1J8 



The Weekly Florists' Review. 



JULY 6, 1899. 



Hemlock Grove and Cascade, New York Botanical Gardens, Bronx Park, New York. 



greenhouses in the country are in 

 course of construction, and will be 

 finished in the autumn. These cover 

 a frontage of 500 feet, the side wings 

 210 feet, and number 13 houses cov- 

 ering 45,000 square feet. The central 

 structure is circular, 100 feet in diame- 

 ter, and about 90 feet in height The 

 whole is of iron, glass and stone, and 



is being built on the most approved 

 plans with every modern appliance. 

 The power house is ingeniously hidden 

 near the railroad tracks, over 600 feet 

 away. The greenhouses will be very 

 capacious and will be divided into 

 sections, each being devoted to special 

 features of plant life. All of these 

 buildings are on high ground and are 



very imposing, beautiful in conception 

 and practical in every detail. 



Just a little beyond is a charming 

 vale covering 10 acres; it is skirted 

 with natural rock and woodland scen- 

 ery. In this vale the principal herba- 

 ceaus gardens are planted. The plant 

 beds are of different sizes and each 

 family is by itself. In the center an 

 irregular sized winding dyke is plant- 

 ed with aquatics and along its banks 

 are the marsh loving plants. The gen- 

 eral arrangement of this herbaceous 

 section is most effective. There is no 

 formality outlined by walks, the grass 

 is kept cut and visitors are allowed 

 to roam where they please. The wild 

 flora is grouped and planted in posi- 

 tions peculiar to each; there is some- 

 thing new and of interest to the stu- 

 dent to be found here every day. Over 

 1.000 species and varieties of plants 

 are here already, and every day adds 

 its quota from some part of the world. 

 The grounds occupied by the Botan- 

 ical Gardens are not only most pic- 

 turesque, but are admirably adapted 

 for all manner and form of plant life. 

 There are woodlands and glens, 

 marshes and rivers, and the section of 

 the forest known as the Hemlock 

 Grove is beyond doubt one of the 

 prettiest spots in America! Here all 

 is quiet, except for the musical splash 

 of the waters as they flash and foam 

 over rocks, or the gossipy chatter of 

 birds up in the trees. Walking here 

 one can readily imagine himself a 

 thousand miles away from the city's 

 great ceaseless hum of commercial ac- 

 tivity. This grove of hemlocks con- 

 tains the largest specimens we have 

 in New York; they are grand, and it 

 is a pleasure to know they will form 

 a part of what is destined to be the 

 principal Botanical Gardens of this 

 continent. 



'Tis true one seldoms hears of what 

 is being accomplished here; every- 

 thing is unostentatiously done, and 

 the men who are doing it represent, 

 one may say, the past and the future. 

 Dr. N. L. Britton is the Direetor-in- 

 Chief, and is one of the greatest bo- 

 tanists known. When we consider 

 this man with all his knowledge and 

 responsibilities, his genial manner, 

 and ever readiness to discuss plants 

 witli the most humble; a man who 

 does not shut himself in a glass case, 

 but can be found communing with his 

 pets out in the grounds, and will walk 

 miles to show you some little gem, 

 we feel ashamed to even contrast him 

 with some of the frozen tin gods we 

 have been unfortunate enough to have 

 met. Often we hear things said about 

 the ignorance, botanically, of the av- 

 erage gardener or florist. There is lit- 

 tle or no inducement offered them to 

 study botany; the austere self-superi- 

 ority of those in charge of governmen- 

 tal schools is sufficient to witheT any 

 inclination to study. This is not the 

 case with Dr. Britton; every gardener 

 or florist is more than welcome, and 

 he is made to feel at home and looked 

 upon with the rest as a student of 

 nature. 



