1879. 



AND HORTICULTURIST. 



141 



fresh water from a hose, sufficient to keep it 

 pure, was let in. On the 8th of July, 1877, the 

 young Victoria plant had leaves only five inches 

 in diameter. It was then planted and a fire kept 

 up constantly. It grew finely, and in a few 

 weeks we were obliged to remove the upper 

 bricks of the curb and allow the leaves to float 

 upon the surface of the main tank. After this 

 was done of course the heating apparatus had to 

 act upon the water in the whole tank. It was 

 not sufficiently powerful to raise the temperature 

 very much. But the plant produced several 

 leaves over thi-ee feet in diameter, and by the 

 middle of September had one which measured 

 four feet. This experiment was sufficiently suc- 

 cessful to convince me that by starting early in 

 the season with a larger plant, and having a 

 little more artificial heat, the Victoria may be 

 made to produce flowers and full-sized leaves in 

 the open air in this latitude. 



In the Fall the plant was taken under glass, 

 but died. The Nymphseas bloomed finely, as 

 also did Limnocharis Humboldtii with its yel- 

 low poppy-like flowers. Papyrus antiquoru'm 

 also flourished in the water, and the N^elumbium 

 made growth sufficiently strong to bloom the 

 next season. 



Knowing that there were several magnificent 

 water lilies cultivated under glass in Europe, 

 last spring I resolved to try some of them in my 

 open-air lily-tank. I procured tubers of Nym- 

 phsea dentata and X. Devoniana, which were 

 potted, placed in a greenhouse in water kept at 

 85°, where they soon started into growth. In 

 the latter part of June two plants of dentata 

 and one of Devoniana were placed in the bed 

 where the Victoria grew the season before. Ar- 

 tificial heat was kept up for a short time, until 

 they were well established, and then discon- 

 tinued. They began to bloom the last of July, 

 and produced a constant succession until the 

 middle of October. Unlike our common Odo- 

 rata, these gorgeous lilies open at night, be- 

 ginning about eight o'clock and remaining ex- 

 panded until eight or ten the next morning, each 

 flower opening three nights in succession. They 

 stand on strong foot-stalks ten or twelve inches 

 above the surface of the water. 



N. dentata has white flowers, the petals ex- 

 panding horizontally making a flat flower with 

 the stamens gathered nearly into a cone in the 

 center. It has an agreeable odor, but not as 

 sweet as our native lily. I had several of this 

 which measured twelve inches in diameter. It 



is a native of Sierra Leone, and India. N. De- 

 voniana is a hybrid from dentata and ru- 

 bra another Indian species. The flowers are 

 cup-shaped, and from eight to ten inches in di- 

 ameter across the cup. No one who saw this 

 will accuse me of axe-grinding when I say that it 

 is one of the most lovely flowers in cultivation. 

 At a meeting of the Pennsylvania Horticultural 

 Society just previous to the last exhibition, one 

 gentleman pronounced it more beautiful than the 

 flower of the Victoria. The color is a very bril- 

 liant rosy red with scarlet stamens. I have never 

 seen it grown under glass, but I believe the 

 color must be more brilliant in the full sunshine 

 and open air. When viewed by lamplight the 

 effect is charming. Unfortunately it has no 

 perfume. These three plants grew to cover a 

 space fifteen feet in diameter. Many of the 

 leaves measured eighteen inches in diameter. 

 N. dentata has bright green leaves ; those of the 

 other have a brownish tinge. As a back-ground 

 to the tank there was a border of tall-growing 

 Cannas, Bamboos and Colocasia. In the back 

 corners the tall yellow Lotus bloomed and bore 

 its curious fruit. In the front corners N. coerulea 

 with its fragrant flowers, and N. alba bloomed 

 until frost. This latter is a native of England^ 

 has broad waxy petals, is often six inches in di- 

 ameter and is quite distinct from K. odorata. It 

 is quite hardy in this country. I also flowered 

 a variety of odorata; flowers precisely like 

 Lady Hume's Blush Camellia in color. I call it 

 var. delicata. I also grew X. flava but the 

 plant was too young to flower. Upon two oc- 

 casions the whole garden was illuminated at 

 night, and the lily-pond was the centre of attrac- 

 tion to six hundred people. I have said that fire- 

 heat was discontinued after a short time and that 

 the tender species bloomed until into October. 

 I believe that they can be grown in the open air 

 more easily than is generally supposed — in fact 

 without artificial heat — first starting them under 

 glass. The best arrangement is a shallow tank, 

 as the sun will warm the water more readily 

 than in a pond. Such a tank of course requires 

 some care to protect it from injury by frost in 

 winter. But I have several times grown N. 

 coerulea in a shallow pond with good success ; 

 and judging from my experience with the others 

 I see no reason why they cannot be grown in 

 the same way. Care should be taken not to put 

 them out until the water gets warm, and they 

 should have very rich soil to grow in, about one- 

 half well decayed manure. 



