THE AMERICAN WATER LILY. 1 
second stage, it seemed that the pink or red hue greatly preponderated over the white. I cut the flower, placed it on a thin circular board, a foot in 
diameter, which it completely covered, and sent it to a wedding party. The Victoria is one of the few things that has not been exaggerated, It is truly a 
wonderful plant.” 
By the diary of the growth of this plant we learn, that the seed “germinated on the 10th of April, 1851. On the 17th, the second leaf appeared, of 
a form similar to that of the Calla Ethiopica, being long and tapering, from a broad blade. On the 21st, a third leaf appeared, of like form. The 25th, 
the fourth leaf reached the surface, and was in the shape of an ellipsis, one end, however, being separated, till near the point where the petiole and leaf were 
united. May 34, the fifth leaf appeared, which reached its maturity on the 6th; was nearly round, and measured 3 1-8 inches in diameter. The 9th, the 
sixth leaf appeared; it was quite round, and measured, at maturity, 3 7-8 inches. From the 16th of May to the 22d July, both inclusive, seventeen leaves 
appeared and matured. On the 27th July, the twenty-fourth leaf appeared: this leaf exhibited a beautiful salver edge, as have all its successsors; it meas- 
ured 5 feet 8 1-2 inches in diameter. July 31st, the twenty-fifth leaf appeared, and measured at maturity 6 feet 4 inches. August 6th, the twenty-sixth 
leaf appeared, and measured at maturity 6 fect 4 1-2 inches. August 10th, the twenty-seventh leaf appeared, and measured 6 feet 6 inches: this leaf is six 
inches larger than any produced in England, of which we have any account. August 13th: this morning we discovered, to our great delight, a flower-bud 
rising a little in advance of the twenty-cighth leaf, which was also approaching the surface. August 15th, the twenty-cighth appeared. The 2st, the 
flower opened between five and six o'clock, P. M.: color, pure white ; form, globular; very fragrant, odor strongly resembles highly cultivated pine apples. 
On the subsequent day, the flower remains in its primitive globular form, (with the exception of a slight variation,) until five or six o'clock in the evening, 
at which time it undergoes a complete transformation. So novel is the appearance of the transformed flower, that were we not conversant with its nature 
to ‘metamorphose,’ we could not believe it possible to be produced from the same plant. The petals become reflexed, lie prostrate on the water, and expose 
to view a disk so beautiful in color and form that I am sorry I cannot find language to describe it adequately. In its form it resembles a crown of some of 
the ancient kings of England, especially so when the flower has reached its climax. ‘The disk, which first appears quite smooth and flat, becomes, in a very 
short time, perpendicular petalous-looking anthers, surrounded by others of crimson, embosomed in pure white. Thus it floats in its glory through the night, 
declines as the rays of light approach, the succeeding morn, and ultimately sinks into the element from whence it arose so noble and grand.” 
This plant was placed in the tank, in which it has since remained, on the 24th of May, 1851. Fire heat was continued by night to the 20th of June. 
During this period the thermometer averaged 85°. The preparation of the tank was, first, a covering of the bottom with charcoal and pieces of brick, to 
the depth of two or three inches, and half a dozen two-horse cart-loads of charred loam and leaf mould placed therein in the form of a mound. The tem- 
perature of the water, after artificial heat was dispensed with, varied materially, at times as low as 70°, and as high, again, as 83°. The glass of the house is 
frosted with lead ground in oil, to prevent injury from the too powerful rays of the sun. The house is kept nearly closed. Fresh water is admitted by day. 
Mr. Munnay, the head gardener of Mr. Cope for the past two years, wrote the following account of the above plant for the Horticulturist of 1852. It 
can be found at page 205 :— 
To rae Eprror or rae Horricunrorisr: 
Dear Sir—The interest which characterized the flowering of the Victoria in this country, continues unabated. The success which has crowned the 
efforts of Mr. Cope, and the abundant reward which the plant and its flowers afford its beholders, are inducing others to attempt its cultivation. It has 
occurred to me that a few notes on its progress here to the present time, would be interesting as well as seasonable. ; 
It would not be extravagant to call the beauties of this plant unsurpassable. Like the gigantic idea its leaf-structure originated—the Crystal Palace— 
it stands among its class alone and unapproachable. Its flower has been compared to a colossal specimen of the night-blooming Cereus, (Cereus grandiflora.) 
In certain respects this comparison is just, as in the general appearance of the flower and its delightful fragrance ; but when we proceed to examine each 
beauty separately, all comparison with any other flower must cease. Tt is not possible to select one property more than another, the which most to admire. 
It is everything to be wished for. A Victoria house is a perpetual conservatory, filled with ever-blooming flowers. Since its first flowering, in August last, 
this plant has produced, on an average, two flowers a week. Up to April first, there have been fifty-eight flowers on the same plant. Nor is this ever- 
blooming principle one long routine of wearisome monotony, for no two flowers can be said to be exactly alike. At the appearance of every bud there is 
something to anticipate—some new beauty, as yet unknown, to excite our curiosity, and raise up expectation. When they expand in the evening, they may 
be of any shade, varying from the purest white to the richest cream, till they close in the morning, as if to exhibit the change in their calyx from a greenish 
to a crimson hue. Soon after, the flower expands a second time, and exhibits the same flower quite metamorphosed—sometimes of the deepest pink— 
sometimes rich with crimson—and sometimes feathered with crimson and white, as if in playful mimicry of the delicate markings of a prize tulip. It is a 
strange flower—so grand, yet so accommodating! Promise a flower to a friend; he comes; the bud is only there. He is much disappointed. The occa- 
sion was an especial one—a marriage festival, perhaps, not perfect without the presidency of this queen of flowers. He shall at any rate have the bud. It 
is cut and placed in a box, with a little warm damp moss and a heated brick, and the top covered over. He reaches home, the box is opened, and a 
perfectly formed flower lies exposed to view! What can be more magical? Verily, nature, in the Victoria, throws the tricks of Monsieur Herbert, described 
in your last, far into the shade. 
Nor does this ever-blooming, ever-changing property alone render it so admirable. The odor of its expanding buds is in itself a treasure. A whole 
house crowded with blooming Olea fragrans would not excel one bursting lily flower. 
In a physiological point of view, the flower is no less interesting. Few plants better show the influence which light has on vegetation. When the 
plant here was in the most advantageous conditions in this respect, last fall, the leaves averaged about six fect in diameter. About six weeks ago they 
seemed to have declined to their minimum size, being then three fect eight inches. Now, as the light increases, the leaves exceed four feet. When there 
