in making hats, umbrellas and wicker work. The young shoots are used lor 

 food. 



At the extreme southern part of the Palm House flourish rubber plants 

 of several varieties. Rubber is extracted from more than a hundred species, 

 but the main supply comes from the Hevea Brasiliensis and the Ficus Elac- 

 tica, the latter being the variety gi'own extensively as a house plant. 



The Coffee Tree can be found along the west path, and climbing up 

 along the rafters of the east side of the Palm House grows the blue gum 

 tree (Eucalyptus) of Australia, now planted extensively in Southern Cali- 

 fornia. Owing to the power of its leaves to transpire great quantities of 

 water, it is extensively planted in swampy districts to remove excessive 

 moisture, especially when there are no other means of drainage. 



West of the Palm House, which takes in the entire eastern part of the 

 Conservatory, are the Exhibition House on the north and the Stove House 

 on the south. The western part of the building consists of the Economic 

 House in the middle, with the Conifer House at the northwest corner, and 

 the New Holland House at the southwest. The space surrounded by 

 these various sections is occupied by the Fern House with an aquatic dis- 

 play in the center. The Fern House, which is entered from the Palm House, 

 presents a miniatui-e landscape indoors, with lawns of Lycopedium, a la- 

 goon with tropical Water Lilies and cliffs covered with ferns, some of which, 

 like the tree ferns, belong to a large family now almost extinct, save in 

 Australia and Jamaica. Ti-opical climbers, falsely called Bread Fruit 

 Trees, climb up the roof supporters. These plants — Monostera Deleciosa — 

 produce a sweet edible fruit, not unlike the banana. The Fern House, with 

 its miniature waterfall and ai-titicial spring, proves of interest to the layman. 



The Show House to the north, as its name indicates, is a house devoted 

 to the exhibitions during the year. In the Fall is the Chrysanthemum dis- 

 play, followed by the Christmas exhibit, and later by the Easter flowers. 



During the intervals. between these different exhibits, this house, which 

 attracts more visitors than any other part of the Conservatory, is filled with 

 many kinds of flowering plants, propagated and grown for this purpose in 

 the propagating houses north of the Conservatory. 



Adjoining the Show House is the Coniter House, containing a collection 

 of sub-tropical evergreens, amid a bit of natural scenery of the sandstone 

 region. Among the collection may be found the Norfolk Pine, from Nor- 

 folk Island; the Lebanon Cedar of Bible mention, creeping jumpers from 

 Japan, and tall Pines from Florida, the Monkey Tree from Northern Africa, 

 and the Umbrella Pine from Japan. 



The next house, which has a small collection of economic plants, includ- 

 ing the Orange Tree, the Lemon, the Pomegranite, the Pepper Tree, Papaw 

 and Cocoa Plants, will be filled eventually with a complete assortment of 

 economic plants. Along the east wall is a small collection of the great 

 and interesting Cactus family. These are also of medicinal value; Agaves, 

 from which the Central Amei'icans extract an alcoholic beverage; the Fory- 

 inga of Mexico, which produces hemp; tiny Mamalaria from the arid south- 

 western United States, as well as representatives of the giant cacti of 

 our desert plains. There are the well-known night-blooming Cereus and 

 Opuntias, with their edible fruit, from Texas, also the Christman Cactus, of 

 great beauty, and the prickly Euphorbia, valuable for hedging in Western 

 Texas and Arizona. 



The New Holland House receives its name from New Holland, the pres- 

 ent Australian Island group. The first name is still used by gardeners in 

 referring to plants that come from that region. The collection is still in its 

 infancy. The bottle brush plant, with flowers like a bottle brush, is among 

 others of great interest. At present this house is filled with various plants, 

 chief among which is a collection of Crotons, presented to the West Chicago 

 Parks by Mr. H. Selfridge, formerly of Chicago, now of London, England. 

 Another interesting collection in this house is the Bromellias, a family of 

 semi-aerial plants, to which the pineapple of commerce belongs. 



Adjoining this house is the Stove House, a place for tropical plants of 

 minor growth. The construction of this house differs from the others in 

 some respects, as the exhibition shelves are of solid concrete, beneath which 

 are large water tanks, which produce the humidity required by these plants 



