THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA. 



367 



a year, has never Iieeii niinldy and lias never reciuired 

 more tlian an occasional sweeping and another dressing 

 with >and. It is always damp and cool and agreeable lo 

 walk upon, and while it rei|uires more attention than 

 brick or concrete, its ]3ertect harmony with its \'egetative 

 surroundings more than compensates for this. In the 

 flower house, where people linger somewhat longer than 

 in the other houses, a brick walk has been laid with sand 

 foundation and sand between the bricks. This retains 

 sutTicient moisture and blends well with the various floral 

 e.xhibits. The floral house is intended to be somewhat 

 more formal than the other houses and the walks help 

 to maintain this efifect. 



In ])lanting the palm house, which is the largest of 

 the whole range, two feature^ ha\e been kept in mind. 

 ]-"irst — to keep open the vistas on both a.xes of the house, 

 and second — to have all the large specimens at a very 

 short distance from the walks. Reference to the illus- 

 trations in TiiK (i.\Ki)i':.\"KRs' Ciikoxicle. January issue, 

 will show the total absence of large specimens from the 

 open vistas and will also "-how the iirominence of the 

 taller plants near the walks. In time the canopy may be 

 formed above the vista but below it will always be open 

 and attractive. These cano])ics will also form and in- 

 deed are already forming above the walks. Labels have 

 been placed on all the prominent specimens and in every 

 case are easily read from the walk itself. These labels 

 contain general information in regard to the economic 

 use of the plants, their native habitat, common and scien- 

 tific name. It would take too luuch space to list the many 

 species of palms and other interesting plants that are in 

 this and the other houses, but they are fairl\- completely 

 listed and described in the Missouri Uotanical (.iarden 

 lUdletin for November, 19Li. 



The collection of economic plants has been treated in 

 the same manner and persons can see and examine from 

 a very short distance many of the economic plants from 

 the tropics. These have been grouped so as to show the 

 fruits, the medicinal ])lants, the fibres, the gums and 

 resins, the condiments, the perfumes and the tropical 

 woods. Tropical climbers are beginning to make their 

 apjjearance on the rafters of all the houses and add much 

 to the general appearance. The massing of plants close 

 to the walks and forming high green walls gives a trop- 

 ical aspect that is none tOi) c immon in modern green- 

 houses. .Ml the plants are [)lanted out in the ground, antl 

 this is true of every house exce])t the floral display house. 

 In this connection it might be well to add that mucli 

 care has been taken in preparing the soil for the houses. 

 .After the builders were through with the construction 

 there remained a fill of from five to twelve feet through- 

 out the range. This depression was filled entirely with 

 a soil composed of a mixture of compost and well rotted 

 manure. The compost was obtained from an accumula- 

 tion of nearly twenty years vegetable matter, refuse from 

 potting benches and emptied benches, etc. In fact it 

 contained nearly everything except stones and rock. To 

 this mixture was added a generous amount of crushed 

 bone. When finally prepared the soil had the consis- 

 tency of medium heavy loam. The houses were filled 

 by means of three dump car< on tracks. .\ mule team 

 and the aid of gravity helped materially in getting the 

 houses filled. Some 3,000 yards of soil was re(|uired for 

 the houses. The subsoil is in all cases a verv heavy clav, 

 and to insure good drainage four-inch porous drain tile 

 was laid in runs about twenty feet a])art throughout the 

 range. 



The floral display house occupies the southern wing of 

 the range, and is particularly suited for this ])urpose be- 

 cause of the excellent view that mav be obtained from 



the top of the stairway leadin.g into it from the economic 

 house. The masses of the larger flowers such as the 

 chrysanthemums, the azeleas, the rhododendrons, cinera- 

 rias and hydrangeas, ,-n-e particularly efifective from this 

 vantage point. The floral exhibits are continuous 

 throughout the winter months, and are only replaced 

 during the summer by the foliage plants such as cala- 

 diums and coleus and others, because the outside dis- 

 plays take their place. The grade of the house is flat and 

 the variation in outline and the massive effects are ob- 

 tained l)y the use of benches and stages. The house is 

 about 143 by 3^ feet and oiTers some opportunitv for 

 striking effects. 



The three hf)uses th;it have just been referred to 

 ottered n(j p;irticular ci in-tructi\-e problems, but repre- 

 sented more problems of arrangement. The fern house 

 and the cycad house, which correspond to the economic 

 and the flower house, res|.)ectively, in size and relative 

 location, were entireh- different problems. Ferns are 

 most pleasing when they may be observed from all 

 angles, but are [larticularly attractive when seen from 

 above. This eft'ect may he easily arrived at when the 

 plants are small by planting them along the walks. But 

 when the plants are large specimens of Alsophila and 

 .\ngiopteris the problem is somewhat dift'erent. There 

 is. too, the decided advantage of breaking the monoton\- 

 of the houses by sudden changes in the plantation and 

 the elevation. This may easily be eft'ected when .going 

 from one house to another, just as it is practised when 

 changing direction in outdoor planting. Much the same 

 sort of eft'ect is produced when entering the fern house 

 as is oft'ered when entering the flower house, but there is 

 a change in the type of plant. A platform with a rustic 

 bridge leading away from it over the little valley below 

 is the main feature of the house. The valley extends the 

 length of the house and the sides extend to the sills of 

 the house. The slopes are planted with nearly 200 

 species of ferns and some of these trail in the pools at 

 the bottom of the valley and in the little stream connect- 

 ing them. Immediately under the entrance to the house 

 a grotto was constructed of porous limestone rock. This 

 takes uj) little room that could be available for plants 

 but forms an ideal background for the rustic work that 

 surmounts it and for the stream that has its source near 

 it. It also forms an ideal place for the growth of many 

 ujung ferns and for a number of liverworts and mosses. 



I'rom the fern house one enters the north wing or the 

 cycad house. The same problem for the display of the 

 plants is met with here as in the fern house and is solved 

 in the same manner, i. e., by depressing the central por- 

 tion of the house and planting the sides. The use of the 

 pools and waterfalls has been continued. The arrange- 

 ment of the walks and the arrangement of the hills and 

 pools is different. Here the Japanese type has been 

 aimed at and the effect is intensified by the use of granite 

 boulders and the use of the little island and the small 

 arched stone bridges. The effect will be still further 

 increased by the addition of Japanese lanterns and tlie 

 use of stei)ping stones in the walks. The collection of 

 cycads in these houses is complete in generic representa- 

 tives and contains some very large and beautiful speci- 

 mens. The form of the house and its immense length 

 in comparison with its breadth help to intensify one of 

 the peculiar characteristics of the Japanese gardens, i. e.. 

 distance. This distance is further intensified I)y the use 

 of the taller ]5lants in the fore.ground and the use of the 

 smaller plants in the distance. The nearer hills are the 

 larger also and when the stepping stones are jjlaced the 

 larger one will also be in the foreground. 

 ( Continued oil pa^i;e 377.) 



