The Mitchell capital. (Mitchell, Dakota [S.D.]) 1879-1918, 1905-02-17
PALM THAT IS
FIFTY FEET TALL
a Rare Plant Recently Added
to Collection in New York
Botanical Gardens
is WEN FIXED POSITION
is the FRS. to Be Planted in the Soil
All It's N~eishb.rs Being Potted
or Else Growing in Tubs
or Boxes.

New York TINS: a number OF rare
Palms were received last week by the
New York botanical gardens and were
placed on exhibition In the palm house.
the central and largest building of the
conservatory range. Most of them were
gifts from private collections. but by far
the largest Of the plants was obtained
from tia Central park conservatories by
exchange.
This palm is a fine specimen of Cocus
Plumosa, which has attained a height Of
fifty feet and threatened to push its way
through the roof of the tailest building in
the Central park range of glass houses.
1t has the honor of being the first plant
to ge given a fixed position in the garden
palm house. ell its neighbors being pot
ted or Else growing in large wooden tubs
and boxes, while this plant was long
since found to be too large and a too
vigorous grower to be 80 treated.
1t reouired seven men and a derrick to
uproot 1t from Its position in the park
conseryatories. but the gardeners OF the
botanical gardens managed to plant 1t in
the palm house without a derrick. The
uprooting. transporting and %replanting
required nearly SIX days work. The
plant is named from the plume-.ike grace
of Its great leaves. which remind one
somewhat of the more familiar Kentia
laltlI5, oSA pAS LUZ A1SN ~ VII vi
The palm was planted directly in the
soil and was surrounded with an at
~tractive bit of ~rockwork. which in turn
has baen called upon to nour.sh many
vines, begonias and more typical rock
loving plants. In Its new situation the
plant will have an opportunity to add
fully thirty feet to its height before 1t
begins to feel oppressed for space.
Two Neowashingtonia robusta palms re-
csived from c. NJ. Hyde of Greenwich.
Conn. are considered important acquisi-
tons to the garden collection. and attract
rauch attention. In shape the trunk re-
sembles a great egg. two feet or more In
diameter at the base. with great clusters
of large fan caves rising from the small
er apex on heavy stems. giving at least
ten feet spread of foliage.
Mary S. Ames presented y fine speci-
men of Acanthoriza acu,eata twenty feet
In height, its slender trunk thickly beset
with stout spike s. some of them fully ten
inches in length. This Is another of the
fan palms. the leaves more deeply fringed
than most of the varieties. Il came from
the donors Conservatives In North Eas-
top, Mass.
OF four palms presented by Geraldyn
Redmond. the most Important is the
Phoenix dactyltfera. a date palm ten feet
in height. Seven cact. among them some
hne examples of the Peruv.anus mon
stroSus' nearly SIX ret IN height, were also
included in the collection from Miss Red
mond's conservatortes at Tivoli. N. Y.
Although this cactus has been q favor
lite in private Conservatives for some
years, Very few as large speciments are
attainable. They bear handsome pink
white flowers. five inches or more across
the face. The peculiar and frequent in
,~terruption of the parallel ribs OF the plant
gives 1T the appearance of being made up
of a succession of short joints, and the
singular appearance OF the r!ant COM
mands attention at all times.