12f> 
THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA. 
It is to the glass 
department that gar- 
deners' minds usual- 
ly turn with keenest 
relish. Here their 
pn ifessional instincts 
rind their sphere of 
perhaps greatest and 
mi >st exacting test. 
There is some 12,000 
square feet of ground 
under glass, which 
consist of tw<> grap- 
eries, two peach 
houses, three melon 
houses, a chrysanthe- 
mum house, a rose 
house, palm house 
and several smaller 
houses for general 
stock. In addition 
there are the usual 
complement of pits 
and f r a m e s , bi t lr 
heated and cold. A 
system of sub-irriga- 
tion is adopted in the 
rose house and grap- 
ery, which Air. Jenkins says has given good results. 
It would be interesting and useful to hear more from him 
on this rather unusual feature of present day plant houses. 
It was more heard of and discussed at length some twelve 
or fifteen years back, and is still adopted or retained 
by some of the large growers of carnations. Of the 
decorative plants different subjects are and have been 
specialized in from time to time. Among these may 
be mentioned the beautiful chimney bellflower (Cam- 
panula pyramidalis), night-blooming Xymphaeas or 
water lilies, and the seldom seen victoria regia. Both 
indoors as well as in the open we find Sweet Peas are 
pet subjects. The rich, curious and beautiful Gloriosa 
superba, a plant well named, is cultivated more exten- 
sively than one usual!)" finds on private places. Its re- 
markable flowers are excellent for decorative work. 
The motto of the superintendent in the glass depart- 
ment, as elsewhere in his work, is to provide changes 
for his employers, something agreeable, something 
new and of interest. 
Our visit was all too brief to allow of more ample 
note taking, yet it is hoped that these few descriptive 
observations mav have served to convev some idea, how- 
A View in the Rose House, Showing 
Edwin Jenkins, Superintendent 
of the Estate. Mote tin- 
Long Stems of tin- 
Roses. 
.1 Price-Winning Collection of Vegetables Grown at 
Belief ontaine Gardens. 
ever incomplete, of Mr. Foster's garden and estate. 
There are some tine effects in the hard)- flower garden 
and in the surrounding woods, and one left Bellefontaine 
with the desire to try and revisit it 
in the not far distant future, and to 
renew acquaintance with other of its 
features more closely and at greater 
leisure — Itinerant. 
What the Grapery Looks Like When the Vines .lr, 
Bunches -Ire Shown. 
Frnit. Some Magnificent 
THE DAFFODILS. 
I wandered lonely as a cloud 
That floats "ii high o'er vale- ami hills, 
When all at once 1 ~a\v a crowd. 
A host, of golden daffodils; 
Beside the lake, beneath the trees, 
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze. 
( ontinuous as the stars that shine 
And twinkle on the Milky Way. 
They stretched in never-ending line 
Along the margin of a bay; 
Ten thousand saw I at a glance 
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance. 
The wan- beside them danced, hut they 
Outdid the sparkling waves in glee; 
A poet could not but be gay 
In such a jocund company; 
! gazed and gazed — but little thought 
What wealth the -hew to me had broughl : 
For oft, when on my couch I lie 
In vacant or in pensive mood. 
They Rash upon that inward eye 
Which is the Miss of solitude; 
And then my heart with pleasure fills 
And dances with the daffodils. 
l!v James Wliitcomb Rilev. 
