Last Sunday 24th April we went to the Exposition Ground and were gratified to find so much of the original Fair remaining. Four of the most important buildings South of the Seine & several smaller ones, besides the Tower and the Trocadero; the grounds, fountains &c. nowhere intentionally dismantled. The season is, André says, the latest he has known and none of the applied summer decoration was in place or on display; (a few beds partly [510]planted & rather forlorn.) There were several exhibitions open, four concerts or bands of music; numerous places of refreshment; the lifts on the tower unable to keep up with the demand, so that one or two car loads were always waiting, and several thousand people on the ground and attending the concerts. This, although it was race day at Longchamps & it seemed as if all Paris was going to the races. Altogether we could form a tolerable idea of what it had been.

The “Staff” is beginning to give way; quite plainly only in some of the statuary and ornaments, where it is scaling on the surface and at points has a spongy texture, showing that it will not withstand another winter. The gravel walks in some places looked well, possibly because recently revamped; elsewhere pouched and rutty but might be made fairly satisfactory by a little surfacing & rolling. The turf rather poor—very poor by contrast with what we have seen generally in England. At a few points scalded and patchy. Nowhere fine. The concrete walks generally standing well, and satisfactory, at points the gravel walks had a surface of pebbles. This may have been a recent mending but did not appear so. It was not pleasant to the eye nor to the foot. On the whole I am more encouraged to use gravel extensively at Chicago, getting the best to be had and perhaps dressing the surface from time to time with brick ground and sifted to the size of small peas. I mean that a walk so made would, I think, compare, with reasonable care in maintenance favorably with Paris. The borders of the walks were almost everywhere guarded, and not much by the iron edging. The simplest and cheapest was a wire running at a height of about 10″ through billets of wood. And this would have been most satisfactory to the eye except that the wire was too light, and was bent. Occasionally there were instruments for tightening (as at a) but they were inadequate for such slight wire. A wire rope 1/3d of an inch thick would be much better. But at the Exposition Ground & many other places in Paris, wire work fences, corresponding in size & principle of construction with those I had got up for Washington, are used. As made here some fancy work is used. They would be as well without it. I think it will be best to use something of this sort extensively at Chicago. Something that will sell afterwards, but in sufficiently strong frames between slight iron posts. They are not obtrusive & may be strong eno to resist much pressure and be as good as new at the end.

The parapet of the main long basin seemed to me the same with that which we have had in view and right as to dimensions* 38″ high, 20 broad, ¾″ crown; of concrete. I was not pleased with the sculptural boat fountain at the head of the basin and am disposed to regret that we have a similar boat design, however different the allegory and the composition of figures. I am not satisfied with our design. It will require a tempest of foam to be agreeable—foam and spray & jets and waves, clouding the figures and all the sculpture. No one can be more disposed to respect St. Gaudens’ opinion, but I can’t think it worthy the place & the occasion. I wish it were simpler; less completely allegorical & imaginative. But I judge from the slightest sketch and tis past praying for.

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The buildings (as they now appear) have much more color and much more ornament in color, but much less in moulding & sculpture than I had supposed. They show, I think, more fitness for their purposes—seem more designed for the occasion and to be less like grand, permanent, architectural monuments than ours are to be. I question if ours are not at fault in this respect and if they are not going to look too assuming of architectural stateliness and to be overloaded with sculptural and other efforts for grandeur and grandiloquent pomp. I mean to express a doubting apprehension only. I would have been glad to see in the French buildings more intimate relation of all to one—more unity, but I presume that when there were more of them & a more general decoration of banners &c. they were more brought together than now.

I feel that the much more extended central open space with the plain grouping of all the buildgs about it of the French Exposition gives an element of architectural grandeur that in our situation must be wanting. The greater elevation of the Trocadero, adds more greatly to this; the whole when all the buildings were here & the central plaza was alive, must have been a magnificent spectacle. We shall have nothing to compare with it. Our grandeur will [512]

be divided. We may make even more impression on the whole—Taking the Lake into account, & the domes to be seen in the distance, but not as a burst or coup, especially as we break off the Lake in the outlook from the Administration Bldg. We have it in our power however to excel in picturesque effect & must make the most of that.

In the evening we returned to see the fountains illuminated. It was less showy & brilliant and much finer than I had imagined it. The best feature was the great central jet which was, considering all the rest as a base & support & appendage, magnificent. The most telling and beautiful effect was produced by variations in the play of the central jet and the surrounding subordinate features. As far as I understand what may have been contemplated in our arrangements, we are to do nothing to be compared with what I saw. And I think this is wrong. How to do anything better I do not well see. But I am inclined to think that we should provide a grand central jet. It may be high; it must be broad; thick, columnar, strenuous, and I think in some way there should be a display of a secondary and supportive character through the center of the basin from end to end. With my present understanding of them I am much dissatisfied with our plans of illumination of waters in comparison with those of the French Exposition.

André referred with animation (admiration) of the island wholly used for landscape effect, and Vilmorin said that he had seen it stated that the [513]island was to be wholly assigned to a display of Japanese gardening. Neither of them seemed prepared to understand the extent of our aquatic planting or the necessity or reason for it. It seemed at one time that they did not value any plants except as a flower-bearer. I am more than ever inclined to think that we can make this the most notable gardening feature of the Exhibition and I would spare no necessary expense or pains to secure an immense affluence of pond lilies and irises. Of the smaller Nebraska sun-flowers and of Morning Glories and other plants that will twine up and clamber out upon the rushes and cat-tails. You will understand by this time, from the results of last years’ work, what is to be hoped for in the shore planting & can judge where it can be strengthened & refined. As yet I believe in getting more & more of it; in pushing out points & pinching in bays, crowding in decorative flowering plants & creepers to twinkle & reticulate and give complexity & intricacy to the stems & blades of the great grass like plants. Among the twinkling and illuminating plants that I did not mention the other day because I cd not think of its name was the California Escholtzia which we used to see flaming the grass in Mariposa. I think that it grows easily from seed & seed may be had by the bushel.

Mr. André said, in answer to inquiries, in regard to tub-plants, that the unusually severe winter a year ago had caused a great draught on the nurseries to supply the place of those injured, and that, in consequence, plants suitable for terraces could be obtained in France only by ordering a year or two in advance.

We saw (under personal guidance of M. Vilmorin) in the storage house at the Luxembourg: fine old orange trees, and myrtle and Pittosporum used as tub plants. There were old pomegranates in tubs, looking poorly at this season. They had lost most of their leaves and seemed to be just breaking out.

M. Villemorin, with whom we breakfasted at M. André’s, told us that about once in 20 years ivy is killed to the ground in Paris, and that 50 miles further from the sea than Paris, Magnolia grandiflora and Euonomous Japonicus as well as ivy were often killed and could not be grown except with protection. He seemed to be of the opinion that the difficulty increased with distance from the sea, independently of elevation.

M. André said that we should not be able to obtain any large stock of bamboos except by ordering in advance and having them propagated to fill the order.

We saw at Dickson’s in Chester large quantities of different hollies and it is not unlikely that hollies can be obtained from him at lower rates than from Waterer; but we did not see much of the nurseries as business was suspended for Good Friday. The nurseries, however, appeared extensive and well kept, and the manager, Mr. Baily, a capable and accommodating sort of man.

M. Villemorin, who seems to be the manager of the French Horticultural exhibition for Chicago, has been puzzled by unexplained discrepancies between different official schedules of the Horticultural Department which he has received; and information in regard to exhibits has, in several cases, been [514]sent to him too late to be acted upon. For instance, he was given no definite information about exhibits of roses until late in this month, when he was informed that all exhibits of roses must be sent to Chicago by the tenth of May next. Altogether, he seemed, though courtesy prevented his making any direct statement, to be much dissatisfied with the management of the Horticultural Department, and to feel that the French exhibits would be very much lessened because of the mismanagement evident in its affairs.

He would like a plan which is complete and up to date—he has no plan of the Plaisance—and wants to be kept posted as to the general plans and those of the Horticultural Department. He cannot believe that the plans of the department are still incomplete or undetermined.

M. André also wants a plan of the whole Exposition, as soon as one may be considered final, for publication in the Revue Horticole. The plan sent to him should be one that will appear creditably as regards drawing, as well as a complete and final plan. (Better send him the best you can, soon. F.L.O.) Neither André nor Vilmorin has yet as late a drawing as the last I saw. They had a blue print of a previous edition. They had better be supplied promptly with whatever we can send them from our office hereafter. No harm in duplication.