Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1884-11-20
BOTANICAL GARDEN.


Editors Reporter The Berlin b.
tanical Garden is one of the finest and
richest of its kind in Europe. 1t
contains $4,000 kinds of trees, shrubs
and plants from all parts of the known
world. In the months of August and
September it is an object OF rare
attraction. For the botanist, the
lover Of flowers and growing nature,
it is the garden CT Eden, the paradise
of plants in contracted world. Here
are gathered all the rare plants and
flowers from far off lands, from sunny
tropics and burning deserts, from the
watery world and mountains, and from
the frozen north comes those curious
products of natures work and are
here placed as near as possible in the
same condition as where they grew.
These conditions are temperature, soil
and water. The garden is extensively
large and would require many weeks to
examine all the plants. 1t is golden
privilege to walk through such vast
collection without cost and view the
vegetable world pushed together
These from tropics requiring housed
heat are planted in various sized YES
sells and set in the open air in summer.
Thus you can walk through parts of
the garden and see oval groups from
various parts of the world. Each
group gives forth its peculiar oder
from the evaporation of its growing
products. The larger shrubs are put
In the middle of the oval and the
smaller taper toward the edge. Here
. group from south, hot Asia giving
out q rank, luxurious smell from it's
large quick growing leaves, There a
group from the Fast Indies giving
forth a still ranker oder from still
larger leaves. Yonder groups from
Norway, North Siberia with little
small leaves giving scarcely any smell
at all. It is a grand school in which
to study botany and the laws of vege
table growth. We see wonderful laws
among those plants which preserve
their identy. A palm never becomes
a lily nor lily palm. 1000's of
years ago men studied the lily and it
is the same, lily yet, it has not
turned into violet, or a squash. Like
produces its like under similar circum-
stances. Yet, vegetation changes
according to environments i. 9. accord
ing to soil, temperature and sun light.
The different kind of plants reproduce
and continue their existence through
evolving and eorrelating forces. The
groups of plants and shrubs from
Norway, Siberia and high northern
ATTITUDES, where the sun shines more
than II hours out of "a, have very
pronounced dark green color. Also
those flowers do not sleep as much as
southern flowers and therefore the sun
shines longer on them. This dark
green color is due to the suns rays.
Again groups of plants from deep
forests, north sides of mountains, and
water plants have pale white color
like potato stalk grown in the cellar
This paleness is due to lack of suns
rays. Those plants, such as vines
which could not get to the sun light
are provided with tendrils, climbers
so they can follow the sun.
Here is also an opportune place to
observe the various kind and uses OF
leaves. A leaf is branch modified,
changed to suit the purpose and design
of the plant. In the groups of
cactuses seme are 10 feet high and the
branches are simply made of one thick
leaf growing on the end of the others
It can thus live in long dry and hot.
seasons In the group of century
plants the leaves are several inches
thick and serve to store up food. By
the way one has just blossomed. 1t
sent up long central stalk about s
feet high and the seed is contained in
berries clustered round the upper end
of the stalk The berries, about 100,
are similar in size and color to goose