horticultural journals with the largest circulation at that time. Meehan wrote his own agriculture columns for five newspapers and also authored 'The Native Flowers and Ferns of the United States', consisting of four volumes describing and illustrating, in colour, over 300 species. Meehan was a member of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, the American Association of Nurserymen, the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, the American Pomological Society, the Academy of Natural Sciences, the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the American Philosophical Society. He was also an honorary member of the Royal Horticultural Society (London). He corresponded with foremost botanists William Darlington, Josiah Hoopes, William Saunders, George Engelmann, John Torrey, Asa Gray, Maxwell T. Masters, Ferdinand von Mueller, George Nicholson and Charles Darwin. Savior of Bartram's Garden Meehan was a principal in the saving of Bartram's Garden, Philadelphia, PA. Bartram's Garden is the oldest surviving botanic garden in the United States. John Bartram (1699–1777), the well-known early American botanist, explorer, and plant collector, founded the garden in September 1728 when he purchased a 102-acre (0.41 km2) farm in Kingsessing Township, Philadelphia County. Following the American Revolution, Bartram's sons John Bartram, Jr. (1743–1812) and William Bartram (1739–1823), continued the international trade in plants. They expanded the family's botanic garden and nursery business. Following his father's lead, William became an important naturalist, artist, and author in his own right. After 1812, Ann Bartram Carr (1779–1858), a daughter of John Bartram, Jr., maintained the family garden and business with her husband Colonel Robert Carr (1778–1866) and his son John Bartram Carr (1804–1839). Their commercial activities remained focused on international trade in native North American plants. Domestic demand also grew under their management. In 1850, financial difficulties led to the historic garden's sale outside of the 122 year ownership by the family to Andrew M. Eastwick (1811–1879), who preserved it as a private park for his estate. Upon Eastwick's 1879 death, the Eastwick family wished to sell the Garden which, being proximate to downtown Philadelphia and lying alongside of the Schulkill River, was at risk for development. A campaign to preserve the garden was organized by Meehan, in Philadelphia. A national campaign for funds was aided by Charles S. Sargent of the Arnold Arboretum in Boston, Massachusetts. In 1891, control of the site was turned over to the City of Philadelphia. It remains protected as a city park. Since that time, the John Bartram