36 FLOWERS THAT NEVER FADE 



exhibition room show the relations of plants 

 to each other; and the specimens in the 

 economic room show the relations of plants 

 to man. The nomenclature for the most 

 part is conservative, the scientific and com- 

 mon names and the range being given, 

 and, when necessary, the fact of cultiva- 

 tion. The object has been to keep the col- 

 lection symmetrical, so that visitors may 

 gain from it a synoptic view. The artists 

 faithfully co-operated in this plan at every 

 step, in some cases waiving their own pref- 

 ences, as, for instance, in the construction 

 of Central American orchids, which lend 

 themselves most admirably to this method 

 of representation. But this self-denial has 

 not been without its compensations, as the 

 visitor can well understand when looking 

 at such exquisite creations as the drooping, 

 bell-like, mottled yellow blossoms of the 

 meadow lily, or the fragile pink-and-gold 

 flowers of the wild rose, or the many-petaled 

 magnificence of the large creamy bloom of 

 the blue-stemmed cereus. 



Not the least attractive charm of the 

 collection is its poetical suggestiveness. 

 One is constantly coming across speci- 

 mens that are reminiscent of some strain 

 in a familiar poet. Here, for instance, is 

 Longfellow's 



