ROYAL WATER-LILY. 75 



the shores; and it has likewise been observed, that 

 under cultivation in this country, it is of paramount 

 importance to afford the plant as much air, light, 

 and sunshine as possible, although at Chatsworth, 

 " during the brightest weather in summer, it was 

 found advisable to afford some degree of shade to the 

 flowers, in order to prevent their becoming too fugi- 

 tive, perishing in much less time than two days." 

 However effective such a shading may be in lengthen- 

 ing the life of the individual blossoms, it is highly 

 probable that it may by no means contribute to the 

 general health of the plant, and is therefore, as a 

 general rule, to be avoided, more especially by in- 

 experienced cultivators. In the erection of a Vic- 

 toria-house, every precaution ought to be adopted to 

 secure as much light as possible, by dispensing alto- 

 gether with walls of masonry, and using glazed sashes 

 instead; by having the sashes and whole framework, 

 whether of wood or iron, made of the slightest con- 

 struction compatible with due strength; by glazing 

 with large-sized panes; and by choosing an open 

 situation freely exposed to the sun. A continual 

 supply of fresh water is also essential, which, in en- 

 tering, should be made to fall upon a small water- 

 wheel fixed at the surface of the tank an ingenious 

 method successfully adopted by cultivators to give 

 a motion to the water, in imitation of the gentle 

 ripple of the Victoria's native rivers. It has been 

 suggested that this motion might be given by the 



