Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1915-08-19
c. v. HESS RETURNS
FROM SOUTHLAND
Botanic Garden Head Guest of
Senator BrOuSSard of
Louisiana.
CONFERS WITH EXPERTS
ON PLANTS AND FLOWERS
Finds Difficult Problem Here tt
House Properly Many Valuable
Palms of Monster Size.

/ House Properly Many valuable
/ Palms of Monster Size.
George Wesley Hess. superintendent
Of the Botanic Garden, has just re-
turned from a visit at the home of
! Senator Robert +. Broussard, in Louis
| lana. where he was in consultation with
| state leaders regarding the horticul-
| tural and Horticultural development of
| that state. He is busying himself with
| the problem of how to crowd into the
already comfortably filled conserva
| tories and greenhouses of the Botanic
Garden all the plants and shrubs that
have been identifying the grounds all
| summer.
| The most obtrusive problem is how to
| house the hundreds of valuable palms
! that have lined the walk from the Sd
| street entrance to the Grant memorial
making beautiful avenue past the
famous Bartholdi fountain, through
which the Capitol can be seen. Most of
these palms are of monster size, sew
eral of them hundreds of years old and
| all very valuable. one of the largest
p! has knocked the glass out of the high
est dome of the conservatory several
| times. They must be housed, and Supt.
| Hess is trying to rearrange his glass
! houses so that there will be room for
. all even if badly crowded.
Garden Now at Its Best.
/ The Botanic Garden is now at its
| best. Tourists entering from the north
| gate on the Avenue are confronted by
two monster crotons sentinels. start
| IN,
gated foliage. Speaking of crotons, it
is an interesting fact that Robert Craig
of Philadelphia, who specalizes on this
! plant. has cultivated two new species.
| one of which he has named for Mr.
| Hess and the other for John Wanna
| maker. These specimens are soon to be
| OF display at the Botanic Garden.
! In the northwest lawn there is
huge bed of exotics, such as alligator
pears, guavas, sapadilla and paw paws.
The native paw paws which are at
home in this climate are now ripe
Corresponding to this bed, in the north
| east lawn is a plot Of towering banana
trees. Some of the leaves were cut by
the recent storm, but they are thriving
luXuriantly.
The Botanic Garden collection of
| rubber trees is very valuable and is
attracting much attention these days
because of the scarcity of rubber in
this country on account of the war.
| two varieties of trees from which most
| of the commercial rubber is obtained
| the ficus ultilus and the ficus fer
| ruginia.
Bordering one of the walks are some
large hibiscus. Mr.. Hess has secured
several new varieties from the Ha-
waiian Islands this season. He has
also added number of new orchids, so
that now he has an elaborate display
| of thirty nine varieties.
Poison Bush Viewed With Awe.
The Hottentot poison bush, known
as the ordeal tree because with it's
fruit the natives tested the guilt of
those under suspicion, is heavy in
fruit and gazed at in awe by the hun
dreds of visitors at the garden each
day.
! The monster date palms are causing
Mr.. Hess considerable perplexity. In
! this climate they need glass house
and take up SO much room that COM
mercial florists find it practically i'm
possible to grow them proftably.
| them growing along the streets, and
| since his return he and several local
florists have been considering the COM
mercial possibilities of buying land
in Louisiana and growing them there
for shipment to the northern markets
as required.
The most conspicuous adornment of
the southwest lawn of the garden is
a monster bed of various grasses, with
the giant bamboo in the center sur
| rounded by vari-colored and spiked
and tufted grasses.
Included in this showing is an unob-
trusive grass, from the root of which
is made one of the choicest colognes.
This is the veteva. Other interesting
grasses are the bullrush of the Nile in
which Moses is recorded to have been
made citronella. used to drive away
mosquitoes. and the attractive zebra
grasses. Some of these are hardy, but
many of them have to be provided with
space under glass during the winter
Gorgeous Beds Of deraniums.
Alongside the walk leading to the south
gate are two gorgeous beds of scarlet
and pink geraniums, which many flori-
culture experts have declared the most
beautiful blooms in Washington this
season.
The great hornbeam tree, very SYM
metrical in shape, planted by Abraham
Lincoln, and the cedar of Lebanon
guard the south gate and are visited by
all tourists as shrines.
Mr.. Hess has just received some new
water lilies from Pierre Won Landeghn,
superintendent of the Purdue Uniyer-
sity grounds at West Lafayette, Ind
who. was a recent visitor at the Botanic
Garden.
The stock of ferns raised for this
season by Mr. Hess is very extensive
and fills several greenhouses.
IL d