THE BLASCHKA FLOWER MODELS, 671 



or leaves of a single plant are exactly the same, so in the glass 

 reproduction every infinitesimal variation is rendered with a 

 fidelity which is almost painful. A distinguished local botanist 

 has made a test of this accuracy by selecting at random a num- 

 ber of specimens from various orders and submitting them to the 

 lens. In one of these examples, that of Aralia spinosa, L., he 

 counted nearly eight thousand buds and flowers, some of the 

 former so small as to be indistinguishable to the naked eye, 

 while every flower was yet found to be complete even to the 

 number of petals and stamens. The same exactness is shown in 

 the large compound leaf of this plant, even in the under surfaces, 

 which are hidden from the eye of the observer by being turned 

 toward the cardboard on which it rests. The result, as may be 

 imagined, is simply unequaled, and one hardly knows whether 

 to give the greater credit to the genius which inspired such 

 work, or to the conscience and patience which have made its 

 execution possible. Let us linger before one or two of the ob- 

 ject lessons taught in the economic room. One of the most com- 

 plete studies is that of the Indian corn {Zea mays). Here we find, 

 first, the glass model, a stalk of corn from two to three feet in 

 length, showing the long, wavy-margined leaves, the tasseled 

 flowers, and the developed ear in its infolding wrappings of husk 

 and with its delicate plume of " silk." The magnified details in 

 this instance give a single flower, a stamen, and a single grain of 

 maize in its development from the flower. On a shelf above the 

 models, but still in the same case, are displayed dried ears of ripe 

 corn of all sizes and varieties, from the tiny pop corn to the largest 

 and most highly cultivated product of the market garden. 



Next these are arranged glass jars containing the articles of 

 commerce prepared from corn : here are corn meal, hominy, bran 

 and cattle feed, corn oil and oil cake, starch in all its forms, climax 

 sugar, anhydrous sugar and caramel, American and British gum, 

 dextrin, mucilage, and whisky. 



A beautiful specimen is that of the nutmeg {Myristicafragrans), 

 one spray of which gives the amber-tinted flowers in their small, 

 axillary clusters, while another branch shows the ripened fruit. 

 There is also in glass a thin section or slice, showing the nut in 

 its surrounding aril which forms the mace of commerce, and the 

 enveloping husk outside this again. 



A number of small, open boxes hold various kinds of nutmegs, 

 some from India, some from Java, and there is even a wooden nut- 

 meg to complete the collection ! 



The exhibit which seems to awaken perhaps the most popular 

 interest (at least among the children, who visit the museum in 

 throngs) is that of the chocolate tree [Theohroma cacao). The 

 beautiful glass reproduction is interesting enough in itself, as 



