Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 50.djvu/692

672 it shows the way in which, the flowers and fruit grow from the old wood instead of from the young twigs. From a section of woody trunk or branch, perhaps two inches in diameter, spring the delicate pinkish flowers on their threadlike crimson pedicels. They grow in clusters of three to six, and the effect of these little galaxies of pale stars against the dark background of bark is very charming. The model shows, too, a spray of the glossy green leaves, and one of the ripened orange-colored fruits. Photographs beside it give an excellent idea of the growth of the plant in Central America and Jamaica, and accompanying the prepared products are printed slips containing the desired information—as, for instance, that "chocolate consists of the roasted seeds of the cacao freed from their shells," or that "cocoa is made from the roasted seeds freed not only from the shells but from the excess of oil." Here, in the glass jars, are many varieties of the cocoa seeds and of chocolate pods preserved in alcohol. Here, too, we find both raw and roasted cocoa from Trinidad and Carácas, from Santo Domingo and from Ceylon, from Surinam and from Bahia. Among the finished products are cocoa shells and breakfast cocoa, chocolate of all grades, and cocoa butter.

This slender stalk of blue-flowered flax seems a fragile wand to wield such widespread power until we study its manifold products and comprehend its range. Contributions have come from all lands, from Friesland to China, and we see them in all stages of manufacture. With the model of the cotton plant are some seed capsules from one of the Southern States; and here we find a set of the standard types of cotton arranged in boxes and presented by the Classification Committee of the New York Cotton Exchange.

In the larger room the flowers are arranged in close accordance with the accepted synopsis of orders. Of course, in following this method of classifying the models, little attention could be paid to the juxtaposition of colors, yet at the same time one is impressed by the admirable harmony of these kaleidoscopic tints.

This harmony may be in a measure due to the large proportion of white flowers, as well as to the perfection of color and texture shown in the foliage.

The shades of red rank next the white flowers in number, then come the yellows, and last of all the blues, with their gradations of purple, lilac, and lavender. The distribution of color seems to bear no relation to the conditions of climate or of soil, though we find that certain species grown in the German garden of the Blaschkas have deviated slightly from the colors which the same flowers wear in our own fields and forests; the Mayflower (Epigæa), for instance, seems paler and less vigorous and the wild geranium of a more intense shade than with us; but we may be