1882.) 



AND HORTICULTURIST. 



tons" says, as we translate it, " the American 



candle fulfills all the conditions of superior illu- 

 minating power. It will evidently dethrone the 

 ordinary candle, which has existed all along only 

 by virtue of a low price." 



"La Science pour tons," or, as we should say, 

 "Science for all," is verj' enthusiastic over the 

 new light. It says "the new American candle 

 marks a great stage in progress." Just what the 

 American candle is does not appear; but the 

 name of our horticultural correspondent, Charles 

 Joly, seems identified with its introduction. 



The Victoria Regia. — In the year 1842 it was 

 my good fortune to behold this wonderful pro- 

 duction of nature in the river Rupununi, one of 

 the great tributaries of the Essequibo. After 

 a toilsome struggle of six weeks in ascending 

 the Essequibo, we passed the last cataract, and 

 we were truly thankful to the Almighty that it 

 had pleased Him to allow us to reach their 

 termination without accident; and many an 

 anxious moment we had during our ascent of 

 this noble river which, in the number and height 

 of its cataracts, surpasses any river in British 

 Guiana. We entered the Rupununi, and three 

 days after (as if we should be rewarded for our 

 previous sufferings on the Essequibo) the Rupu- 

 nuni, on its right bank, expanded into an exten- 

 sive bay. It was an enchanting scene. So 

 enchanting was the view that unfolded to our 

 eyes that we were at a loss where to commence, 

 in order not to overlook any object in thia lovely 

 picture, the most prominent of which was the 

 Victoria Regia, which I had longed so much to 

 behold. The margin of this bay was bordered 

 with this magnificent plant. The grandeur of 

 tropical scenery was here the most striking and 

 the most sublime I ever had as yet seen. The 

 numerous Palms, Uranias, with their wide- 

 spreading leaves, gigantic trees around raised 

 their lofty crowns to an enormous height, dis- 

 playing the greatest contrast in form and appear- 

 ance of their foliage. Lianas clung to their 

 trunks, interlacing their wide-spreading branches, 

 and having reached their summit, aerial roots 

 descended again to the ground, and appeared 

 like the cordage of a ship. Nature, not satisfied 

 with the soil allotted to her, had decorated the 

 trunks and limbs of trees, even the surface of 

 the water, with a carpet of plants, interspersed 

 with these magnificent flowers. Twenty-eight 

 years have now elapsed since this lovely picture 

 unfolded itself before my eyes, but it is still as 



fresh- in my memory as if I had seen it but 

 yesterday. Long before we reached the bay 

 the Eastern breeze wafted the delightful odors 

 towards us. The whole margin of this bay was 

 bordered with the gigantic leaves of the Victoria, 

 interspersed with the magnificent flowers of all 

 shades from white to pink, scenting the air with 

 their fragrance. On the leaves many aquatic 

 birds were running to and fro, chasing the nu- 

 merous insects which were humming around the 

 brilliant flowers. I may observe that we stopped 

 many hours to enjoy this sublime picture, and 

 that our pencils were soon engaged in transfer- 

 ring to paper this striking feature of this re- 

 markable spot. We rowed from one plant to 

 another, finding everywhere something to ad- 

 mire, and measuring the gigantic leaves and 

 flowers. The largest of the former was 7i feet ; 

 the largest of the latter 14 inches in diameter. 

 I never was anywhere more forcibly impressed 

 with the thought that the productive powers of 

 nature, on receding from the pole, had collected 

 themselves in their greatest strength near the 

 equator, spreading their gifts with open hand 

 and manifesting the abundant fertility of the 

 soil. — Dr. R. Schomhurgk. 



Globba coccixea. — In the old world they 

 use beets in flower-gardening. The sesthetii- 

 admires the effect they produce, but when the 

 uncultivated is told what they are, and learns 

 they are beets only, he is apt to exclaim, "What 

 beets! the common beets we grow in the gar- 

 dens !'' and the plant seems to him to have 

 already lost half its beauty. 



Here we have a very beautiful new plant. If 

 we say it is one of the ginger family, may be it 

 will risk its popularity with those who only 

 know ginger as a cordial, or as something which 

 ranks with pepper or salt. It will be best for 

 these people to do as the doctors do — give it a 

 name they do not understand. Instead of pure 

 water or bread crumbs, they will write aqu. dis. 

 or pan. pulv., and the patient meekly swallows 

 down the wonderful stuti'and soon gets well. So 

 instead of a "ginger," we can call this a Zingi- 

 beraceous plant, and none be the wiser, and all 

 admire. 



It was introduced from Borneo by Mr. Curtis, 

 the collector for the celebrated firm of James 

 Veitch & Son, of Chelsea, London, who give us 

 the following account of it : 



" The stems, which are about as thick as a 

 goose quill, are much crowded, twelve to eigh- 



