90  World's  Columbian  Exposition,  etc.    { ^m-iXiS?rm* 
tunity  of  making  known  to  the  world  their  individual  natural 
resources.  They  endeavored  to  and  succeeded  well  in  many 
instances  in  so  arranging  their  products  that  it  would  strike  the 
heart  of  the  home  seekers  of  limited  means  and  the  pocket-book  of 
the  capitalist  seeking  fields  for  the  investment  of  his  superabun- 
dance. Before  closing  this  part  of  the  description  of  the  Exposition, 
reference  should  be  made  to  the  excellent  collection  of  Cacti  in  the 
Territorial  (Arizona,  Oklahoma  and  New  Mexico)  Building.  Here 
was  a  Cereus  giganteus  or  "  Sahura,"  as  it  is  called,  some  15  feet 
high,  possessing  a  cristate  top  some  4  feet  broad.  Coming  to  that 
of  Ceylon,  we  learn  that  her  "  Courts  "  were  constructed  entirely  of 
native  wood.  Here  was  the  principal  exhibit  of  her  tea,  and  much 
valuable  information  could  be  obtained  from  the  publication  of 
Ceylon  and  from  the  attendants.  In  the  Merck  Building  were  36 
wax  models  of  medicinal  plants.  A  number  of  specimens  of  opium, 
with  scarificators  and  knives  employed  in  obtaining  the  gum.  Even 
in  "Midway  Plaisance"  were  some  things  of  botanical  interest  to  be 
found.  Here  the  groves  of  orange  and  lemon  trees,  the  Samoan 
houses  and  the  Javanese  village. 
In  conclusion,  we  referred  to  the  momentary  inspiration  upon  seeing 
that  magnificent  collection  of  buildings  at  the  Columbian  Exposi- 
tion as  being  akin  to  that  when  beholding  a  young  man  upon  his 
commencement  day — surrounded  by  the  rainbow  of  promise.  This 
Exposition  which  we  have  seen  was  really  but  the  repetition  of  a 
commencement  day's  experience.  We  long  before  anticipated  a 
supreme  pleasure  as  we  thought  of  going  from  one  exhibit  to 
another,  collecting  data  and  securing  information  from  every  avail- 
able source  of  the  world  upon  botanical  matters.  In  this  we  had 
a  similar  experience  and  disappointment  to  J.  C.  Arthur,  of  Purdue 
University,  who  wrote  (Bot.  Gaz.,  Sept.,  1893)  that  "  there  is  con- 
siderable material  through  the  Exposition  of  interest  to  botanists, 
but  it  is  so  widely  separated  and  in  the  main  so  difficult  to  find, 
that  it  is  likely  to  be  largely  missed  by  those  who  would  receive 
the  most  benefit  from  the  display."  Also,  "  very  few  of  the  exhibits 
are  accompanied  by  adequate  information,  sometimes  they  are 
entirely  unlabelled,  and  as  a  rule  the  attendants,  if  they  can  be 
found,  can  add  little  if  anything."  This  was  to  be  expected,  per- 
haps, in  that  the  Exposition  was  a  general  exhibition.  The 
managers  certainly  of  the  botanical  part  evidently  did  not  appre- 
