St. Paul daily globe., 1885-07-26
LUXURIANT SUMMER HOMES.
Pierre LoriIIard,s Newport PIac
"A Boston Woman,s Fortune.

Newport Correspondence Boston Journal.
Very few people can realize the extent
and beauty as well, of course, rs the cost
of maintenance of some Of the summer
residences IN this city that are the homes of
the wealthy. vino leave their town life only
because the heat cOmpels them. and the
object of many of whom III coming here
Is to recuperate their strength and be in
readiness for the coming seasons excite
ment and gayety. The incomes of some
OF these people must be enormous or they
couldn't stand it, Take. for instance, Mr..
Pierre Lorillard of New York. His place
here is estimated TO be worth in the neigh
borhood of $500, 900. Ats per cent. that
means S24, 900 year. and for a ten weeks
occupancy that is 81, 400 a week. There is
in addition TO this the cost of Stabling. ser
wants, grounds and greenhouses, which in
some cases is enormous. The grounds of
some are made the special hobby. PaTtic-
ularly is this the case with Mrs. Gardiner
Brewer, well-knOwn society lady of Bos-
ton and this city, who with her daughter,
Miss Brewer, who is one of the most
popular of society ladies here. en-
tertain very elegantly and maintain the
reputation of their city home
for generous hospitality. In 1877 Mrs.
Brewer and Miss Brewer gave fete
champetre in aid of the Old South church of
Boston, a full account of which was
given at the time. The band of the
United States artillery diScOurSed fine
music, which is always attractive. but the
great attraction to the hundreds of fashion
able and wealthy people who fiOcked to
FinisterTe. the name of the lovely summer
home of the Brewers. was not the charming
sounds that might chance TO be heard from
the instruments of expert musicians. but
the lOvely--grand, in fact-diSplay of flowers
and tropical plants, which were the pride
of that place.
But if they were grand then. how much
more grand and costly and beautiful is the
collection that can be seen there to-day.
Mrs. Brewer and Miss Brewer have excel
lent tastes in the selection of plants and
bulbs which they desire to raise. so that,
with the assistance of an expert gardener,
they are able to Outdistance many of their
social rivals in the cultivation of hOrticul-
ture. In and around the dwelling-hOuSe
are to be seen some very costly and rare
orchids and cacti, the latter being especially
of great value. Delicate ferns and rare
palms and other tropical plants are 20 be
seen in all directions, some of the ferns
being finer in texture and weight than lace
itself. But it is in the greenhouses that
the most valuable plants are to be found.
Mrs. Brewers floral possessions are worth
scores upon scores OF thousands of dollars,
and il is stated that she has in Europe and
Central America friends who are constantly
on the alert TO seize upon anything in the
way of flowers that is new or novel. OF
the catleya orchids Mrs Brewer is undoubt-
edly the happy poSSeSSOr of the most valu
able plants i'm Newport or Boston, and il is
believed that in the number and extent of
variety of the catleya, there is but one
person of wealth whose possessions of
this kind surpaSS hers, and that is
Mr.. Erastus Corning. In his magnificent
greenhouse at Albany he has no less than
1.200 catleyas. the maket value of which
would surprise even the most dubious ores.
At this time Mrs. Brewer has in bloom a
large number of cacti. the hueS of which
are as beautiful and varied Is they are del
icate. These plants. or at least a major
ity of them. have been raised within the
greenhouse of Finisterre- Mrs. Brewer inn
ports from Europe large number of bulbs.
varying in cost from 81 to SO and
SIS. The lawn surrounding the Brewer
mansion is very extensive and is kept in
excellent condition. Some of the flower
beds are very pTettilv arranged. the devices
being unique and striking. With all these
lovely surroundings and costly horticultural
belongings, the ladies of this beautiful place
are not unmindful of their duty to the
world. 1t is sufficient to say that many
poor person can tell tale of their bounty.