August i6, 1893.] 



Garden and Forest. 



349 



rightly drawn that timber can be grown at least expense 

 by selecting tracts now under favorable conditions, and merely 

 aiding nature, and avoiding the great expense of much plant- 

 ing, with continued cultivation and pruning. 



Carlton, Minn. H. B. Ayres. 



The Columbian Exposition. 

 The Plant-effects in the Horticultural Building. 



THE great Horticultural Building comprises a dome area 

 from which extend, in each direction, two parallel curtains 

 or wings, which connect the dome with two end pavilions. 

 Between the curtains, on either side of the dome, is a court, 

 one of which is devoted to the California Orange-orchard, 

 already mentioned in this correspondence (page 309), and the 

 other to the German Wine Building (page 329) and Lily-tanks. 

 The dotne and the two front wings or curtams are devoted to 

 ornamental plants, while the rear wings are devoted to fruit 

 displays. The dome is 187 feet in diameter, and has an inside 

 altitude of 113 feet, while each of the curtains is 270 by 69 feet 

 in floor area. The sides and roofs of these curtains are of 

 glass, hi fact, these wings are simply gigantic greenhouses 

 of sufficient height to accommodate tall Palms and Bamboos. 

 The fioor is covered with cinders. This proves to be a very 

 poor material for the purpose, being dirty and unpleasant to 

 walk upon ; its dull color is also objectionable among plants. 

 In these great greenhouses many thousand plants are ar- 

 ranged in various fashions, a great number are in pots and 

 some are bedded out. 



There are sixteen distinct exhibits by 

 different firms and individuals, but 

 many of the displays are collective. 

 The accompanying diagram shows the 

 floor-plan of the dome and floricultural 

 curtains at this time, the shaded por- 

 tions representing the beds of plants. 



The group on the north of the dome, marked 8 in the plan, 

 is contributed by the state of New York, in which im[)ortant 

 exhibitors are the Jay Gould estate, Julius Roehrs and Prospect 

 Park. The collection is under the charge of James Dean, of Bay 

 Ridge. Perhaps the most conspicuous plants in the group, 

 which contains many fine specimens, are Ravenala Madagas- 

 cariensis or Traveltr's Tree, Seafortliia elegans, Pandanus 

 utilis, Areca lutescens and Arenga Bonnettii, from the estate 

 of Jay Gould ; IDracasna Knerkiana, from Mrs. E. Beck, and 

 good specimens of Thrinax elegans, Corypha australis, 

 Pritchardia macrocarpa. Phoenix Canariensis and P. spinosa ; 

 also an abundance of Sweet Bay (8a). As these plants occupy 

 the north side of the dome, they have been spared the ill 

 effects of the unscreened glass, and are mostly in good condi- 

 tion. Pitcher & Manda's collection of Palms on the west side 

 (9) is excellent in itself, and comprises some rare and costly 

 species, but it has suffered considerably. Palms in this group 

 worthy of special mention are a Kentia Forsteriana, twenty- 

 five feet high, and carrying sixteen good leaves ; Pritchardia 

 Pacifica, and a variegated Latania Borbonica. About 150 va- 

 rieties of Palms were originally placed in this collection. The 

 remaining portion of the dome circle is occupied by Pennsyl- 

 vania with various Palms of merit, many of which lack good 

 labels. 



The south wing contains many plants and groups of great 

 merit, and most of the arrangement is good. Pennsylvania 

 shows a long border (10, 10, 10), which begins with an admira- 

 ble collection of variegated Caladiumsopposite thedome,from 

 George W. Childs, continues through a variety of plants con- 

 tributed by Robert Craig, Henry A. 

 Dreer and others, and ends on the south 

 with a large collection of Ferns from 

 Mr. Dreer. The Pennsylvania displays 

 are in charge of Robert Craig, and they 

 are in good condition througliout. The 

 most decorative or pictorial group in the 

 building is a collection of stove-plants 



Fig-. 54. — Ground-plan showi 

 the Horticultural BuiMing 



The circular space in the centre is oc- 

 cupied by the artificial mound under 

 the dome, and the beds about it, num- 

 bered 8, 9 and 10, are level-floor groups 

 of Palms and other bold plants. The 

 most conspicuous feature of the in- 

 terior of the building is this mound, 

 and the effect of the plants massed upon 

 its flanks and summit at once arrests 

 attention. The framework of the elevation, which was designed 

 to represent a mountain, is a rough board scaffolding, beneath 

 which is a crystal cave belonging to a private person, and to 

 this an admission fee is charged. The cave itself is sufficiently 

 out of place in a horticultural building, and the exterior of it, 

 painted red, is but scantily covered by the unhappy plants 

 which are perched upon it. The elevation in no way 

 suggests a mountain and cannot fail to leave an unpleasant 

 impression upon the mind of the visitor. There has been 

 some attempt to construct rocks at intervals on this structure, 

 of painted canvas and other material, but the observer is 

 never deceived as to their character. This pile rises to the 

 height of seventy feet, and the different steps and platforms 

 are occupied by a heterogeneous mixture of plants, among 

 which are boxes of Cannas, a good variety of Palms, and a 

 crown of Ficuses. In order to cover the bare walls, evergreens 

 were cut and adjusted to the vacant spaces, and some of these, 

 dead and brown, are still in place in midsummer. The struc- 

 ture is full of ugly gaps, many of the plants are dry and sere, 

 and the whole object is a most unhappy and crest-fallen spec- 

 tacle. But, wholly aside from the poor condition of the deco- 

 ration, its design is without purpose and is bad ; it accomplishes 

 nothing more than a rude filling of the space ; it represents 

 no mountain vegetation, nor the flora of any land, nor has it 

 any artistic value. The base of this structure is greatly re- 

 lieved by excellent collections of Palms, but these are begin- 

 ning to look yellow and sickly, probably from the too intense 

 light of the unscreened glass and the great height of the roof. 



ngthe arrangement of plants in 

 at the Columbian Exposition. 



in the centre of the curtain (9), from 

 Pitcher & Manda. This group, con- 

 taining 260 specimens, include Dieffen- 

 bachias, Alocasias, Marantas and Be- 

 gonias, and it has a good setting against 

 the succeeding bed of Tree Ferns and 

 other large Ferns. A short colonnade 

 of Tree Ferns, the tallest twenty-seven 

 feet in height, comprises the centre 

 of the group, with something over one hundred varieties 

 making up the details. Opposite the low group of stove- 

 plants is a general collection of Orchids, Anthuriums, Ne- 

 penthes and other plants of this class (9), from Pitcher & 

 Manda. The Orchid display of this firm is the only one 

 of importance in the building, and includes forty-seven 

 kinds of Cypripediums, 403 plants of Cattleya Mossiie, 390 of 

 Cattleya citrina and thirty-lour of the new Cattleya Gravesiana. 

 Something over a thousand plants of Orchids have been shown 

 in this collection. 



FollawingPitcher&Mandaonthe'south is the most extensive 

 and best collection of liegonias with decorative foliage (16), 

 shown bv E. G. Hill & Co. A large collection of Cacti is shown 

 beyond this by I\Irs. Anna B. Nickels, of Laredo, Texas. The ex- 

 tremity of the curtain is occupied by a general collect ion of Palms, 

 stove-plants, Gardenias and others, shown bv Massachusetts 

 (It), Missouri (12, 12), J. C. Vaughan (13), Albert Fuchs, Chicago 

 (14), and Texas or Galveston (15). Opposite the dome, on the 

 west (9), is a large collection of Cycads from Pitcher & Manda, 

 including about thirty varieties. The south curtain presents a 

 certain continuity and progression of effect which is pleasing, 

 especially when seen from the gallery of the dome. It rises 

 gradually from the low group of stove-plants in the fore- 

 ground to the taller Ferns and Palms in the rear, and the 

 bright-colored foliage and flowers give it an air of finish which 

 is charming. 



The north curtain is much more heterogeneous in its effects. 

 It contains, however, a wonderful collection of plants, especially 



