. Thirty years in Washington; or, Life and scenes in our national capital. Portraying the wonderfuloperations in all the great departments, and describing every important function of our national go vernment ... With sketches of the presidents and their wives ... from Washington's to Roosevelt's administration . areused about 2,000 azalea blossoms, 800 carnations, 300 roses,300 tulips, 900 hyacinths, 400 lilies of the valley, 200bouvardias, 100 sprays of asparagus fern, forty headsof poinsettia, and 200 small ferns. Only a portion of thesedecorations come from the White House conservatory. Inw
. Thirty years in Washington; or, Life and scenes in our national capital. Portraying the wonderfuloperations in all the great departments, and describing every important function of our national go vernment ... With sketches of the presidents and their wives ... from Washington's to Roosevelt's administration . areused about 2,000 azalea blossoms, 800 carnations, 300 roses,300 tulips, 900 hyacinths, 400 lilies of the valley, 200bouvardias, 100 sprays of asparagus fern, forty headsof poinsettia, and 200 small ferns. Only a portion of thesedecorations come from the White House conservatory. Inwinter most of them are brought in heated vans fromthe propagating gardens, which are in the charge of theSuperintendent of Public Buildings and Grounds, andwho by Law must be an Engineer Officer of the UnitedStates Army detailed for that duty. It is estimated that the cost of an elaborate state dinner,were the decorations furnished by an outside florist, wouldbe about $2,500; for, besides the usual decorations of therooms, are the costly decorations of the table. In front ofthe President is sometimes a plat sixteen feet long, made upof orchids and ferns, and at intervals nine other plats simi-larly decorated, and sixteen vases filled with roses, one inevery four feet. About twenty dozen orchids, as many. ALLEGED EXTRAVAGANCES. 151 roses, and five hundred pots of ferns are generally used todecorate the table. The President puts a sum into the hands of the steward,and his expenditure is supposed to be in proportion to theofficial rank and grandeur of the invited guests. The gov-ernment pays an experienced and capable steward for hisservices, but the President pays for the dinners, which aregenerally prepared by the White House chef and his assist-ants. Sometimes, however, an experienced caterer is calledin on special occasions, and sometimes he is engaged by theseason. During the years immediately after the Civil Warit was fashionable to have many courses, frequently num-bering t
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1900, bookpublisherhartf, bookyear1901
