(6) 



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 Agave, 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 



