116 



AKKALS OF HORTICULTURE. 



3e. The Nursery Exhibits. — The nursery exhibits 

 of the Columbian Exposition were much scattered. Some of 

 them were placed upon the island, others, from French exhib- 

 itors, about the Woman's Building, one or two were in the rear 

 of the Horticultural building, while the greater part of the 

 evergreen stock and very nearly all the fruit stock was in the 

 Midway Plaisance. Aside from the displays in the Midway, 

 there were few which could be technically called nursery exhib- 

 its or which were so entered. The most important single col- 

 lection shown as nursery stock was that of Ellwanger & Barry 

 on the island (Plots 12, 14, 15, map page 105), which was 

 devoted solely to ornamental plants. Specimen coniferous and 

 other evergreens from Waterer (shown by Fred Kelsey) were 

 shown at the south end- of the island (plot 34), and there were 

 broad-leaved evergreens entered for competition in the French 

 quarters about the Woman's Building. But the only ever- 

 greens which were shown as nursery displays were those in the 

 Midway. 



The Nursery Exhibits in the Midway Plaisance. — Near the 

 east end of the Midway Plaisance, two and a half acres, divided 

 by the street, were devoted to nursery exhibits. It was orig- 

 inally intended to devote a larger area to this industry, but, 

 owing to delay in preparing it and the disinclination of nursery- 

 men to make displays so far removed from the main part of 

 the Fair grounds, the plan was abandoned in the spring of 

 1893, and the present area was hastily put in order. The soil 

 was sandy, and none of the stock was set until May, 1893, so 

 that the exhibit was necessarily poor. The fruit tree nursery- 

 men of America were wholly unrepresented. Once it was pro- 

 posed to have American nurseries in actual operation, from the 

 raising of the seedlings to the budding and grafting and the 

 handling of marketable trees ; but the time was too short for 

 accomplishing so much, and the nurserymen were not inclined 

 to respond quickly. As it was, the nursery grounds in the 

 Plaisance were occupied chiefly by California with a citrous 

 orchard and various specimen plants, by a mixed collection 

 from Mexico, three exhibits of evergreens by Illinois and Wis- 

 consin nurserymen, and displays by five French firms. 



California filled about half the entire area. This display 

 made little attempt to show nursery stocks or methods. The 

 greater portion was an orchard of oranges, lemons and other 

 citrous fruits, and was really a mate to the small orchard in 

 the north court of the Horticultural Building (K, plan page 105). 

 Many of these trees were in bearing. Many interesting single 

 specimens of various plants were comprised in the collection. 

 Among the best was a tree of Grevillea robusta, twenty feet 



