102 



AKSTALS OF HORTICULTURE. 



nished by Pierson. Upon either end of each of these areas 

 were two small beds of coleus and Solarium inte gri [folium (better 

 known as S. coccineuiri) and some carpet beds of alternantheras, 

 house-leeks and agaves. 



Miscellaneous Plants. — Cactus-like plants were well rep- 

 resented at the Fair, and this was a fortunate circumstance, 

 since America is the home of the cactus. A dozen great spec- 

 imens of Cereus giganteus stood in front of the Horticultural 

 Building, and others were placed with a miscellaneous collec- 

 tion of cacti in the yard of the Territorial Building occupied 

 by Arizona, Oklahoma and New Mexico. The largest collec- 

 tion of cactus-like plants was made by A. Blanc & Co., in the 

 two parterres (F, G, each 117 feet long by about 25 feet wide) 

 against the pavilions of the Horticultural Building. Mrs. 

 Anna B. Nickels made an excellent display in the south wing 

 of the building (part of area 15, plan on page 71), and the 

 Mexican Commission had a collection particularly rich in round 

 cacti, in the north wing (plot 7).* 



Upon the north of the Horticultural Building, a narrow 

 border was devoted to exhibits of various French plants, chiefly 

 clematis and gladiolus. The display of gladioluses was shown 

 by Victor Lemoine, of Nancy, and Forgeot, of Paris. Lemoine, 

 who is known to gladiolus fanciers throughout the world, 

 showed over sixty varieties, about twenty-five plants of each. 

 The place proved to be a windy location, and most of For- 

 geot's plants suffered from the storms; and Lemoine's, which 

 were tied to cords, were also injured. Yet both collections 

 passed the height of their bloom before the inclement weather 

 appeared, and they attracted much attention. Probably few 

 people, even among flower-lovers, were aware of the great 

 variety and beauty of Lemoine's types of gladioluses until they 

 saw this collection at the World's Fair. 



About the Woman's Building, to the north of the Horti- 

 cultural Building, French firms showed a variety of nursery 

 plants and specimen shrubs ; and Vilmorin, Andrieux & Co., of 

 Paris, showed beds of various annuals about the little White 

 Star Line Building, between the two. The plants in these 

 beds were pinks, coreopsis of two or three kinds, calendulas, 

 marigolds, a gaillardia called Pictamixta, snapdragons, eschsch- 

 oltzias, helichrysum, Chrysanthemum carinatum, and the like. 

 The most prominent plants about the Woman's Building were 

 the rhododendrons of Moser and Croux, which are elsewhere 

 described, small palms, and various specimen enonymuses and 



*For a fuller discussion of the cactus exhibits, see Garden and For- 

 est, vi. 429. 



