242 



HENDERSON'S HANDBOOK OF PLANTS. 



VIC 



the plant in the box. The plant had preceded 

 us to the railroad station, and when we arrived 

 there I immediately sought the conductor, to 

 make arrangements for the transportation of the 

 box He said his train was a passenger train, 

 and he could not take it. I explained to him 

 the nature and urgency of the case, and pointed 

 to an empty truck as being just the thing. He 

 began swelling fearfully with the pride of a lit- 

 tle brief authority, as most small men do, said 

 he would not take it anyhow, and walked off. I 

 felt that I was in a ' fix.' I looked at Lenoir, he 

 looked at me, but neither said a word. There 

 was no freight train till past midnight. The 

 time was getting short, as the boat with the 

 Philadelphia passengers was approaching the 

 dock. I looked again at the empty truck, and in 

 doing so saw two idle men near by. In an in- 

 stant I had made up my mind what to do. I re- 

 quested Mr. Lenoir to take a seat in the car. I 

 approached the two men, put a liberal amount 

 of money in their hands, and told them I want- 

 ed that box put on the empty truck. I waited 

 till the conductor was out of sight, and just then 

 the train began to move. I gave the word to the 

 men, the box went on the truck, and I went on 

 the top of the box, and there I remained till the 

 train reached Jersey City, about midnight, de- 

 termined that the box should not go off unless I 

 went with it, and that I would not go without a 

 fight. I had a dismal time of it, for the night 

 was dark and chilly; but I had Her Majesty, Vic- 

 toria reqia, under my care, and did not mean to 

 abandon her; besides, I was anxious that the So- 

 ciety should keep its faith with the public. In 

 a certain sense it was an affair of honor. I was 

 in a measure cheered by seeing Lenoir's anxious 

 face occasionally at the door of the car immedi- 

 ately in front of me. The darkness favored me, 

 for it was not till we reached Elizabeth that the 

 conductor discovered me on the box. He came 

 near me with his lantern, but seemed suddenly 

 to change his mind, and walked away. After a 

 while I began to suspect that he was fixing a 

 trap for me. Arrived at Jersey City, Lenoir 

 came to me immediately. I told him to go quick 

 for some men, and he soon returned with three. 

 They took off the box, and we got to the gate 

 just as the last two passengers went out, and the 

 keeper was closing the gate after them. I took 

 hold of the gate and told him to stop, as I want- 

 ed to get that box through. He pushed and I 

 pulled. He said the conductor had ordered him 

 not to let the box pass. I thought I was caught 

 at last, but my good nature (or good genius) did 

 not at this moment desert me; if it had, the pub- 

 lic of New York would have missed the pleasure 

 of seeing the most magnificent of water plants. 

 I said to the man, coaxingly, ' See here, neigh- 

 bor; the conductor don't understand this thing 

 at all. That box contains a very valuable plant, 

 and it will die in that box before morning. Now 

 do move a little further back, so the men can 

 get through.' All this time I was pushing him 

 back. gently, till at length the gate was open 

 wide enough for the box to pass, when I said to 

 the men, 'Now quick, or the boat will be off.' 

 I ran ahead, paid the fares, had the large gate 

 opened, and the box was placed on the boat just 

 as it was leaving the bridge; but the men got 

 caught, and had to go to New York; and I was 

 soon glad of it, for they proved to be very helpful 

 on the other side. Lenoir and I went into the cab- 

 in, and congratulated ourselves on the end of our 

 troubles; but we anticipated, for the end was not 



VIL 



yet. On arriving in New York, not a vehicle of 

 any kind was to be found, owing to the lateness 

 of the hour. We were in a quandary, but I said 

 to Lenoir, ' Well, we've got so far, and that box 

 is going to Tripler Hall to-night, somehow.' 

 Just then a hack hove in sight, and was stopped. 

 I told the driver I wanted him to take that box 

 to Tripler Hall. He said he couldn't. I thought 

 this was my last chance, and told him he must. 

 It all ended by placing the box on the top of the 

 hack, and securing it by ropes and straps. Le- 

 noir and I got inside, and we all, box included, 

 arrived safely at Tripler Hall about half past 

 twelve, and were warmly congratulated. The 

 tank was done and filled with water. The box 

 was soon unpacked, and Lenoir and I had the 

 supreme pleasure of seeing the magnificent 

 plant, with its charming flower and buds, peace- 

 fully floating in its native element. We were 

 abundantly rewarded for all our anxiety and 

 trouble. It will give point to this little adven- 

 ture when I state that I dared not leave the box 

 long enough to purchase a ticket, and Victoria 

 and myself consequently came through without 

 paying so much as a penny. At that time Mr. 

 Geo. Win. Curtis was our Corresponding Secre- 

 tary, and also city editor of the New York Tribune* 

 He waited at the Hall until our return; and 

 after hearing our adventures, went to the office, 

 and the whole thing appeared in print the next 

 morning, and had something to do with the 

 great crowds that for three days came to see the 

 Victoria. And this is how the plant came to be 

 exhibited by the New York Horticultural Socie- 

 ty. Mr. Cope very kindly gave me two young 

 plants of the Victoria, and some ripe seeds. One 

 of these was presented to the late William Niblo, 

 who made a small tank for it ; but in a couple of 

 years it outgrew the tank, became sickly, and 

 died, and a similar fate overtook the other. I 

 succeeded in growing some of the seeds in a 

 firkin filled one-third with leaf mould and sand 

 and the rest water. The plants died for want of 

 room. The Victoria was grown one season, if 

 not more, in a tank in the open air; but the 

 proper place for it is under glass. Its manage- 

 ment is not so difficult as was at first supposed, 

 and it may now be found in several collections. 

 It requires treatment similar to that of the 

 NelunHAum. 



Vieusseuxia. Named in honor of M. Vieussewx, 

 a Swiss botanist. Linn. Triandria- Monogynia. 

 Nat. Ord. Iridacecc. 



Small bulbs from the Cape of Good Hope, 

 usually known as the Peacock Iris, on account 

 of their very brilliant flowers, varying from 

 white to crimson and purple. They are not 

 hardy, but will grow well with partial protec- 

 tion, like most of the Cape bulbs. They are rap- 

 idly increased by offsets. Introduced in 1776. 



Vigna. In memory of Dominic Vigni, a commen- 

 tator on Theophrastus. Linn. Diadelphia-Decan- 

 dria. Nat. Ord. Fabacece. 



A few trailing and climbing plants, allied to 

 Dolichos, the principal distinction being the 

 yellow flowers and cylindrical seed pods, while 

 the Dolichos has purple and white flowers, and 

 flattened pods. The genus is chiefly South 

 American, one or two species being found in 

 the Southern States. Propagated by seeds. 



Vilfa. See Rash Grass. 



Villarsia. Named in honor of D. ViUars, a fa- 

 mous French botanist. Linn. Pentandria-Mono- 

 gynia. Nat. Ord. Gentianacece. 

 A small genus of aquatic plants and herba- 



