VICTORIA REGIA IN OPEN PONDS. 



THE VICTORIA REGIA IN OPEN PONDS. 



By the following account from the Illustrated News, it will be seen that this magnifi- 

 cent water lily has been grown in an open pond in England. An uniformly' high tempe- 

 rature of the water has been secured for it, partly by artificial means, it is true, — but we 

 imagine this would not be needed in the United States — supposing the Victoria to be plant- 

 ed about the middle of June. 



"We understand Mr. Cope, of Philadelphia, has the Victoria growing in a hot-house 

 which he has lately erected for this noble aquatic, and we hope some amateur will make 

 trial of it now in the open air. Ed. 



A SUCCESSFUL attempt has been made by Messrs. John Weeks & Co., King's Road 

 Nursery, Chelsea, to grow this magnificent plant in the open air. For this purpose was 

 prepared a pond 21 feet in diameter, and 3 2 feet in depth, wherein the lily was planted in 

 loam and river sand, on the 3d of March, when it had three leaves, the largest being 18 

 inches in diameter. The plant has since increased in size, and has a robust and healthy 

 appearance: the number of leaves on at present is seven, varying from 3^ to 4 feet in di- 

 ameter; and, as the season increases in warmth, they will attain to a much larger size. 

 The petioles of the leaves are from eight to twelve feet in length, throwing them a consi- 

 derable distance from the base of the plant. 



The first flower partially expanded on the evening of the 16th inst. : for some hours pre- 

 viously it gave out a very rich and powerful fragrance, which could be perceived at a con- 

 siderable distance. The flower became fully expanded on the following evening, and dis- 

 played all its beauties to an admiring company, who had been for a considerable time 

 watching its development. The colors of the lily are white and pink; the outer rows of 

 petals being white, and the inner a rich pink. The entire flower is from nine inches to a 

 foot in diameter : it is of short duration, opening only on two successive evenings; but 

 there is a constant display of flowers throughout the season. The plant has a more no- 

 ble appearance in the open air, than when growing in the hot-house aquarium — the leaves 

 becoming hypocrateriform, a natural desideratum of much interest. 



The pond in which the plant is growing is heated by hot water pipes, of which there are 

 two rows placed at the bottom, communicating with a boiler which heats, besides, a range 

 of houses, the temperature being thereby kept at from 75 to 90 degrees Fahrenheit. There 

 is a constant flow of clear water into the pond, and a waste pipe to carr}^ off the supera- 

 bundance and keep the surface clear. A margin of blue, yellow and Avhite water-lilies, 

 is placed round the l^idoria Rcgia, and tends to show well their lovely and trul}^ regal 

 Sovereign in all her majesty. A temporary covering is placed over the plant at night to 

 protect it from storm and cutting winds. 



The Tldoria Rcgia has been an oTject of unceasing interest from the moment of Sir 

 Robert Schomburgk, in 1(S37, finding this magnificent plant in one of the rivers of British 

 Guiana. In England the Victoria Rcgia first flowered in 1849, and the spectacle was en- 

 graved in the Illustrated London News for Nov. 17. A leaf and flower of this plant, it 

 will be recollected, was presented to her INIajesty and Prince Albert, at "Windsor, by Mr. 

 Paxton; and the train of circumstances by which this very plant was mainly contributa- 

 ry to the success of the great exhibition is so interesting as to merit recapitulation. We 

 give it in Mr. Paxton's own words: — " Having in contemplation the erection of the great 

 conservatory at (Chatsworth) in its present form, it was determined, in 1836, to erect a 

 new curvilinear hot-house, 60 feet in length and 26 feet in width, with the elliptical roof 



