ROYAL WATER-LILY. 



house, to which we have referred, Mr Paxton re- 

 marks : " The accompanying design, described in 

 the foregoing paragraphs, is the type of my design 

 for the building for the Great Industrial Exhibition 

 of 1851. When the large Conservatory at Chats- 

 worth was built, a great point was gained by be- 

 ing able to have the glass manufactured in sheets 

 of four feet in length; but since that period the im- 

 provements in different branches of manufactures 

 have enabled me to make the present Lily-house 

 (though comparatively small) of a much more light 

 and elegant appearance. It occurred to me, that it 

 only required a number of such structures as the 

 Lily-house, repeated in length, width, and height, to 

 form, with some modifications, a suitable building 

 for the Exhibition of 1851. Hence arose the de- 

 sign for that structure, and the subsequent honour 

 conferred on me by its unqualified adoption by her 

 Majesty's Commissioners." The Victoria, which has 

 been planted in the new structure, is in a very 

 healthy condition, producing a profusion of flowers. 

 The new house seems admirably adapted for its pur- 

 pose, and forms an excellent model for such struc- 

 tures. 



It is not alone the gardens of Britain, however, 

 that have benefited by the discovery of the Victoria 

 Water-Lily. The plant has been successfully intro- 

 duced to the lakes of Jamaica and Trinidad, and 

 now flourishes vigorously there, having been origi- 



