14 VICTORIA REGIA; 
To grow the plant under the most favorable circumstances, the temperature of the house should be not less than 70° at night, and 80° to 90° by day, 
when the sun shines; that of the water being not under 74°, nor higher than 85°, Fahrenheit. 
Here, in conclusion of the account of the culture of the lily in Salem, it will be proper to state that I have aimed to grow the plant during our summer 
without aid from fire heat; relying simply upon the protection of a glass covering for a suitable climate. . This was all that was required in June, July and 
August. The last of August we had changeable, and some very cold weather. On several mornings the temperature within the house was 62°, Fahrenheit; 
that of the water, 68° to 70°. This cool weather was succeeded by great heat, and the plant did not appear to be injured. By these trials, and the result 
of them, I am led to the conclusion that the plant will survive and be healthy under this temperature, provided the weather be clear. A higher temperature 
is decidedly to be preferred, effecting more rapid erowth of leaf and flower, consequently affording a greater number of blooms, under the most favorable 
circumstances being capable of producing a flower every third or fourth day; and with this low temperature requiring double that time, which delay is still 
more increased as the sun withdraws to the south. 
The delay consequent upon preparing further illustration than originally intended, has postponed the completion of this treatise. This has been 
increased by the earliest seeds sown remaining eight months in the tank before vegetating. Additional drawings of the young plant being deemed essential 
as confirmation of the correctness of previous ones. 
The past winter of 1853 and ’d4 proved very cloudy, stormy, and severely cold; on several nights the mercury falling to 17° below zero of Fahrenheit. 
The temperature of the water in the tank, with that of the air of the lily house, was kept at an average of 75°. Had it not been for the unusual cloudy 
weather, I have good reasons for supposing that the plant would have survived. After October, when continuous cloudy and stormy weather prevailed, it 
would suffer severely; reviving and giving hopes of its recovery on the re-appearance of sunshine. An excessive fall of snow, attended with great cold and 
high wind, on the last days of December, and repeated early in January, so covered up the house with ice and snow as effectually to shut out the light and 
warmth of the sun for a week or more. Continued cloudy weather during January completed its destruction, having survived rather over one year, and 
continuing to send up flower buds to the last. Possibly it may have been weakened by the low temperature consequent upon the erection of the house, 
and by the non-agitation of: the water,—the covering over the tank rendering it impossible to work the water wheel during this time. 
Y Seeds were again furnished me by Mr. Cope, but they did not grow. More were procured by Professor A. Gray, of Harvard University, from Sir Wm. 
J. Hooker, Director of the Royal Gardens at Kew, near London, and planted in March. The 11th of May, one of these commenced growing. On the 5th 
day of June, the third shoot from a seed planted last October, obtained from Mr. Cope, was discovered coming to the surface of the water from a depth of 
five feet. These plants advanced rapidly. Should no accident happen to them, they may be expected to blossom in September. The original plant of Mr. 
Cope’s, now on its fourth summer, remains in health, and has borne over 200 flowers. 
It does not appear to be an easy or simple matter to bring a Victoria Regia to maturity. I have sown many seeds, in every possible position under 
cultivation, and only a very few of them have vegetated. Many individuals, in various sections of the Union, have unsuccessfully made the attempt. 
Others, having succeeded in raising plants, have lost them after one or at most a few blooms. Even Mr. Cope, whose success has been so great, failed in 
his first attempts, having as early as 1850, through the hands of Thos. P. James, Esq., Secretary of the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, received seeds 
from Sir Wm. J. Hooker. The late Mr. Downing furnished him with a further supply. The plants raised from these were killed by too much heat. A 
second parcel from Sir William, furnished the plant yet alive,—the source whence all have emanated in this country, with the single exception of my plant 
now growing from the seed furnished Professor Gray. 
The ill success in preserving the plants alive and in health on the approach of and during the winter, causes some yet to think the plant an annual. It 
suffers in cloudy weather from the want of its native tropical sun. The proper action of the leaves is interfered with; black spots appear and spread 
rapidly upon them, only checked by the reappearance of sunshine. When assured my plant was dead, which was when it ceased to send forth buds or 
leaves, it was uncovered so as to see the condition of the roots. There was found a tuber or a Rhizoma of a beet red color, partially decomposed; with a 
countless number of rootlets, some yet alive, others dead, and a mass of decomposed matter below all. During its decline, every method that could be 
thought of to preserve it was tried, and a correspondence with Mr. Mechan, the head gardener at Mr. Cope’s at that time, was maintained, in the hope that 
his experience might be the means of suggesting some change in its management which would result favorably ; notwithstanding, we were disappointed in 
this hope. Extracts from these letters, as they throw light upon its proper treatment, and confirm the statements of gentlemen who haye examined the 
growth of the plant in its native waters, are here given. Mr. Mechan differs in one thing only; he has never found the Rhizoma or tuber, and does not 
think the plant has this. The examination of my plant establishes the fact, and confirms Mr. Spruce’s examinations upon plants found on tributaries of the 
Amazon, if any confirmation was necessary. This is readily accounted for by the fact of the quick decay of every part of the plant. Had the examination 
of the Salem plant been delayed one week, it is probable nothing but rootlets would have been found, as this had softened on the outer surface. Mr. 
Mechan says, during the winter of 1851-52—*The leaves of our Victoria became spotted and died away, as yours have done; sometimes an entire leaf 
would turn black in one night. Supposing the cause to be an escape of gas from the flue, this, with Mr. Cope’s consent, was removed, and the hot water 
pipes alone relied upon for affording heat. After this, the plant did not suffer so much as before; still sometimes the black spots would appear. In the 
spring, nearly all the water was drained out, and a few inches of new soil put in; and for some months none of these spots appeared. Towards the fall, air 
bubbles from the soil became numerous, especially near the middle, where the plant grew; and I noticed that when any bubble came up under a leaf it 
soon produced the black spot. On trying common air it did not cause that effect. An oily substance floated on the surface where the bubbles burst. A 
few inches of sandy loam, with three cart-loads of sandy washings from the turnpike, was put in the tank over the soil. This had the desired effect; there 
were no more spots or bubbles, and the plant increased in health and beauty. Thus far all was well; but the young plants kept going back, and some of 
them died. I decided to turn them out and examine the structure of the roots more closely than I had ever done. This afforded me a valuable lesson. 
