Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1897-05-04
A BOTANICAL CLOCK.
Flowers 10 Indicate The Hours and
Half Hours Of the Day.
AN INTERESTING EXPERIMENT.
Planned by The Instructor OF The
Botanical Department ut the
Berkeley University.

BERKELEY, Cal, May 4.-Clock
gardens whose flowers Will tell the
time OF day is being planned bS In.
structor Ii. A. Ousterhout OF the
botanical department OF the univer.
sity. He proposes to cultivate such
garden on the university grounds, ar
ranging the plants in dial form. The
hour8 and half hours are to be indl'
Gated daily by the successive opening
and closing OF buds. Tho work OF
producing u clock garden will be
long task, as it has never been al
tempted In California before and a
great deal Of experimenting VIII be
necessary to fiud out Just what flowers
should be placed around the circle TO
indicate time. Tho garden VIII be
the only one OF the kind In the United
States.
"By getting the right varieties Of
flowers We can mark ali the hours and
some OF the hall hours throughout the
day." eaid Mr.. Ousterhout III describ-
ing the projected botanical curiosity.
"The fl wers would be arranged like u
clock and In the early morning they
varieties at different periods according
to the light anu heat. Gradually the
OPP ming Of blossoms would extend
around the circle until al night the
circle would be all in bloom.
"The first garden OF the kind ever
made was at Upsala, Sweden, by the
Botanist LInnaous. Tnere lie also one
in Paris, and efforts have been made
to cultivate them In the eastern staies.
but owing to the elements they he-e
not been very successful.
81 think the California climate is
suitable for such an experiment The
question that remains 10 be SOLVED il as
to what flowers thrive best here aud at
what time OF day the Il srent
varieties will bloom here"
MRS. RoCKEFELLER's FLORAL CLOCK.
New York, May 4.-John ID.
Rockefeller, according to report lie t.
have an extraordinary floral novelty
on the groun1s Of his country seat on
tGe Hudson, near TsIrytowr-A clock
MADE entirely OF growing hJwers
whion will tell the time OF DAY with
much accuracy. The floral clock is n
suggestion OF Mrs. Rockefeller who
ha. Tor many yeAra been an earnest
student OF Horticulture. 1t lie said that
before che was married 10 MIR. Rookie.
Teller and while he was yet book.
keeper, she WINS u teacher of botany.
There has never been a floral clock
planted in this country but the Baron
ess Burdott.Houtt hau one ami 30 did
the Duke of Westminister. The one
that 1t Is expected will be sren mp the
American Rhine Will be of home de-
sign aud the fiowers used Will be for
the most part those that grow wild
about Tsrrytown.
There are sixty.seven varieties OF
flowers that have certain hours for
opening AMI closing their petals. The
white lily opens at a. III. ana closes
at p. IN. and in the country districts
is called the "day N.Y."
The design for Mr.. Rockfellef's
clock, 1t lie said, has Just been COM
pleted by an Ohio landscape gardener
who has selected the common yellow
dsndeiion to represent the hands. The
flowers open at $50 am. ana close at
$3.50 pm. For the 9 pm. the hawk
seeu has been suggested as the best, as
1t closes at that hour. The snow
thistle, also common to the meadow,
closes Its little white flower at exactly
l pm. The best II AN. plant is from
the pasture and 10 called the COW
thistle. Ii opens at am. anu bsgins
TO close at IL, but Ia not completely
closed before noon.
From distance the clock will have
the appearance OF u flower bed, but no
one VIII ON close inspection mistake II
for anything than what II lie.