El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1918-06-13
Mysterious and
Rare Plants In
Botanic Garden
Was Originally Established
To Furnish Congressman
ButtonhoIe Bouquets.

D ELI0u OH HLN-.NNrNNu Win winch 10
I light the botanic gardens. War time
Z visitors TO the national capital al
I ways find a welcome here Benches
I shaded by tropical palms beds Of pink
I peonies and a fountain splashing in
! the center help to make the gardens
J a popular spot on a summer day. The
: click of the camera is heard on every
I side, and the ubiquitous soldier and
I his best Eirl argue as TO the advan-
Z takes Of the capitol. the famous Bar
tholdi fountain, or shrubbery for a
( background.
BartholdL sculptor OF the famous
Liberty statue in New York harbor.
modelled this fountain for the Cen
7 teuuial exposition at Philadelphia in
1876 After the exposition. the gov
eminent bought the much admired
piece Of statuary and it became one
OF the special sights OF the botanic
gardens
Washington Picked Site.
A botanic garden was included in
the original plans for the national
capital George Washington decided
on the present site, just west of the
capitol grounds, but Davy Burns. a
Scotsman. who owned the greater
part of the district. held out for hav-
ing the gardens near his cottage. As
in several other encounters with the
obstinate Mr.. Burns" Washington
in earlier times She site Of the gar
dens was the public execution ground
and that a mum Der of dangerous char
acters met their fate here.
Plans for the gardens began TO be
considered seriously some years later
by a congress with an eye 10 future
buttonhole bouquets. An appropria-
tion Of $4,000 partly drained the
swampv garden" and a fountain was
installed. But the propriety OF utiliz-
ing the public funds 20 furnish legis-
lators with floral adorument became
a subject for considerable argument.
with the result that congress became
irregular in appropriating funds for
the gardens
Gardens Widely known.
Today this beautiful spot is re-
gardede as a valuable acquisition.
Furnishing flowers TO congress has
become minor activity. and the bo-
tanic gardens are known for their
beauty. their wonderful collection Of
plants and trees, many historic asso-
Citations. and the scientific expert
meuts carried on there
In the Conservatives are queer
rare ana beautiful plants crowded to-
gether for want Of space, and breath
ing an atmosphere Of foreign lands.
There is the Hotteutot ordeal tree
from she Cape or Good Hope. Trials
Of the HOttentots are simplified by
the use OF the fruit Of this tree to test
the innocence Of the accused. As the
fruit is one of the stranEest poisons
known. a trial Of this sort IS inevita-
bly, followed by a funeral
Another plant TO be avoided is the
diffenbachia picta, better known as
the dumb cane or 'motherinlaw
plant" the sap OF which has power TO
paralyzes the tongue for eight days.
Hum ooi1t, the naturalist discovered
this plant in South America and was
speeches. for eight days after testing
it as an experiment. A negro worker
in the gardens was once persuaded 70
taste this plant by a practical joker,
and history again states that the vic
tim had TO use the sign language for
eight days following.
Real Egyptian PupyruH.
IN a fountain at the back OF the
conservatory is a clump Of Egyptian
papyrus. tall feathery grass, from
which the ancients made paper. This /
grass is also supposed TO be the kind !
of bullrush which sheltered the baby I
Noses on the river Nile.
Cedlrs Of LabanOn, date palms. and I
the crown of thOrns" are suggestive ]
Of Bible lands and history one Of 1
the best known trees Of the gardens is I
the tree OF Confucius. grown from an 4
acorn brought from the grave OF the I
Chinese scholar Twin expresses /
known as the actors trees. form 4
hig archway leading 10 the conserva- I
tory These trees were planted by I
Booth and Forest. The most beauti- /
ful tree in the gardens is a European {
horEbeam planted by Abraham Linz /
coin The trunk Of this giant tree is I
not over four feet high. and from this .
low base the branches spread 20 form I
q massive shade tree, perfect IN 4
shape.
The remarkable museum Of foreign \
plants now owned by the government \
was started in 1872 when rear ad-
miral Charles Wilkes. returning from
a southern exploration voyage,
brought with him a collection of
specimens which was given 10 the
botanic gardens George vs.. Hess. the
present superintendent instituted a
plan OF exchanging rare trees and
plants with foreign governments and
boz this way many valuable additions
have been made. though at present
The war has about cut of this source
Jf supply
Among recent acquisitions by the
exchange system are a number of
plants from the Hawaiian islands. An
interesting theory regarding Hawaiian
native flora is that Do is not natively
Hawaiian at all To is explained that
volcanic eruption. especially In early
days OF the islands. must has de-
eLlHl e4 any NAl IuE most persistent
vegetation and that most of the So
called Hawaiian plants were brought
10 the Islands by sea captains and inn
War Affects Flowers.
War is having its effect not only
On the botanic gardens, but on the
entire flower industry. Azaleas We're
procured i'm quantities from Belgium.
tulips and Eyaciuths from Holland.
lydranEeas from England. and lilies
)f the valley from Germany. Easter
lilies viii be noticeably scarce next
Easter. The main factor which pre-
vents the United States from estab-
fishing its own flower raising indus
ny is not climate nor soil, but the
cost and scarcity Of labor
One purpose Of the gardens is TO
study the economic uses OF plants and
he climates and soils in which they
nay be grown Among the distinctly
Useful plants in the conservatory are
cinnamon, bamboo, hemp, the travel
Frs tree. from which the natives OF
Madagascar obtain water. and the
.audle nut tree, the nut OF which is
Used IN Islands OF the Pacific as a
means Of illumination. School chilreu
are often brought by teachers TO see
coffee and spices growing as
D the tropics. These exhibits are
pecially arranged for them. Scent
SITS. too. come 20 study and to make
suggestions
Plants for Lawmakers.
Varied activities have not made the
botanic gardens forget their duty to-
ward congress, for whose benefit 10
'eally exists. just as the white house