(184) 
species of the Panama hat-plant family, the most conspicu- 
ous being the Panama hat plant (Carludovica palmata), from 
the young leaves of which the costly Panama hats are made. 
Opposite the entrance to the court in this house, is a group 
of bamboos, which belong to the grass family, the most 
noteworthy of them being the Chinese bamboo (Bambusa 
vulgaris), whose stems reach into the upper part of the 
dome; this plant grows with great rapidity each year by 
new shoots which come up from under ground, our measure- 
ments showing that they reached 65 feet in height in 95 
days, a rate of about 8 inches a day. The plant has been 
introduced into the West Indies, and in places where it 
grows its stems are put to a great variety of uses in con- 
struction, for water pipes and for various utensils. 
House No. 2 also contains specimens of the palm and 
Panama hat-plant families, the smaller specimens of 
tropical species being exhibited here. The collections of 
palms now include about 175 species. 
House No. 3 contains specimens illustrating several fami- 
lies of monocotyledonous plants of tropical regions. The 
amaryllis family is represented by a number of species of 
the spider lily (Hymenocallis), bearing large white flowers, 
the commonest being Hymenocallis expansa from the sandy 
coasts of the West Indies; large plants of the genus Crinum, 
some of which have white flowers and some red or purple, 
may be seen on the middle bench, and the maguey of the 
West Indies (a spiny-leaved relative of the century plant, 
native of the West Indies, and used there for hedges), on the 
northern bench; this name maguey is also applied in parts 
of the West Indies to species of ./gave, which will be found 
in house 6. 
Numerous representatives of the dracaena family, many 
of which are used for ornamental planting in the tropics, 
are on the north bench, with a few representatives of the 
same family on the west end of the south bench. Larger 
plants of this family will be found in house 4 adjoining. 
The collection of the genus Sansevieria is also located on 
