A TROPIC GARDEN 237' 



from the tiniest of dull-green orchids to the fifty- 

 foot spike of taliput bloom. With this founda- 

 tion of vegetation recall that the Demerara coast 

 is a paradise for herons, egrets, bitterns, galli- 

 nules, jacanas, and hawks, and think of these 

 trees and foliage, islands and marsh, as a nesting 

 and roosting focus for hundreds of such birds. 

 Thus, considering the gardens indirectly, one 

 comes gradually to the realization of their won- 

 derful character. 



The Victoria Regia has one thing in common 

 with a volcano no amount of description or of 

 colored plates prepares one for the plant itself. 

 In analysis we recall its dimensions, colors, and 

 form. Standing by a trench filled with its leaves 

 and flowers, we discard the records of memory, 

 and cleansing the senses of pre-impressions, be- 

 r gin anew. The marvel is for each of us, individ- 

 ually, an exception to evolution; it is a special 

 creation, like all the rainbows seen in one's life 

 a thing to be reverently absorbed by sight, 

 by scent, by touch, absorbed and realized without 

 precedent or limit. Only ultimately do we find it 

 necessary to adulterate this fine perception with 

 definitive words and phrases, and so attempt to 

 register it for ourselves or others. 



