The comet. (Johnson City, Tenn.) 1884-1916, 1903-04-16
Largest Time Piece Ever Built, Designed
Entirely in Flowers is FlOracul-
tural Feature of the Louisiana
Purchase Exposition.

tirely of from contributions from the
floral world. The mechanism of the
clock is buried and the huge dial, 100
feet in diameter shows its face six
inches above the ground. The dial,
the hands, the minute hand being so
feet long and moving feet at each
move, and all of the frame is so cov-
cred with flowers as to quite conceal
any mechanical contriyances.
The numerals marking the hour are
10 feet in length and are made Of bright
colored coleus, a foliage plant that
grows dense and may be pruned with
the gardeners shears and kept symme-
trical without fear of impairing the
growth of the plant.
In circle surrounding the numerals
are collections of 12 distinct plants,
each collection being 25 feet long and
l2 feet wide Nature has ordained that
each of these plants should open its
blossom at a certain hour of the day,
and the great floral clock shows how
the laws of nature are as exact as the
mechanical laws discovered by man.
As the hands of the giant floral clock
reach the numeral naming certain
hour, the flowers in the great bed at
the back of the hour SO designated be-
gin to open their buds and to exhale
the perfume peculiar to the plant.
Still another mode of computing
time will be shown by this immense
recorder of times flight, and this is by
the primitive hour glass. On the south
side of the dial, behind the numeral
that denotes midday or midnight, is
built tower, - feet square and 1S
feet high. The tower is of wood, and
| like most of the beautiful structures
within the City of knowledge, is cov-
cred with staff. The architecture is
graceful aud ornate. The top of this
tower is surmounted with a mammoth
hour glass, made of the heaviest and
cearest crystal, with the receptacles
for holding the sand, each six feet in
length and four feet in diameter, at the
base. The hour glass is so suspended
that when the sand is spent to glass au-
tomatically reverses itself and another
hour is being told off.
Concealed in the tower is the pictur-
esque massive machinery; weighing
tons and controlling the powerful steel
shaft that extends under the center oi
the floral dial more than 80 feet dist.
ant. The powerful machinery is SC
delicately adjusted that it measures of
each second of time with as much GER.
tainty as does the most accurate ships
chronometer.
Above the hour glass is suspended {
sweet toned bell, weighing 5000 pounds
on which the hour is announced. Tht
sound waves thus created penetrate t
the extreme ends of the Exposition
grounds.
With the first sound of the bell, tn
massive and beautifully decorated
doors to the tower swing open, and th
machinery that propels the great tim
piece is exposed to the view of the pub
lie. In one minute the doors are agail
closed, and the vine covered hand
continue their never ending journey
propelled by power as incapable c
detention as the power that causes th
flower to unfold its blossom at the hou
appointed by nature, or the force c
gravity that causes the hour glass t
deplete itself in q given space of time
The entire center of the face of th
mammoth floral clock, space insid
= the circle created by the numerals, an
70 feet in diameter, is composed of a
ternanthere, foliage plant which
commonly known as "Joseph's coat,
because of its many colors. This plar
grows low and exceedingly dense an
the mottled and brightly colored fol
age completely covers the ground, bu
will never grow tall enough to b
touched by the hands as they pursu
their never ending course.
Encircling this immense bed of a
ternanthere, and separating it from th
' 15-foot floral numerals that mark th
, hour, is narrow band of centaurei
another foliage plant popularity know
as the DUSTY Miller" This specie
d of plant, beautiful silver in appear
$ ance, grows trife higher than the a
i ternanthere. The band of "Dust
: Miller" only eight inches wide, SEPT
: rates the 70-foot circular bed of alte
+, nanthere from the 10 beds of the san
d plant that surmount the space on I'll
u dial allotted to the large numerals.
g The hands of the clock are made of
}. frame work of steel, but wooden trough
- filled with soil are provided, and
these troughs myrtle, ivy and 9th
/ creeping green plants grow luxuriant
(. and completely conceal from view e
d erything but themselves.
The crowning glory of the flor
clock is the group of 12 distinct plan
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