Webster City freeman. [volume] (Webster City, Hamilton County, Iowa) 1884-1946, 1915-10-05
Enables Wor|d-Famous Botanical
Park at St. Louis to Buy
1900 Orchids Cheap.
ON PUBLIC VIEW v. P. Week
Missouri Historical Society and City
Art Museum Also to Have Special
Exhibitions October
4 to 10.

The European war has enabled
| the Missouri Botanical Gardens
| (Shaw's Garden), the foremost botani
cal park in the United States and one
Of the five foremost in the world, tC
acquire at a low price about 1,50(
orchids, which will be on public ex
hibition during the st. Louis Fall
Festivities, Oct. 4 to 10, when spe
cial guides, for the accommodation OF
visitors to the city, will be in attend
ance. Admission to the gardens is
free.
Orchid growers in the Philippines
Mexico, South American countries and
elsewhere have felt the war much the
same as have the cotton growers OF
the United States. In fact, cotton, be-
ing more necessary and less perish.
able than orchids, and strengthened
through the "Buy-a-Bale" campaign
conducted by business men of st.
Louis and other cities and the subse-
Quent financing of the cotton crop
through the efforts of group of men
led by A. L. Shapleigh, George w.
Simmons and Festus J. Wade, all of
st. Louis, has borne the handicap of
Orchid Collection Exceeds 5000.
DR.. George T. Moore, director of
Shaw's Garden, who negotiated the
purchase of the 1900 orchids, stated,
in announcing it, that, as a result of
it, people who visit the gardens dur
ing the Fall Festivities will see the
largest collection Of orchids in the
United States. This addition, he ex-
planned, increases the orchid collec-
ton to more than 5000 plants, en-
bracing about 500 species. Many Of
the snowy commercial orchids-the
cattleyas-and numerous novel forms,
including the dove orchid, the bucket
orchid and the various types Of the
slipper orchid, will be in bloom dur
ing the Yelled Prophet Week.
Orchids and PineappIes Neighbors.
A large new green house, now in
the course of construction, is being
arranged especially for the accommo.
dalton of orchids, the pineapple fam
lily and other tropical plants.
The large conservatory will have
especially attractive collections. The
Palm House, 65 feet high and otherwise
measuring 90x110 feet, houses collec-
ton of palms embracing 100 species, in.
Guiding such commercially important
forms as the date, cocoanut and sugar
palms. Other tropical plants of in
terest in this house are the bamboo,
screw pine and travellers tree.
To the south of the Palm House is
the Economic House. Here is assem-
bled heterogeneous collection of
tropical and subtropical plants, all of
which have some special economic i'm
portance. The collection contains val
liable wood, food, drug, perfume,
spice, fiber etc., yielding plants, in
Guiding coffee, tea, coacoa, patchouli,
ginger, pepper, banana, guava, mango
steen, mango, mahogany, jasmine and
cinchona plants.
Desert Conditions for Desert Plants.
The conservatory west of the Econo-
mic House is devoted to the agave and
desert plants, embracing a represen-
tative collection of succulent euphor.
bias-plants native to the arid regions
of Africa, Arabia and India-which
and display Of American desert
plants. Desert conditions as regards
water supply are maintained.
The wing north of the Palm House
is devoted to a collection of ferns, en-
bracing two hundred species of ferns
and closely related plants.
West of the Fern House is the
cycad collection, embracing thirty-five
species of this interesting group.
Banana Trees Bearing Fruit.
Another interesting collection is the
banana family, Of which eleven species
are shown in house devoted exclu-
sively to these trees, at least half of
which are in fruit in various stages.
Other houses containing collections
of more than ordinary interest are the
Epiphytic Orchid House, in which is a
large specimen of the vanilla plant,
now in blossom and bearing fruit; the
Nepenthes House, containing a collec-
ton of insectivorous plants, princi-
pally species of pitcher plants, sun
dew, venus fly-trap and the goose
flower; and the East Indian House,
containing a collection consisting prin-
cipally of aroids.
Historical and Art Exhibits.
Two other notable st. Louis insti-
tutions at which special displays will
be found during the Fall Festivities
and to each of which admission is
free, are the Jefferson Memorial
(home of the Missouri Historical So
ciety), which was erected at cost
of half a million dollars with part of
the surplus of the Louisiana Purchase
Exposition, and the City Art Museum,
which served as the Art Palace of
that exposition and contains more
than 40 galleries Of art work and a
beautiful art library that was de-
dictated but few months ago.
The changes in fashions will be
portrayed wildly at the Jefferson
Memorial, where will be exhibited
throughout Yelled Prophet Week a
collection of large, handsomely
framed photographs Of all queens of
the Yelled Prophet, each especially
posed in her queen dress, and OF the
maids Of honor of most Of the queens.
Also on exhibition there throughout
the festival week will be a complete
set of Yelled Prophet souvenirs.
The City Art Museum throughout
the week will be the scene Of two
special displays, national exhibit
Lton of selected paintings by Ameri
can artists and loan exhibition OF