TREES AND FLOWERS IN THE UNITED STATES 



BOTANIC GARDEN 



By R. W. Shufeldt 



(Photographs by the official photographer and the author.) 



ONE of the most interesting places to visit in Wash- 

 ington is the United States Botanic Garden, and to 

 do this with profit, one should select a time when the ma- 

 jority of the trees and plants are at their best with re- 

 spect to leafage and flowers. Early in May is a very 

 good time ; and one who has never seen this reservation, 

 with its beautiful conservatories and spacious grounds, 

 most assuredly has something well worth the while to 

 look forward to and to enjoy. Foresters especially should 

 be interested in making such a visit, as not only are there 

 many American trees to examine and study, but a great 

 many foreign ones as well, which are not likely to be seen 

 anywhere else except in their native habitats. This ap- 

 plies, too, to a host of plants, cacti, flowers, and so on, 

 in which many foresters are likewise interested and en- 

 joy studying. 



From various points of view, the grounds of the Bot- 



anic Garden present a great many attractive vistas, and 

 in Figure 1 we have an example of these, taken in mid- 

 summer, when the famous Bartholdi Fountain was in full 

 play. This fountain is by Augusti Bartholdi, the sculp- 

 tor, and holds a position north of the main conservatory. 

 At the close of the Philadelphia Centennial in 1878, 

 Congress purchased this fountain, and it constitutes one of 

 the attractions of the city's reservations. A published 

 description of it says that "it has a marble basin ninety- 

 three feet in diameter, surmounted with nine main jets, 

 which have been recently wired for electricity. The foun- 

 tain is supplied from the Aqueduct, and throws its highest 

 stream to an altitude of sixty-five feet. Spaced in the 

 basin are numerous fancy sprays. This fountain in full 

 play presents a beautiful effect, especially when reflect- 

 ing the rays of the sun." 



Many Washingtonians and others have seen this Bar- 



THE BARTHOLDI FOUNTAIN IN THE UNITED STATES BOTANIC GARDEN 



Fig. 1,-During a severe winter some years ago the basin above the three female figures, lit by over a dozen electric lights, was 

 magnificently hung with scores of icicles of all sizes. It is said that hundreds of cameras recorded the extraordmary sight. 



