SOME NOTES ON THE VICTORIA llEfJIA. 219 



before heard, that public attention was drawn to the magnificent 

 plant. The Victoria Regia is a very rapid grower, and in conse- 

 quence of that characteristic an observer was able to note the rate 

 of growth every five minutes, and his results show very clearly the 

 frequency and extent of the spontaneous irregularities in the rate 

 of growth. The observations were taken in the month of August.* 

 From eleven in the evening until twelve midnight the lengths of 

 growth were, roughly speaking, from rather more than a quarter of 

 an inch to about three-eighths of an inch every five minutes, giving 

 a total of about four inches for the hour. From twelve midnight 

 to one a.m. the lengths were from rather more than a quarter of 

 an inch to nearly three-quarters of an inch, giving a total of about 

 five inches for that hour. The temperature both of water and air 

 scarcely varied, and the plant was exposed to candle-light. The 

 foregoing measurements refer to the petiole, or leaf stalk, only. I 

 must now express my indebtedness to my friend, Mr. Harrow, the 

 distinguished curator of our Botanic Gardens, for much valuable 

 assistance and for the material for the slides which I have the 

 pleasure of submitting to your inspection. 



In the summer of 1893 — which, you may remember, was a 

 very bright and sunny one — Mr. Harrow was very successful in 

 the cultivation of Victoria Regia, having no less than thirty-eight 

 flowers, most of them twelve and a-half inches in diameter. A 

 few of the later ones were rather smaller, although perfect in form 

 and colour. The first opened on July 9th and the thirty-eighth 

 on Nov. 26th. Thirty-eight is an exceptionally large number of 

 flowers for the plant to bear during one season, and it is doubtful 

 if so many will be seen again for some years. The seed of the 

 original parent was selected a few years ago from the finest plant 

 that could be found amongst some thousand acres of Victoria 

 Regias. 1 may say that seeds two or three seasons old germinate 

 sooner than new ones. The Victoria Regia has been in cultiva- 

 tion in our gardens some forty years, and only during one year has 

 the house been without its royal occupant. There are but two 

 other botanical gardens in England where the Victoria Regia can 



" Lectures on the Physiology of Plants. By Dr. Sydney Howard Vines, 

 F.R..S., late Fellow of Christ's College, Cambridge. Published by the Cam- 

 bridge University Press. • 



