THE MODERN CEMETERY. 
41 
The Wooded Island at the World’s Fair. 
We fancy if there is any thing specially interest- 
ing that can be applied to cemetery decorations at 
the World’s Fair, it will be the treatment of what is 
rightly called the Wooded Island, the lagoons 
that surround it, and the canals, ponds and lakes in 
other parts of the ground. 
It may however be a fact that even these may 
hardly fit, the ususal environments of a cemetery, 
any more than the white palaces in such grand 
style may be ordinary building. But the nove’ty 
of treatment and ends to means and transcendent 
beauty as a whole is well worth a moments study. 
The more one takes into account what this piece 
of land was, say two years ago, and sees it as it is 
to-day the more impressed one must become with the 
general treatment as a whole. But the island is 
the principal part of what we have now in mind 
and that is most likely to be a good object lesson 
for cemetery work. The occupation of the island 
with any e.xhibits, was an afterthought principally 
through the instrumentality of Chief Thorpe, for 
some good place to show off ornamentals in the way 
of shrubs and hardy garden plants generally. 
The idea of Landscape Architect Olmsted was 
massing this whole area of some 18 acres almost as 
a natural jungle, with little to attract ordinary 
sight seers or for close inspection if at all to 
botanical students or lovers of wild wood scenery. 
It was a happy thought to combine the two, 
leaving to the land-scape department of the grounds, 
an outer edge of thickly planted shrubberry and 
water loving plants, and the center to exhibits of 
ornamental plants arranged as far as may be in a 
half natural manner into groups with lawns and 
abundance of walks interspersing them. One of the 
most noticable methods of treatment, unique in it- 
self, requiring some courage to carry out, is that 
the outer edge forming the lagoon to landward is 
treated absolutely artificially, representing stone 
abutments, heavy balustrade and parapets, with mas- 
sivevases, equidistant, with large statuary of animals 
guarding the bridges, and broad stone steps lead- 
ing down to water landings, while the opposite 
shore of the island itself, has everything of an arti- 
ficial appearance carefully excluded. 
The very shrubbery one could aver was not put 
there by the hand of man but placed there by nature 
herself The banks absolutely destitute of any set 
design, here cropping out in small patches, half wa- 
ter, half soil, vegetation springing up half in the wa- 
ter half out, indentations of water here, the reverse 
there, sometimes forming miniature islands, 
again in others large enough for the abode of water 
fowl, and even a hunter’s cabin, all totally unkempt 
so far as the gardeners art is concerned, the one 
side absolutely nature, the other as marked art, and 
yet no incongruity as a whole. 
We say advisedly it took courage to combine 
these two diametrically opposite methods on the 
same piece of water, and a water that was to have 
floating on its bosom the gay gondolas of Venice, 
with the picturesque dress of the gayer gondol er. 
Willow and other water loving p’ants spring 
directly out of the water, meeting those on par- 
tially dry land and still others on the higher main 
land, these banks of greenery form the principal 
part, the willows, alders, dogwoods, sedges and 
other water loving plants of our native flora. 
Rhododendrons, azaleas and kindred plants, a 
veritable old fashioned rose garden, with edges of 
clematis, and boundaries of sweet peas are there, 
and when the roses are past their best, masses 
of gladioli, dahlias and other plants will take their 
place. 
There also may be seen paeony beds, and pan- 
sies, canterbury bells and auriculas, Californian 
golden poppies, fox-gloves and the stately hollyhock. 
The useful phlox and masses of evening primroses, 
the wee crimson tippet flower of Bobby Burns. 
These are the smaller, then there are groups of 
shrubs of all kinds, including a picturesque Japanese 
garden and buildings on the north and opposite their 
tea gardens across the lagoon. Water fowl and electric 
launches skim the surface of the water along side the 
gay gondola. All is animated with life, and yet 
does the main island give in sailing around the most 
restful appearance of quiet nature, on the one side 
buildings in marble whiteness of colossal size — the 
other natures lovely green. The combination is fine 
in the extreme and certainly affords no end of fine 
points for everybody to look into who has any thing 
to do with laying out of grounds and surely to thore 
who are in charge of public parks, cemeteries and 
large private grounds. 
On the main Columbian and other canals, the 
treatment on the contrary is wholly artificial. In 
front of the vast art palace sloping grassy banks and 
closely shaven lawns prevail. In others excellent 
examples of terrace gardens, with monster vases of 
the simplest design, although made of staff are col- 
ored to exactly imitate terra-cotta, the green of 
the palms and yuccas that the vases are filled with 
contrast well with the white stone work beneath. 
The reddish color of the vases is every way preferable 
to any other that could be chosen. 
In this part of the horticultural display as 
in that in the horticultural building itself, there is 
plenty to admire. 
But the Nursery exhibit on Midway Plaisance 
confined to fruit trees and evergreens is a disgrace 
to the nurserymen of the country. Not ahalf dozen 
