The Washington times., 1935-10-07
IS BAY TREES
TAKE LEAVE CT
WHITEH0USE
BY EARL GOODWIN

The weather.wise around the
White House do not depend on
the squirrels to prognoSticate the
approach of winter. The squir-
rel fur takes on a tinge of lighter
gray as the frost comes on,
but, take it from Bill Reeves,
head gardener at 1900 Pennsyl'
vania Ave. N. W., the real sign
of winter at the White House
is the removal of the As bay
trees from the terrace wings.
Atop the two wings, which
Teddy Roosevelt had placed on
the two sides of the Executive
Mansion, are about As bay trees
in tubs. These trees are sensitive
to the cold; and have to hiber-
nate in the green houses down
by the Bureau of Engraving and
Printing. They will be sent
down there in a few days, and
the green boxes of geranlumS
will 60 along, too. Winter re-
sistant evergreens will take their
places,
Screens Coming Down
Those well trimmed bays came
from Holland in 1908; and cost
5000 apiece-as a well known re-
norter found out when he tried
to filch one some time ago.
Inside the house now the
screens at the windows are being
taken down; so also the awnings
outside; and when the interior
repairs are finished, the winter
drapes and rugs will be put IN
place.
Now is the time, too, that the
White House is taking in about
six cords of fine grained oak for
the many fireplaces. They used
to get this wood from ROCK
Greek Park. but the good wood
there has all been "skun out,
as the workmen say; and so
the White House has to scurry
around among the wood dealers
and get better logs.
The fires burn in the White
House, also in the Presidents
office where not only the Presi-
dent has an open fire, but also
each of his secretaries: MRS.
Hoover used to roast cnesCnuCs
and marshmallows before
White House fire upstairs.
1881 Fire Recalled
White House heat for the win
ter is a War Department prod
uct: steam is piped into the
White House from the War De
partment'S central heating plant.
Part of this steam is used Tor
direct heat and part is used to
generate heat for a hot water
plant which sends its warm ra'
diations to the upper floors.
This heating arrangement
supersedes the old hot air tlues
which were in use UP to a few
years ago; in fact the White
House office conflagration Of
Christmas, 1881, was due to de-
fective hot air flue in the office
of Walter Newton, one OF Presi'
dent Hoover's secretaries.
It used to take about $4,000
worth of coal winter to heat the
White House and they got in most
Of the coal in one unloading; coal
carts were at the White House
chutes for week dumping the
stuff in the bins.
Hot Air for 80 Years
That old hot air system with its
many flues had been in use for
possibly so years, until President
Coolidge started to replace it with
steam heat.
The flues made a grand under
ground world for huge rats. One
time in Teddy RooseVelt's day, the
Government rat catcher spent a
night in the White House cellar,
with Bill" Dupuy, Washington
magazine writer and newspaper
man. "Bill'' went in disguised as
assistant Government rat catcher.
The rat catcher had 20 or 80
English weasels which were let
into holes in the wall and pretty
soon huge gray White House rats
began to pop out the furnace door
where they were nailed by rat
terriers which broke their backs
with a shake.
Winter bathing in the White
House is going to be in swell new
style bathtubs which are part
of the PWA project of renovating
the interior of the mansion, with
new kitchens, electrical equip
ment and storage spaces. A lot
of fall work is going on around
the lawns.