THE ROYAL WATER-LILY-VICTORIA REGINA .* 



<f A fair imperial flower; 

 She seem'd design'd for Flora's hand, 



The sceptre of her power." COWPER. 



MAGNIFICENT as the entire family of Water-Lilies 

 are, and sacred as many of them have long been held 

 by the natives of those tropical countries wherein 

 they abound, the plant whose history we are about 

 to detail far outstrips all previously-discovered spe- 

 cies, in its gigantic size and nobility of aspect. With- 

 out doubt, it is the most extraordinary and most 

 gorgeous member of the Vegetable Kingdom, sur- 

 passing even the far-famed Rafflesia of Sumatra, 

 whose flower has been calculated to weigh fifteen 

 pounds, and is of dimensions sufficient to enable it 

 to hold twelve pints of water ! 



In general habit and mode of growth, the Royal 

 Water-Lily resembles the rest of the Nymphaeacese ; 

 but surpasses all other species in its gigantic pro- 

 portions and the splendour of its blossoms. Al- 



* See plate facing title-page. 



