Daily tobacco leaf-chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1890-1895, 1890-08-05
UNCLE SANS FLOWER GARDEN.
Rare sand Beautiful Specimens of His
Great Botanical Collection.


Rare sand Beautiful Specimens of His
Great Botanical Collection.
WASHINGTON, Aug.5 An acquisition
to the floral kingdom has been secured at
the Botanical gardens which will attract
widespread interest. A description was
recently given of some of the wonder
full plants secured by Gardener Smith,
and which were remarkable for their
ability to assimilate and digest animal
food.
Now, however, he has eclipsed all of
his previous records by adding a num-
ber Of aqueous plants of singular
beauty In quiet portion of the gar
den there are blooming in large clus-
ter number of white lilies of the ordi-
nary variety, with blue lotus flower
ON one side and u red lily on the other,
forming the NatoAaI colors. The col
lection here represented is one of the
most complete in existence, as MIR.
Smith has been indeiatigable i'll his
efforts to stock his pond.
Seen at midday, or between the hours
of in the morning and in the after
noon, the pond has nothing on exhibi-
ton but closed buds and broad, fiat
leaves: but seen i'll the early morning
light spectacle of unparalleled beauty
is revealed. Each plant has from a
dozen to twenty flowers in bloom at one
time, and the broad masses of color
seem to ill completely the not very
large basin Of the tountain.
Inc plants shown here are not all
pure varieties, there being many hy-
Diias among thesn There is, however,
among the plants shown handsome
specimen of the Egyptian lotus, the con-
Ventional form OF which has been seen
i'll thousands of repetitions since it was
first used as decorative form by the
dwellels along the Nile. The huge pur-
pllsh white blossoms rising in stately
dignity from the mass of broad green
leaves as though conscious Of then un-
tarnished pedigree, bring to mind Ten
nyson pUein, he Lotus Eaters, and
the story of the sailors who forgot home
and fIlonus after tasting the lotus bud,
seems to be reality rather than tic-
ton.
one can easily imagine the long
stemmed plant watered by the softly
flowing waters of Ine Nile, and the large
blossoms outlined against the Egyptian
landscape, There are a number OF hy-
brds III the pond, among them being Il
huge blossom some twelve inches across
OF d beautiful pink which has, to use the
expression Of the gardener, "some of the
blood of the lotus.
In tact, the crossing of the species
seems 10 improve the lotus, for in every
case OF his sort the result is seen in
far more handsome flower. Besides the
lotus and pond lily mentioned there is a
huge white blossom from Sierra Leone,
several varieties from Sweden, one from
Norway, several from Switzerland, one
from France and hybrids produced by
Gardener Smith or secured by him from
utner botanists.
The most beautiful epacimen of the
water lily to be seen in this pond, how
ever, is IL little dwarf flower from
Greece. 1t is scarcely larger than a cop
per penny, and, being as perfectly
formed as It's larger brethren, it CLEANS
out i'll its waxen purity from the green
base Of leaves in such perfect beauty
as to elicit the admiration of all who
see it.
The raising of pond lilies is
quite difficult, and they are tenderly
va NNi IOA III a. lIiO COlU
The tank i'll which they ale
raj ed is large enough to contain all the
pots necessary for holding the seed or
roots, and is kept ut IA constant te1npela-
tUrU.
The lilies can be raised either from
the seed or the root, and rapidly mature
when once started. In the tank where
the specimens now on exhibition were
raised were shown several specimens Of
a very peculiar plant that grows on the
surface of the water without other sup
port, floating about from place to place,
and deriving all its nourishment from
the water.
Out in the northern field of the gar
dens, in the bosom of the magnificent
Bartholdi fountain, Gardener Smith has
an exhibition display of his pond pets
and here are the National color5 re-
peated in every shape of water lily and
lotus.
The beautiful statue of Bartholdi rises
from the mass of color in the oasin of
the fountain as though instinct with
life, and over all floats thin mist Of
water. Next year Mr.. Smith intends to
raise the Victoria legini. IA white water
lily with leaf seven feet in diameter
and bios jom fifteen inches across.