38 PRACTICAL PLANT PROPAGATION 



Geo. W. Oliver writes: "Seeds of the Gigantic Water Lily, 

 Victoria regia, should be sown in February in the warmest house. 

 The water must be clean and free from the lower forms of aquatic 

 growth. The seeds should be sown in thumb pots, one to a pot. 

 The first leaves of the seedling Victoria are grass-like, then halberd- 

 shaped, but eventually assume the peltate form. In Washington 

 when properly grown the leaves of the seedling should be 12 inches 

 in diameter by the 10th of May. 



"Many attempts to grow this, the queen of Water Lilies, are frus- 

 trated because the young plants are taken from a warm temperature 

 and placed in water out of doors, the temperature of which is much 

 below that of the hothouse. To grow the Victoria successfully the 

 receptacle for the plant should be large enough to hold at least 

 several cartloads of rich soil and a good sized frame and sash on top 

 of the soil. The water in a frame so arranged will be kept warm 

 and the young plants will develop rapidly by this treatment. When 

 the plant has made a start the frame and sash are removed. 



"Subsequent attempts to grow this queen of aquatics without 

 the protecting frame always resulted in poorly developed plants. 

 When a good flower of the Victoria opens about mid-Summer or later 

 save some of the pollen from it and dust it over the stigmas of the 

 succeeding flowers. This will result in the ripening of many seeds. 



"The size of this plant, the first one grown in Washington, was 

 much larger than any other plant grown out of doors in this country, 

 the diameter being 6 ft. 6 inches. During the following Summer 

 the frame was discarded and the result was a much smaller Victoria." 



CACTUS FROM SEEDS 



Most Cactus seed is very fertile but relatively few growers know 

 how to supply the best conditions for germination and growth. 

 Chas. H. Thompson* has determined the proper method. 



The best soil consists of equal parts of a well decayed sod and 

 pure sand. The soil should not be rich in humus because this is 

 a medium for germs of decay. Four-inch pots are used. They 

 should either be new or else carefully burned or sterilized, otherwise 

 Algae will choke out the young seedlings. The drain hole at the 

 bottom of the pot should be enlarged and the pot filled one-fourth 

 full of finely broken pots, on which the soil is carefully placed and 

 pressed lightly. 



The seeds are sown and covered with a very thin layer of soil 

 upon which is spread a one-fourth inch layer of gravel. The gravel 



* Thompson, Chas. H. Ornamental Cacti; Their Culture and Decorative Value. 

 U. S. Dept. of Agr. Bur. of Plant Industry, Bulletin 262. 



