This
translucent cover transmitted the light and sunshine necessary for the
floricultural display beneath. Stately palms, tall tree ferns in great
variety, and gorgeous specimens from the flora of almost every section,
formed an immense pyramid of shrubbery. The luxuriously growing vines
entwined their tendrils around the iron-work of the building, adding
greatly to the beauty of the panorama. This superb spectacle recalled to
memory Horace Smith's "Hymn to the Flowers." In one of its fifteen
stanzas, the poet exclaims:
"Not useless are ye, flowers, though made for pleasure,
Blooming over field and wave, by day and night:
From every source your sanction bids me treasure
Harmless Delight."
We descended a cavern, extending underneath this magnificent flower
exhibit. Our scrutinizing eyes met with quite novel features. We observed
that the grotto was lined with glistening crystals from the mammoth cave
of South Dakota. Emerging again to broad daylight, we bent our steps
southward to that portion of the building, where the silver model of the
Horticultural Hall and the miniature Capitol of the Country compelled the
admiration of the beholder.
The south pavilion encompassed the displays of viticulture.
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