Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1893-04-29

recognized the corner in which she had for
meriy kept her piaythings. and pointed out how
the wash tubs had been set up in another
corner. with clothes lines stretched from wall
to wall. Up to 1928 the east room was used by
the wives Of the Presidents as laundry and
nursery. 1t was sufficiently spacious for both
purposes, being 80 by 40 feet There have been
plenty of changes in the establishment since
then The nation has spared no expense in
making the mansion comfortable, and since il
was first built nearly 81 200 900 has been ex-
pended for furniture and repairs. Nearly every
Presidents wife buys new set Of china and
new linen. The first President Harrison did
his own marketing. but the day for such sim
plicity has passed, and the provisions for the
White House are purchased nowadays by a
steward, whom the government pays. Mrs.
Cleveland has no vegetable garden nor orchard
from which to draw supplies for her table,
though she enjoys the use Of q small grapery
under glass which produces the finest fruit Of
Hamburg and Muscat
PRoPAGATINa WATER LILIES.
For identifying the fountains in the White
House grounds the rarest water lilies are propa-
gated in the green houses. There are blue
water lilies from Australia, purple ones from
Zanzibar, red ones from India and yellow ones
native to this country. These grown in
brick tanks filled with water being kept in pots
beneath the surface. Some of them are propa-
gated from seeds in shallow earthen saucers
overflowed with water. As the sprouts develop
they are taken out and planted separately in
the pots. Others are propagated from bulbs,
while some hardy water lilies native to this
climate are reproduced by cutting their roots
into pieces and planting the latter. From the
pots the well-developed plants are transferred
to boxes, and these are sunk in the fountains.
The famous Victoria Regia, from Brazil, is
grown by putting the seeds, which big
peas, in a tumbler of water and leaving them
to sprout. Then they are put into pots. From
tat fu-al ra saha in.
diameter are obtained. both red and white. but
they would be bigger if the water in the foun-
tains was heated.
In the tanks with the water lilies are propa-
gated several kinds of floating plants which have
no roots in the earth. They reproduce them
selves by offshoots. There are also water pop
pies. SO called because their flowers look like
real peoples, and the water snowflake with
dainty little white blossoms. Water gardening
which has hitherto been q neglected art, is at
tracing much attention nowadays. This is
fortunate, considering the immense variety of
beautiful aquatic plants which can be so
readily cultivated in any pond. To leave a
water surface in landscape bare is like per-
uniting field to go untitled that might easily
be made to bloom with loneliness This branch
of horticulture is destined to become popular
and VIII awaken interest in an extensive and
httle-known class of plants which possess an
individuality of form and beauty belonging
peculiarly to themselves. Not least remarkable
OF these water plants is the Egyptian lotus a
single seed of which thrown into pond will
soon cover its surface with the big leaves and
superb blossoms OF this vegeta1 curiosity.
VEGETABLE WHISKY SHOPS.
In the green houses attached to the White
House are many of the curious plants which
Superintendent Smith of the Botanic Garden
calls vegetable whisky shops" because their
pitchers dlstill intoxicating fluids that attract
all sorts of insects. The bugs fall into the
drink and the plant devours their su distance, as
the veritable gin mill eats up that of its human
customers. One variety catches cockroaches,
while another actually preys upon frogs, who
are unable to escape from the pitchers ac-
count of two downward projecting thorns which
impae them when they would leap out. These
receptacles hold as much half a pint each
and the contents of three or four will intoxicate
a man. They are admirably adapted to the
uses of the tropical tramp, who, while pursuing
his leisurely travels. can literally pluck his
drinks by the wayside. The gardener also
grows "hens and chickens. as the echeverIas
are commonly called, for bedding purposes in
the White House grounds They get this name
from the fact that each old plant sends out
suckers in every direction. which form new
plants surrounding the maternal one. just as
chicks assemble about the mother fowl Some
of them. however, do not send out any suckers.
1t may be that they are ROSTERS.
II she wants them Mrs. Cleveland has at her
disposal all the flowers produced at the propa-
eating gardens of Washington. These gardens
supply all the floral and plant decorations for
the east room. For this purpose alone one
huge green house is given up exclusively to
palms and other tropical and semi tropical ex-
otics. When the President gives a reception,
or other occasions of festivities these are loaded
in their pots into great closed express vans Of
the kind used for moving furniture, and are
conveyed to the Executive Mansion. Skilled
hands quickly transform the great apart
m n IN hn 81 ya,I
great height of the ceiling giving space for trees
of considerable size. Lesser trees and plants
of smaller growth bank the walls, SO that the
room is a mass of green. festoons of smilax and
quantities of the ioveliest blossoms lending deli
cacy and color to the general effect.