PACIFIC STATES FLORAL CONGRESS. 

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SOIL. 



The majority of water plants are gross feeders, and it is well-nigh 

 i^ble to make the soil too rich for them It is not necessary to 

 ,o to a swamp or a natural pond to obtain what is suitable. 

 prepared upon your own premises. Any soil which will grow good 

 vegetables will, if properly enriched, grow aquatics. A compost con- 

 Stg of two-thirds good loam and one-third thoroughly decayed 

 manure, is what we recommend. If you have a black, friable loam 

 which is intermediate between adobe and sandy loam, it would be excel 

 lent for the purpose. 



COMPARATIVE HARDINESS. 



In the eastern states aquatics are classified as tender and hardy. 

 There the tender kinds are, so to speak, bedded out during summer and 

 removed to a greenhouse in autumn. There are some localities in Cali- 

 fornia so highly favored in the matter of freedom from frost that the 

 tomato plant and other tender vegetables may be successfully grown 

 during winter. In such places tropical aquatics may be left out the 

 entire year. 



At the water lily nursery in the Cahuenga Valley, near Los Angeles, 

 nearly every variety of importance is grown. For those portions of the 

 state where a lower temperature prevails during winter, the better plan 

 would be to place the roots in warmer quarters after the blooming sea- 

 son is past. In various localities in California there are found springs 

 of warm or hot water. Water from these, if not containing objection- 

 able mineral qualities, may be utilized for feeding-ponds devoted espe- 

 cially to tropical water lilies, where they will nourish in great perfec- 

 tion. A notable example of success in this line is found in the grounds 

 of Josiah W. Stanford, Esq., at Warm Springs, Alameda County, 

 where these varieties bloom during the entire year. 



In regard to the hardy varieties, I would say that there can be no 

 doubt as to their adaptability for cultivation throughout the length and 

 breadth of the state. In this class are found many garden hybrids 

 of European and American origin, of most charming colors, and in 

 southern California producing flowers from March until the middle 

 of November. For an extended list of varieties, you are referred to the 

 catalogues of dealers who make a specialty of these plants. I will give 

 a selection of only a few standard sorts, with some notes on their 

 requirements. 



