Honolulu star-bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1912-2010, 1912-08-23
shlnyo Gardens .he Pride Of smith.


Shinyo Gardens the Pride Of Smith.
Captain Stanley Smith, the jolly
commander of the Togo Kfsen Kaisha
liner Shfnyo Maru, has other attain
meTts than those Of a navigator, OF
which he is proud to boast For one
thing, he is an authority on the litera.
ture of Japan, speaks the Japanese
language fluentIy and knows the Isl.
and Kingdom like book, says the
San Francisco, Bulletin. In addition.
he is something Of an amateur botan.
list and his study of rare plants and
ferns have earned for him the title
of "The Botanical Mariner.
High up on the after end of the
Shinyo Maru's boat deck is a palm
garden, already as famous in the Pa.
cific as many of the palm courts on
land. 1t is filled with ferns and plants
of almost every description and is a
source of neyer-ending Joy to the ehor.
ticulturist. The steamship company
has made arrangements with the best.
kept gardens in Japan to keep his
palm room in perfect condition and
to provide an ever-changing success.
sion of plants that are not only Beau
tiful, but of scientific interest. From
the century-old dwarfed fir to the
rare orchids from Manila, the list of
plans is a complete one. .~..
Whenever he can steal an hour
from his cares as navigator and adj
ministrator, Captain Smith fees to
the palm garden, where he can find
rest and comfort in its quiet atmo-
sphere. He likes to inspect the big
stag-horn fern, native of the An.
tipodes and member of the orchid
family, which forms the central dec
Grafton in the room. This fern never
stops growing. AS the old growths
Gle, they decay and help to! fertilize
the succeeding shoots. The fern is
still a young plant, but in time to
come it will assume large proper
lions. Sometimes they assume enor-
nous size, and the really big ones
weigh several tons and can only be
seen in their forest home. The leaves
Of the plant are a beautiful reproduc-
ton of the horns of stag. 1t is a
hardy fern, and under the right eli
NAUTICAL conditions withstands ali
kinds of abuse.
There is also to be found an orchid
and one other rare plant, which were
presented to Captain Smith by Vice
Governor Gilbert of Manila and his
wife during the call made at the ISL
ends recently by the Shinyo Maru.
Captain Smith daily makes round
of the plants in the palm garden
when the Shinyo Maru is at sea, and
when he notes the lack of attention
to some delicate shrub he loses no
time in notifying the head gardener
Ct the fact. Some plants do not
thrive at sea as we'll as others, and
the skipper sees that these are re
placed when the ship returns to Jap
snese waters.
Tables are installed among the
palms and here the lady passengers
spend the warm afternoons at sea
playing bridge and taking tea.
The garden was a favorite spot of
Prince Waldemar of Prussia, nephew
of the German Emperor, on his vOy-
age on the Shinyo Maru from Hong.
kong to Yokohama. In a letter which
he sent to Captain Smith, with an au-
tographed photograph of himself, he
recalled the pleasant hours he spent
among the ferns and tiny trees.
Captain Smith was in the service
of the China Mutuals line for seven
teen years and has been in command
of the Shinyo since the day it went
into commission. He carries two
medals, one a decoration of the Or
der of Sacred Treasure, silver and
enameled star, set with rubies, which
was presented by the emperor for his
heroic work in landing Japanese
troops at the front during the Russo
Japanese war. The other is the regu-
lation gold war medal
Captain Smith is not carrying
troops and munitions of war these
days. and the palm garden is his