In 1986, the fountain was restored by the Architect of 

 the Capitol in consultation with experts. After having been 

 sandblasted, the fountain was given three layers of special 

 epoxy-based coatings to protect it for many years to come. 

 The basin was leveled so that the water flowed evenly, and 

 the fountain was given new plumbing and electricity. Even- 

 tually, the Architect of the Capitol hopes to replace the light 

 fixtures with reproductions of the original gas lamps. 19 



Conservatories 



The three-hundred-foot-long Main Conservatory, begun in 

 1867 from designs by Edward Clark, the Architect of the 

 Capitol, consisted of a central dome and two wings. In 

 addition, there were ten smaller conservatories of brick and 

 wood, one of which was a lecture hall, or botanical class- 

 room capable of accommodating up to one hundred 

 students. There were also four conservatories for propagat- 

 ing plants for distribution to Members of Congress. 



Botanical Collections 



The Garden's botanical collections were arranged according 

 to a geographical distribution. Plants occupied the center 

 Conservatory. Semi-tropical plants requiring protection were 

 placed in one wing if they were found north of the equator, 

 while those indigenous to countries lying south of the equa- 

 tor were placed in the other wing. 



Occupying the center building, or rotunda, were more 

 than three hundred different kinds of majestic palms as well 

 as a wide variety of plants from Ceylon, China, India, Japan, 

 Madagascar, New Zealand, Panama, and South America. 

 The east wing was devoted primarily to the plants of the 

 islands of the South Seas, Australia, Brazil, Cape of Good 

 Hope, and New Holland. Plants in the west wing were from 

 China, Japan, and the East and West Indies. Some of these 

 plants were collected by Commodore Matthew 



19 Barbara A. Wolanin, Report From the Capitol Curator, The Capitol 

 Dome, v. 21, n. 2, May 1986, p. 8. 



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