50 NAT. ORDER. NYMPHIACEiE. 



drawn sitting on its large leaves. Lourciro relates that it abounds in 

 ■ muddy marshes in India and China, and is cultivated in large, hand- 

 some pots in the gardens and houses of the Mandarins. The Chinese 

 have always held this plant in such high value, that at length they re- 

 garded it as sacred. The seeds are somewhat of the size and form 

 of an acorn, and of a taste more delicate than that of almonds. The 

 ponds in India and China are literally covered with the plant, and ex- 

 hibit a very showy appearance when it is in flower, and the flowei-s 

 are no less fragrant than handsome. It is the Pytlmgorean bean of the 

 ancients, and has been regarded from the most remote periods as an 

 emblem of fertility. 



Projmgation and Cullurc. The species of this beautiful aquatic 

 genus should be grown in cisterns, tubs, or large pots, in a rich, loamy 

 soil ; they require a strong heat in order to make them flower in per- 

 fection. The cistern, pot, or tub should be kept full of water all the 

 time the plants are gi-owing, but may be allowed to dry when the 

 flowering season is over. The plants may be increased by dividing 

 tlie roots, but are obtained more readily from seeds, which vegetate 

 freely. None but the present species have ever flowered in this coun- 

 tiy. They all require to be kept in a very warm situation in a stove. 

 Professor Lindley, speaking of this plant, says, " that it is a native 

 of the temperate and tropical regions, of the northern hemisphere, both 

 in the Old and New World ; but is found in the greatest abundance in 

 the East Indies, and that they were formerly very common in the 

 southera part of Egypt, but are now extinct in that country according 

 to the account given by Delilc." All writers who have mentioned this 

 plant, speak of it being extensively used as an article of food in China, 

 and considered as a luxury even by Uie nobility. 



