Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1890-08-13
UNIQUE COLLECTION.
Flowers Reproduced I'm Glass With Almost
Incredible Fidelity.

lON.
Flowers Reproduced I'm Glass With Almost
Incredible Fidelity
Students of botany have lately had an
opportunity to examine unique collec-
ton of glass flowers given to Harvard
College by Mrs. Ware and her daughter
as a memorial of Doctor Ware. The ex-
hibition was held in the lecture-room of
the Botanic Garden at Cambridge, and
Prof. Goodale, the director of the gar
den, was present with mis- assistants to
explain points of interest. These flow
ers were made by two Germans, father
and son, living near Dresden. and so
perfectly are all the parts of the plants
reprodu ced that it would have been easy
to believe that every beautiful blossom
ing spray lying carelessly in the show
cases had just been cut from the living
stalk.
In some cases even the root was pre-
served. There was buttercup with
half dozen blossoms and buds, plenty
of fresh green leaves, and little fibrous
rootlets to which one almost expected
the lily family seemed to spring from
6no DulD at tnP1r OaS0
Doctor Goodale took pains to send to
Germany roots and seeds of such of our
characteristic plants as are not found in
Europe, so that the artists were able to
work direct from nature In all cases.
The rendering of color in these speci-
mems is a marvel of fidelity The yell
lows, for instance, show ali the varying
tints of nature, from the faint cream of
the prickly pear, through the lemon
yellow of the cup-plant, to the gold of
the wild parsnip, and even to the rich
brown Of the French marigold. The
splendid blue of some of the salvias and
lobelias lost nothing in these glass
models, and even the rare shade of the
succory was perfectly reproduced. The
only failure in this direction was in the
cardinal flower, and even here perhaps
it was the soft velvety sheen on the
petals which one missed rather than
depth and richness of color.
In looking at the waxy clusters of the
linden tree, it seemed as if the flowers
must be heavy with sweetness, as they
are in June, and the remark of one of
the gentlemen, that bees had endeav-
ored to collect honey from some of these
specimens, did not sound like an exag-
geration.
Thus far the collection Is wonderful,
but would not have much value to
botanist, except that an Fastener is
glad to see the Western Salphium with
out being obliged to travel to Chicago,
or Northerner may like to examine
some plant which grows on the dry
plains of New Mexico, while 1t is a con-
venience to every one to study the
night-blooming oereus at any hour of
any day.
But accompanying each stalk of bios
SONS are magnified reproductions of
every part of the blossom, SO that, with
great saving of time, flower can be
as faith fully analyzed as If one were at
work upon the living specimen.
Take, for example, the wild parsnfp.
It's umbel of flowers contains perhaps
thirty or forty tiny individuals. These
are SO well copied by the artists that
the tiniest shows every curve of every
petal Now, If we were to work with
the real flower, our only chance of un-
derstanding It's structure would be to
olSS0Cb III Carefully d
microscope, and this is a long and diff
cult task Here we have before us not
only the blossom, but the carpets, and
even the oil tubes. all magnifed far be-
yond the power of an ordinary students
microscope, and always ready for ex-
animation.
Here, too, are pollen grains of some
plant--grains which are only dust to the
unaided eye-rendered, with all their
lovely markings, about the size of
cherry.
About six hundred species are repre-
sented in the collection, illustrating not
only all the families. but all the impor-
tant genera found in the flora of the
Northern United States. A thorough
study of these specimens therefore.
would enable the student to determine
at sight the family relationship of
almost any plant he might find.
Of course no one can learn botany
without studying living plants in their
own haunts, but the general relation of
plants to each other may be learned by
a comparison of such models brought
together in one room even better than
by work in the field, SO that our Ger
mans have invented an art which is Of
genuine scientific value, and are doing
something beyond the fashioning of ex-
traordinary pretty toys.
The collection will eventually be
placed In the Agassiz Museum at Cam
bridge, and will thus be open to ali
visitors to Boston.-Youth's Compan-
ion.
The NATIONS MONEY.