The Washington times., 1895-04-07

Christ into Jerusalem nearly two thou
sand years ago.
As to the romantic side, it suggests
poor Mignon longing for the lemon trees
of the South, Heine's ice-clad pine sigh
ing for the palm of Italy, and, to some peo-
pie, it will recall the story OF Enoch Arden.
or course, Palma Sylvestra is the queen
of the Botanical Garden, who towers above
all the members of the Date Palm colony.
1t is the largest palm iE this country and,
true enough, it has love story. They
tell you at the garden that once there
were two of these ma gnificent trees there
Now there is but one, and she is widow
AS to the other one, the story goes that
it was sent TO Philadelphia, TO the Cen
tennial. and afterwards was intended TO be
kept there, but it died, leaving the present
disconsolate relic in the Botanical Garden.
Then again, they say that the other one
OF these date palm lovers is now in pos
session of the King of Belgium, and that
for all the purposes OF the loves of trees,
fruits, and flowers, they might as well be
as far apart as the poles. These two palms
grew together and lived together quite
happily in Washington for five or six
years, and then they were divided in
life. Whether the relict is a widow by
or grass widow by reason OF the absence
of her other half at the court of the
King of Belgium is not important. The
lonely palm of Washington is disconsolate,
but beautiful in her grief. she is Just now
crowned with a coronal OF spring hlos-
SONS, as If in acknowledgment of the
honor being done to the palm all the world
over to-day.
"Ah. how / wish that / had only one
of the slips from that magnificent leaf,
said a lady, pausing before this grand tree
yesterday.
And why from this one in particular"
asked a companion. Aren't all the palms
alike?"
ION, no." said the other Don't you
know that this is the wild palm that
grows on the hills of Judea and every place
in the East?"
Perhaps everybody does not know that,
but such is the fact The lady was, OF
course, thinking of Palm Sunday, and
thought what prize leaf from this date
palm would be, the tree being from the
identical stock from which the thousands
of men, women, and children plucked the
branches and waved them before them as
they marched in advnace of the Savior on
His fateful ride into Jerusalem.
To-day everywhere in he Catholic weird
church -goers are wearing aprigs Of palm,
or so-calIed palm, in memory OF that
event In Jerusalem, I'm Antioch, ana IN
Damascus, Catholic Christians will wear
emblems from the trees inst ike the one
in the Botanical Garden, but in Washing
ton and everywhere in The United States
they will wear the Florida Palmetto; but
a leaf OF the palmetto is prosaic look
ing thing when compared With Ire ma
1estic sweep, graceful curve and rich mas
sive foliage on the leaf stem OF Palma
Sylyestra. Only by boxing at these
81 fyx,r f.Dat
and transferring them 70 The hands OF the
multitude of those preceding the Savior
can one imagine the picturesquencss OF
the effect, so simply described by rev
lines in the twelfth chapter OF ST. John.
The only comparison with ,his effect is
in Macbeth where BirDam wood is de-
scribed as coming to Dunsinane to verify
the prediction of the witches ard 10 ter
rify the murderer of Duncan.
Just at this time, or at any other time.
the date palm tree above ;r'ferre;l to as
Palma Sylvestra, which IS otherwise Known
as Phoenix Sylvestris, Is worth e special
trip TO the garden. 1t stands in the center
OF the conservatory and is surrounded by
many other members Of her Tribe, each
different, each both ornamental and use
full, in their respective countries. There
is lust now in bloom also Il baby palm
with the most beautiful yellow blossoms,
which at few feet distance remind one
of mass Of yellow corals.
In this country one thinks uf date trees,
If ever, only when reminded of them by
the sticky fruit which besmears the fingers
and more or less satisfies tie Wet tern
palate. The tree from which this fruit
comes is not the tree which Las the re-
ligious and historical interest 1t is the
wild date palm that figures in the story OF
the CFucifixion.
Perhaps it is just as well to note that il
Enoch Arden sat under the date bearing
palm, as they picture him on the desert
island he did not get much shade. He would
have looked ten times better had the Ten
nysonian artist put him under a wild date
tree He would have been much cooler,
and he and the tree would have made
better group But this is only an aside.
AS a matter of fact, the chances are
that If Enoch Arden ever sat under a
palm tree it was the wild date palm
Perhaps the most interesting thing at
the garden at present is the endeavor to
grow Laodice palm from the seed.
The seed is a marvel of itself. Some peo
ple say that the seed is from the literal
tree of the garden of Eden, which is de-
scribed as the forbidden fruit. For cen
turies the curious thing, which is now
known to be the seed, was found floating
on the ocean, and nobody knew what 1t
was. It is just like two hearts Joined
together, eacn nan ABOUT lne size VI TIC
heart of child They grow it this way:
An earthen vessel about three or four feet
in height and two feet in diameter is filled
with earth and is placed on mound of
| mixed rocks and earth. The seed germi-
ates by sending down long stem, and
from this stem roots are spread out
| among the rocks, and the plants come up
| on the outside of the vessel
Another curiosity is one of the palms
| x1-itf 4, n 7 Int which first sends
it's main root and when it is firmly fixet
| by other roots it kicks up the origina
| main stay, whichcomes outabove the grounc
! and dies the death.
And the cradle palm is there, the tres
from which the negro mothers of Africa
| take the curved boat-like leaves and make