts of the wild things of the woods and the fields, where the Wild Pigeons roosted, where the Grouse had its drumming log and where grew the rarer plants. From 1869 to 1873 he attended the State Normal School at Addison, Illinois, and upon graduation became a teacher in the Lutheran schools, a position which he held until 1887, teaching at various places in Illinois, Missouri and Texas. It has been said that he looked upon his teaching mainly as an instrument by means of which he could carry on his studies of ornithology and the changes from one locality added constantly to the breadth of his knowledge to bird life.

Milwaukee

In 1887 Nehrling was made the deputy collector and inspector of customs at the port of Milwaukee a position he held until 1890 when he was appointed secretary and custodian of the Public Museum of Milwaukee, a post evidently much more to his liking. During his connection with the museum a former member of his staff states that "he made many important additions to the collections and laid the foundation for the future greatness and educating usefulness of this well known institution". Unfortunately owing to politics Nehrling lost his position in 1903 after twelve years of service.

Florida

Prior to his retirement, Nehrling had become interested in Florida and bought land in Gotha in 1884, and maintained a garden there, naming it Palm Cottage Gardens. At Palm Cottage Nehrling experimented with over three thousand species of plants, trees, shrubs and vines. Three hundred of those became staples in the landscape of Florida. After a freeze in 1917 killed most of his plants, he relocated to

Naples, Florida Naples is a city in Collier County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the historical city (i.e. in the immediate vicinity of downtown Naples) was 19,115. Naples is a principal city of the Naples-Marco Island, Flori ...

and started a new garden there. Nehrling named his second garden, H. Nehrling's Tropical Garden and Arboretum. At Naples Nehrling carried on his work, he grew, hybridized, and popularized many exotic plants for the general public. ''

Caladium ''Caladium'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Araceae. They are often known by the common name elephant ear (which they share with the closely related genera ''Alocasia'', ''Colocasia'', and ''Xanthosoma''), heart of Jesus, and angel ...

s'', palms,

bamboo Bamboos are a diverse group of evergreen perennial flowering plants making up the subfamily Bambusoideae of the grass family Poaceae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family. The origin of the word "bamboo" is uncertain, bu ...

and ''

Hippeastrum ''Hippeastrum'' () is a genus of about 90 species and over 600 hybrids and cultivars of perennial herbaceous bulbous plants. They generally have large fleshy bulbs and tall broad leaves, generally evergreen, and large red or purple flowers. ...

s'' (the latter commonly and erroneously referred to as 'amaryllis') were all introduced to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

by way of his Palm Cottage Gardens. He established a strong friendship with

Theodore Luqueer Mead Theodore Luqueer Mead (February 23, 1852 – May 4, 1936) was an American naturalist, entomologist and horticulturist. As an entomologist he discovered more than 20 new species of North American butterflies and introduced the Florissant Fossil Be ...

of nearby Oviedo, Florida and they collaborated on many plant experiments. Nehrling died on November 22, 1929, and was laid to rest in the Gotha Cemetery. His Naples garden was preserved as the Jungle Larry's Caribbean Gardens, now the

Naples Zoo Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

. In 2009, The Henry Nehrling Society, purchased Nehrling's home and gardens in Gotha.

Works

*
Die Nordamerikanische Vogelwelt
' (1891) (''The World of North-American Birds'')

References

External links

The Henry Nehrling Society

Naples Zoo
*
While We Are Hausbound
— American Birds - article on Nehrling {{DEFAULTSORT:Nehrling, Henry 1853 births 1929 deaths American botanists American horticulturists People from Orange County, Florida Scientists from Milwaukee People from Herman, Sheboygan County, Wisconsin