River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1882-08-17
JAY GoULD,s CONSERVATORY.
The Taste which a Millionaire Has
Been Able TO crafty.
Naw YORK World

JAY GOULD'S CONSERVATORY.
The Taste which a Millionaire Has
Been Able TO crafty.
New York World.
The people of Irvington had most
interesting and delightful way Of spend
! ing the Fourth, offered TO them by Mr..
Gould, whose beautiful grounds and
conservatory at Lyndehurst were
thrown open to ali visitors, under the
supervision of his manager, Mr.. Man
gold, a scientific german horticuliurist
and practical botan:st, who has con-
Quoted the Improvements on the Lyn-
dehurst property. The new conservatory
can be seen for miles up and down the
river, there being river view from the
mansion OF forty-fiye miles. The con-
servatory is 1000 feet long on the north
ern line, and thirty-two feet wide. The
Central house, containing the collection
, of ferns and palms, is eighty-seven feet
deep and eighty feet long. The east
wing, containing cracticratons, caladi-
ums and other tropical plants, is eighty
feet long and twenty-five feet wide
The west wing is of the same size,
and contains the rose houses and Crap
cries. In addition to this building there
Is rear house, $50 feet long and
eighteen feet deep, containing sections
for propagation and the orchids or air
plants. In all there are sixteen sections
There are 70, 900 feet on double thick
grass in the building, The building is
heated by steam, there being six boil
ers in the basement for this purpose.
In each section the pipes are so ar
anged that the temperature can be
fixed independently of the adjoining
sections. By this means fruits and
grapes can be insured all the year
round, as the vines can be kept in diff
ferent stage of development, so that as
the products of one section have been
exhausted those of the adjoining one
will be ready for use. In most of the
sections q troug h of water rnus the full
length of the room, thus serving the
double purpose of moistening the at
mosphere and ofsupplying the attend
auts with water for the plants. There
are already in the monster conserya-
tory over 1000 varieties of plants.
There is room for twice that number.
The gardner estimates that there are
from 5000 to 5000 plants in the con.
servatory and on the grounds. These
are the products of every cline and
every country.
But it must not be supposed that
these are all imported from their ma
tive country. Some of them are, but
the vast majority come from the
European Conservatives, and especial
ly from Belgium. There is no other
private conservatory in this country of
equal size and scope. Almost every
wealthy gentleman maintains a hot
house for flowers, but no other has I'M
dertaken to establish full collection of
plants. In Europe there are many
private Conservatives, but few which
can compete with this. A walk through
the building il enough to explain how
men spend their lives in studying one
plant or species vegetable life. There
is an infinite variety of forms and col
ors, and the senses are bewildere1 by
the luxuriance of the scene. In one
room there are are 100 varieties of
double geraniums in full bloom, max
ing a bank of color that was simply
gorgeous. One section eighty feet
long by twenty-five feet wide, is devot-
ed to roses, of which there are 400
varieties. There are 400 varieties of
palms, 800 of them from America and
100 from Asia. Some of the specimens
cost from $3.50 10 $500 each. There
are forty varieties of the pitcher
plant from Madagascar alone. There
are 100 varieties of crotons from the
Fiji and Solomon islands; 500 varieties
of plants from Central America, East
Indies and the Archipelago islands;
sixty varieties of marantas from the
Amazon river; collection of ferns from
Central and South America and the
East Indies, 800 varieties including
some exceptionally fine tree ferns; 120
varieties of gloxinea. The collection of
oracenas is the largest in the world.
There are sixty kinds of brom elias
and tillandsias.
In room artifcially moistened are
some l 200 orchids, many ofWhich are
now in bloom, taking the eye at every
turn with the weird animal forms and
the inexpressibly delicate and beauti-
full hues of their blossoms. The collec-
ton of caladiume is very large. There
are 200 varieties of camelias from ia
pan and China; 400 varieties of azaleas
and many kinds of Indian rh0doden-
dons. One or two sections are devoted
to exotic grapes. In the fruit house
luscious espalier peaches, were almost
dropping by reason of their weight
Among other interesting objects in
the open groundstwas q century plant
which had been shooting up It's tai
blossoms at rapid rate for week past
and will break into flower when it has
attained growth of twelve or fifteen
feet. The Dionoea muscipula of Car
DINA, which devours the flowers which
are so unfortunate as to enter its deli
cate throat, and the elk horn fern Of
the East Ind las, attracted the especial
attention of the visitors. The flower
garden comprises three acres and the
vegetable garden four acres. There is
also vineyard oftwo acres and large
garden containing some 400 apple trees
and 500 pear trees. In Mr.. MerriH's
time about 1850 ornamental trees
chiefly of foreign importation, were
planted, which are now in full growth