The sun., 1890-08-03
THE WHITE HOUSE CONSERVATORY
Rare and Curious Plants that Attract the
Attention OF Visitors.

| Rare and Curious Plants that Attract the
Attention OF Visitors.
| WASHINGTON. Aug. 2-Curious plants abound
| IN tho White House conservatory, and the his
| tory OF some Of them is decidedly Interesting
| to visitors who are permitted to inspect this
attachment to the Executive Mansion. Proba-
/ bly, the plant to which tho gardeners are most
attached is the big sage palm. the age OF
which is fixed at $50 years. 1t was from time
immemorial one OF tho attractions OF Washing
tons conservatory at Mount Vernon. and be-
fore his death he presented 1t to friend in
Baltimore. who made specially OF collecting
palms. Upon the death OF the Batimorean
his estate was settled, and gardener from tho
White House received the precious saRo palm.
For upward Of forty years 1t has been located
between the doors leading Into the state din
Ing room and the private corridor at the base
OF the stairway used by the family Of
the White House. and II Is usually the
first object to greet visitors going from
the mansion. One regularity noticed
about the plant is that one year it will
throw out a crown OF leaves, probably fifty or
sixty In number. and the succeeding year 1t
will content itself with Towering. When the
foliage Is full as ut present, the plant me easures
twelve feet in diameter and the trunk has o
diameter OF fourteen inches Almost at tho
base OF the big square box containing the sago
is large earthen pot from which springs
beautiful and novel cluster OF leaves known as
the Australian birds nest fern, the leaves
being from three to four feet long and attain
ing width OF six to ten inches AS Its name
implies. this fern is fsvorite with birds who
do not care to be troubled about gathering ma
terials for their nests. but fnd an agreeable
substitute already formed OF the hirsute at
tachment from which the leaves appear to
spring. In this soft hairy bed eggs are de-
posted. and when Matched the brood leaves
for other quarters and the nest only awaits an
other occupant
Several years ago Gardener P1ster received
from q friend in Brazil a rare specimen OF the
orchid family. which he treated with the atten-
hon eeGns
and he took personal charge Of it. and was
abundantly recompensed for his trouble. II
thrived remarkably under the course Of treat
Subsequently 1t was ascortained that only one
other specimen OF this lily Is owned outside Of
that BY ss KST at hSR
ward Of 5000. and the aower. which Is
unlike that Of a megnoia Rrandih ora
tho eaes are IN at
feet In diameter. Half q dozen shoots or seed:
linEs haye been taken from the parent en-, NY and
ment Botanic Garden. adjacent to the Capitol
building, on the avenue.
ton as AM, In the White House c%nservatory is
small red one. which 10 named the artillery
hs small red
dampeDed in water will cause a swelling and
bursting. the pollen popping into the air Ike
the smoke puns from o caDn'n. After all the
buds have burst the plant looks as II a fine
white snoyg had tsIIen upon = Shs s, blooms which
orchid house. which is on the west Of, tho big
Ens pan he saSes Of WhieS appear 70 have
been pasted against the walls and smoothed
out; This is the famous shingle plant, a
native Of the West Indies. and said to Doesess
diuretic qualities. Its leaves are deep green
and egg shaped. and it Justly ranks as one OF
its endency is shown to Interested spectators.
=, From South Carolina's l9wlands a contribu-
venus T fiytrap. from the fact that it first st inn Inn
the victim is dead. 1t Is formed not unlike a
which possess a remarkable fascination tor
flies. They will crawl into the so!t material
the plant closes over them. and when 1t unfods
the unwary flies fall of one side dead.
plants In those green houses. which are termed
destructive to the lives q their visitors. These
Carolina to New Jersey on the Atlantic coast.
and many OF the varieties are common in Calf
fornia. Among the insectivorous plants at the
White House probably. the rarest is the
nepentes. a native Of the East Indies and
which 10 said to contain pepsin In its nitcher-
like cells. French savants are conducting o
series Of experiments now with these plants.
found highly beneficial TO dyspeptics. Usually
the pitcher in tho nepentes is found at the end
OF the leaf and is cream color and very
pretty.
These arc but few Of the many choice floral
representatives in tho White House cons0rva-
tory and the collection is yearly growing
larger and moro valuable especially in the
orchid department under the system OF eX-