804 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
iScw Scries. 141 . 
IAGNIFICENT FLORAL PIECE-HIGHT 48 FEET, WIDTH 30 FEET-PLACED IN FRONT OF THE CHANCEL OF 
TRINITY CHURCH, N. Y. CITY, SEPT. 1ST, 1858, ON THE OCCASION OF THE CELEBRATION OF 
THE SUCCESSFUL LAYING OF THE ATLANTIC CABLE. 
(Drawn and Engraved expressly for the American Agriculturist.') 
We suppose all our readers have learned from 
the general newspapers, of the Grand Celebration 
in this City, Sept. 1st, in commemoration of the 
successful laying of the Telegraphic Cable. Some 
persons have manifested a disposition to laugh at 
the enthusiasm displayed here; but in reality 
what event could happen which should occasion 
livelier emotions 1 The mind can hardly grasp 
the importance of this result, for it must be re¬ 
membered that this is the longest stretch of wire 
that i»(W -enuired t" bring the entire world, into in¬ 
stantaneous communication. This first cable, and a 
dozen others over the same bed may fail—there 
are fears of such a result, at the time of this 
writing—but that does not alter the case. The 
simple fact that a wire has been laid across the 
Atlantic, and that even a single message has been 
sent through it, settles the ■possibility of sending 
an effective current through that length of wire , and 
it remains only to find out what form of cable will 
be best adapted to endure the casualties of the 
oceanic bed- That problem will soon be solved be¬ 
yond a doubt, if it be not already done. 
We may then well rejoice and render an 
anthem of praise to God; we may with 
peculiar fervor say, “ Glory to God in the 
Highest, on Earth peace, good will tow¬ 
ards Men.” During the Celebration there 
were beautiful displays throughout the 
city, but a detailed description of them 
would be out of place here, and we will 
only allude to a single feature of the exer¬ 
cises at Trinity Church, which is peculiarly 
appropriate to these pages: We refer of 
course to the 
FLORAL DECORATIONS. 
Our engraving gives the outline and gen¬ 
eral appearance, so far as it can be done 
without colors, of the floral pillars and arch¬ 
es placed before the chancel, and facing 
the two inner double tiers of pews. The 
actual dimension of the piece must be kept 
in mind to get an idea of its magnificence. 
The width was thirty-feet , and the hight 
from the floor to the top of the cross, forty- 
eight feet. The width of each pillar was 
about l£ feet. The whole, pillars, arches, 
wreaths, cross and letters, were made up 
of flowers of various forms and hues, inter¬ 
twined with evergreen branches, leaves 
and vines, all so naturally arranged that 
they seemed to have grown there. Noth¬ 
ing of the kind that we have ever seen, or 
imagined even, could present so gorgeous 
a spectacle. Our engraving, as beautiful 
as it is, seems too tame, when we recall 
the display of colors. There were con¬ 
sumed in the preparation of this work 
some twenty wagon loads of flowers and 
plants. 
Among these Flowers were : 150 vari¬ 
eties of Roses ; 150 varieties of Dahlias ; 
50 varieties of Asters ; 50 varieties of V er- 
benas ; 25 varieties of Fuchsias ; 6 varieties 
each of Altheas, Gladiolus, Lillies, Del¬ 
phiniums, and Phloxes; from 1 to 4 varie¬ 
ties of Amaranths, Helianthus, Hydrangea, 
Gallordia, Zinnia, Targclis, Pyrelhrum, 
Salidago, Erylhrina, Rudbeckia, Rhus, Sal¬ 
via, Funkia, etc. Among the evergreens 
and plants were: Holly, Box, Juniper, 
Larch, Hemlock, Spruce, Pine, Fir, Cedar, 
and Arbor Vita. 
Much skill and taste were manifest in the 
grouping of the flowers and plants of vari¬ 
ous colors and forms to produce the most 
pleasing effect. The groundwork was 
green cloth over the wooden structure, 
which was entirely concealed. 
The quatrefoil under the upper arch, 
which appears to be unsupported was held 
in place by wires not perceptible. The 
four parts of this were designed to sym¬ 
bolize the “ Four Quarters of the World,” 
and the 5 -pointed star within, the five races 
of men. The several words in the arch 
were of different colors, that is, each word 
was made up of a variety of flowers but aU of 
the same color. The middle word, “GOD, 
however, was composed of white roses set upon 
red ones. „ , . 
The design was by Mr. Babcock, of the firm oi 
R. Upjohn & Co., Architects of Trimly Church. 
The floral arrangement was under the care of 
Andrew Reid, the well-known florist of this city 
and redounds greatly to his credit. 
We were not present at the religious services 
on the pnorning of the 1st, which were represent 
