The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1894-03-28

The father is upward or seventy years
old but both he and his son are active
and skilled workers. For a long time
they worked in glass, making models
of sea creatures for museums and col
leges- About seven years ago they
began making the works for which
they are now SO famous, not only the
most exact reproductions IN glass OF
flowers i'll their natural size, so perfect
that the rich red cactus blossoms look
soft and velvety, and our yellow cow
slip shows its satiny sheen, and the
little white anemone trembles and
! bends on its slender stalk. but also all
the microscopes parts of the flower
almost invisible to the naked eye-op
such magnified scale that a student
may at any time study these hidden
things of the plant world without a
lens or specimen
A fine collection, known as the Ware
collection, on account of the donor, has
been placed in the University museum
at Cambridge, Mass There are about
400 flowers in natural sizes and more
than 1000 OF the microscopic parts
the case sent over TO New York suf
fered much from the Earring and care
less handling of the custom house Off
Gals. and most of the models were
shattered TO fragments The next ease
was met in New York by Harvard
professor. who guarded il successfully
from injury. The Blaschkas live near
Dresden. They have there fine col
lection of tropical plants-orchids be-
ing speciality. Rudolph Blaschka.
the son, has made several journeys ts
South America 70 obtain rare speci-
mems of these queer plants OF vivid
colors. spotted and streaked with scar
let and gold and green, or marked
with silver and gold traeeries and
powdered with copper dus.- Besides
the tropical collection there is iarg.
American garden" of what we call
weeds and wild flowers. for the
Blaschkas' handieraft shows US some
exquisite arrangements in our com
mon roadside flowers Many a pale,
insignificant weed has IN its center
lovely urns or caskets or basket-shaped
receptacles of purest crystalline tex
ture. heaped with tiny amber-eolored
or golden eggs Of the poilen-dust-
The Blaschka work il especially in
teresting and fine in its models Of the
orchids-those veIvety, huttering air
blossoms of the tropics that 80 wonder
fully mimic insect life in their strange
shapes. II was. IN fact. the exhibition
OF the golden butterfly orchid, with ia
long. anteDna-iike petals and wings,
a. II Just poised FOR fight at a London
flower show that started orchid culture
in England The spider and bee or
chids often deceive the ere a. first
glance and branch of the moth orchid,
which grows on the limestone rocks Q:
the Philippine Islands. looks like .
crowd Of dOwny, spotted moths about
to ~ away. other strange hkenesses
are found in The pure white dove and
swan orchids, the lizard orchid sud The
lynx flower Some are verita bic clowns
and testers of the forest-world. with
elongated petals like odd, waggins
lips" and tongues thrust out In de-
rision. or growing apparently on their
heads IA nidair. a. 4 engaged IN . con
tinual trapeze act Owing 10 The tns
botanical garden and greenhouses al
Cambria ge a visitor 20 the Blascn<s
work has a rare opportunity Of CON
pairing the living flowers and then
marvellous reproduction in crystailiDt
texture with each other lie viii and
that these modern glass.O-ks-s OF 10
heusia have 70: only ingenuity ane
man ipulative skill but . wonderful az.
;istie insizh. - wel-PhL@aelPals
lines