CUVSTAL I'ALACE AT SVI;E^'1IAM. 



be roinovctl from one place to aiiotlior witliout the disuse or destruction of anv jiortioi 

 of tln'in, and that, too, at a coini>aratively Miiall cost. 



The principle upon which the Sydenham palace is constructed, appears to he yn- 

 cisely similar to tliat of the New York palace; and I thiid<, also, the system of c(jnnec- 

 tioi! hetween the i^irdere and columns ;^re the same; but 1 ani not certain whether the 

 rods, or diagonal braces of tlie buildinsjr, are secured in the same manner, which in thr 

 Sydenham palace aj)pear to be both adaptable and necessary in a building exposed as 

 it is to high winds, though not probably in the New Yoik palace in the sheltered spot 

 where it now stands. These rods or bracings are j)rovided to resist the action of tin- 

 wind, and are strong enough to bear any strain that can be brought against them. 

 They arc fitted with screwed connections and couplings, so that they can be adjusted 

 with the greatest accuracy. The roof also is difterent, being wholly, from end to end, 

 on the ridge and furrow system, though the glass here employed is much thinner an<l 

 inf«'ri<n' to that employed in the New York j)alace, being only single gla.ss, about oiic- 

 tliirteenth of an inch in thickness, or wliat is here generally called 21-ounce ghuss, that 

 is, glass weighing twenty-one ounces to tlie square foot — a quality of glass which we 

 consider very poor indeed, and liardly strong enough for common grein-house pur- 

 poses. The double Redford glass, which is now fre(piently used in the United States, 

 when it can be had of a fair equality in thickness, is far superior to the glass used in 

 tlie Sydenham palace. 



Making what we shall call a horticultural tour through the building, we feel nothing 

 but disappointment everywhere we look ; and this is the Hiore sur])rising when we 

 consider who is the horticultural director of the building, and what were the means at 

 his command. The meagre materials and bungling arrangement must at once strike 

 the observer accustomed to look upon such matters, even on a much smaller scale, 

 witli an eye to beauty and efiect, both present and prospective. But assuredly this 

 department, as it now presents itself to the visitor, making every allowance for the 

 smullness of the plants and their recent removal from other places, is neither on a ir.iv 

 with the other departments of this gigantic undertaking, nor what might be expected 

 from the celebrity of those at the head of the liorticultural department. The most 

 striking horticultural objects that present themselves to the visitor, on entering the 

 palace, are rows of Orange and Pomegranate trees, which are placed at regular dis- 

 tances along each side of the nave and transepts. These trees are for the most pai-t 

 round, stiff, and formal in their appearance ; and with their great old boxes standing 

 high, bare, and all exposed to the eye, ])roduce rather an unpleasant effect upon the 

 mind, as the thing is neither artistic nor natural ; yet, by its character and its position, 

 an attempt is clearly perceptible to make it both. This disposition of these specimens 

 may by some perhai)s be called good taste, but we are very sure there are many who 

 will take exceptions to such an arrangement. It will be remembered that these trees 

 wei-e sold on the confiscation of the Orleans property by the present government of 

 France, and they were collected by Louis Philippe from the gardens of difterent pal- 

 aces to adorn his favoiite residence at Neuilly. "When the property of the Orleans 

 family wai sold at auction, they were bought by Sir Joseph Paxton for the decora- 

 tion of the present crystal palace. Some of these Orange trees are said to be over four 

 ed years old, but are not by any means the size that such a great age w 

 ate ; but they have been subjected to that system of pruning which in France 



