The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1900-12-10

built up on wire, for one thing, and, for
another the glass, as has been said, is
not nearly so fragile as it looks. At the
close of the Worlds fair, in Chicago,
the glass flowers which had been sent
there as a part of the Harvard exhibit
were found in a heap at one end OF the
case in which they were shown. The
case was not quite level and the plush
on which the specimens rested, constant
ly stirred, as it was, with the heavy vi
bratlonS of nearby machinery, had car
ried them gradually down the slight in
cline. But hardly any were seriously
damaged; only here and there had one
been broken, and a little cement made
the collection nearly if not quite AS
good new"
The Harvard colection-the main part
of it, that isis intended to represent as
fully as shall be possible in the lifetime
of Rudolph Blaschka, the affinities of
the principal towering plants of North
America, in the territory, particularly,
of the United States. Beginning, that is,
with the lower forms like the pine, the
collection passes in order upward
through the orchid, the cactus, the rho
dodendrOn the rose Ito name ONLY an
example here and there), to the most
highly developed plants, like the dande-
lion, the daisy, the burdock, the thistle,
and the aster. In attractiveness the
cases vary as the flowers are more or
less brilliant; but though it is desired
that the collection shall be as beautiful
and striking as may be, the scientific
progression from the lower to higher
FORMS embracing the plainest as well
as the showiest blossoms, is the object
aimed at.
The models are, of course, all 1ife-size
ranging from the humblest and smallest
field flower to such superb specimens rs
great branch Of the eucalyptus, two
and a half feet long. Each tablet, or
card, includes the Towering branch and
magnified studies of any details CT the
botanists. Usually there are three or
four of these Notwithstanding pretty
regularly the stamen and traverse and
. longitudinal sections of the ovary-and
often as many as seven or eight, where
some popularity in the structure of
other parts, as the stigma, the style, the
plant hairs, or the pollen grains, is to be
brought out.
Besides the main collection just de-
scribed, two supplementary ones have
been formed. One is in connection with
the department of economic bJtanY, and
shows the natural state of the plants
producing Indian corn. cotton, coffee,
tea, tobacco, chocolate and the like, each
model being surrounded by specimens OF
the commercial product A second col
lection illustrates the relation between
insects and plants, and is divided into
two parts-one to explain the phenom-
ena of -pollenation by insects; and
the other displaying the habits OF plants
which, like the Venus fy-trap ard the
pitcher plant, ensnare insects and de-
YOUR them as food. The examples shown
in this last section are perhaps the most
striking models in the museum.
Remarkable as the Ware collection
now is, it is to be considered as only the
beginning of the great and systematic
exhibition which Harvard will have to
show in coming years, If Rudolph
Blaschka's life is prolonged. He g now
forty-three years old, an artist possess
ing unique and unequaled process of
copying the most delicate and perishable
of natural things and a botanist of the
keenest observation and the greatest
love for his subject He has twice visited
this country to collect and study such
native plants as could not be trans
ported or grown in Europe from seed or
bulbs, going as far south as the island
of Jamaica and west to Arizona and
California. His enthusiasm for the col
lection which he has built up is IS keen
as DR.. Goodale's; and though he cannot
hope-generations would be insufficient
for the task-to make models of all even
of the better known North American
genera, it is certain that. if his life is
only spared a reasonable number of
years, the museum will possess a ccllec-
ton as representative and useful for all
purposes of exhibition as it is unique
and beautiful