WATER LILIES 63 



the same as that given to pot plants, and may consist of 

 broken pots, pieces of brick, and similar rubble. Water-lilies 

 flourish in the rich mud of ponds and rivers, and good soil 

 should therefore be provided. Perhaps the exact nature of 

 the soil is not important provided that it is good. Sometimes 

 it is possible to obtain rich pond mud ; if so, dilute it with other 

 soil, so as not to encourage a too luxuriant growth of foliage. 

 Good loam mixed with leaf-mould answers well, and road 

 scrapings should be mixed in to lighten it. When the soil is 

 poor use some manure, such as bone-meal, mixing it in before 

 placing the soil in the tubs. As a rule artificial manuring is 

 quite unnecessary. 



When the plants are received from the nursery unpack 

 them at once and place under water. In the case of the 

 smallest varieties, such as N. pygmxa Helvola, a depth of two 

 or three inches below the surface of the water is sufficient ; 

 but there are very few kinds so small, several inches, say six 

 inches to ten inches, being the general regulation distance. 



Planting. This may be carried out from the end of April 

 until the end of May. When warm weather prevails planting 

 may commence at once. Established plants begin to bloom 

 in the early part of June, but plants fresh from the nursery 

 will not flower until July unless the plant is very strong. The 

 Nymphaeas will grow well if they are put in even later in the 

 summer. A plant put in during September would not die, 

 but remain dormant in winter and start into growth in spring. 

 When Water-lilies are in a pond their chief enemies are voles, 

 or water-rats, that sometimes eat the tubs, and the water- 

 fowl play havoc with their leaves. These enemies would be 

 less likely to make an attack when tubs are used, though the 

 rats might discover the Nymphaeas when the tubs are close to a 

 pond in which they have made their home. It is a good plan 

 to keep small fish, such as goldfish, in the water, especially 

 when a small tank is available, in which two, four, or six 

 plants may be grown, instead of the tubs. 



The Blue Nymphaeas. If a greenhouse be available, the 

 tubs, or some of them, may be placed there, and in this way 

 tender kinds may be grown, such as the beautiful blue N. 

 stellata, or N. cwrulea, as it is called on the Continent. This 

 is the blue Lotus of the Nile, held sacred by the ancient 

 Egyptians. A plant carrying from six to twelve fully ex- 

 panded flowers is a rich picture. It is quite worth trouble 

 and expense to grow this Nymphaea well. In very favourable 

 places, as in Cornwall and Devonshire, it may occasionally be 

 flowered in the open air, without even giving the plant warm 

 water, but it must be taken inside for the winter. Another 



