l6o IN SPRING. 



tinctly oval. Whatever the history of the Ameri- 

 can form, that of the Eastern, or Egyptian, as it 

 is usually called, is too well known to need re- 

 peating, however briefly, and yet the plant is still 

 wrapped in mystery. A word, however, con- 

 cerning the term Egyptian in connection with it. 

 At present it is a plant of India, of China and 

 Japan, Australia, the Malay Archipelago, and 

 the Caspian Sea an enormous range ; but it is 

 no longer found in the valley of the Nile. The 

 use of the name rests upon the fact that it was 

 once there, not only a cultivated plant, but held 

 sacred by the people of that country, as it is by 

 the Hindoos. Egyptologists, however, are not of 

 one mind as to the relation of the lotus to the 

 antiquities of the Nile region, some questioning 

 the matter altogether, and considering the sculpt- 

 uring to represent the lily of the Nile, one of the 

 grandest of the white nymphaeas. Quite re- 

 cently, too, it has been ably argued to be the 

 renowned rose of Sharon. " Of such a kingly 

 flower Solomon might well have said, ' I am the 

 rose of Sharon.' " 



Perhaps we should be contented with our 

 splendid native flora, but surely there is room in 

 waste places, our unappreciated marshes and 

 mud-holes, for the lotus 



" a flower delicious as the rose, 

 And stately as the lily in her pride." 



