Nor are they merely ornamental plants, for independently of their 
affording shelter to the fish, and often a resting-place to birds, their 
seeds are sweet and pleasant eating, and are favorites with the native 
Indians and boys.. 
The flower, like that of the Nymphza alba or white water lily of the 
lakes of Europe, closes at sunset, and opens on the following day, the 
object being to exclude the humidity that is deposited from the air, 
and which, if it had access to the pollen while yet in the anthers, would 
rupture it prematurely and prevent the fertilization of the ovules, there- 
by hindering them from becoming perfect seeds. . This regularity in 
the opening and closing of the flowers, dependent upon the intensity 
of light, caused Linneus to place the water-lily on his Dial of Flowers; 
and has been frequently remarked by the poets, as the most noted ex- 
ample of those plants which “dedicate their beauty to the sun.” 
“Mark where transparent waters glide, 
Soft flowing o’er their tranquil bed; 
There, cradled in the dimpling tide, 
Nympheza rests her lovely head. 
But conscious of the earliest beam, 
She rises from her humid rest, 
And sees reflected in the stream, 
Her spotless purity of breast, 
Till the bright day-star to the west 
Declines, in Ocean’s surge to lave, 
Then folded in her modest vest 
She slumbers in the rocking wave.” 
Mrs. Cuartotre Smiru. 
Be 
The mode of germination of Nelumbium luteum has been most beau- 
tifully represented and elucidated by ] oiteau, in the Annales du Mu- 
seum d’ Histoire Naturelle, Vol. 13, p. 395, t. 29, f. 42-46. 
INTRODUCTION; WHERE GROWN; CuLTuRE. This species of Nelum- 
bium appears to have been introduced into Britain in 1810. Our 
drawing was taken from a plant which flowered splendidly in Septem- 
ber last, in the stove of Mr. Miller, at Durdam Down Nursery, near 
Bristol. It requires to be kept in a very warm situation in the stove. 
Sweet in his Botanical Cultivator states that “It should be grown ina 
large pot, in a rich loamy soil, and requires a strong heat to flower it 
in perfection. The pot or tub should be kept full of water all the time 
the plants are growing, but may be allowed to get dry when the flow- 
ering season is over. The plant may be increased by dividing at the 
root, but is obtained more readily from seeds, which vegetate freely.” 
In order to sow the seeds successfully it is necessary to surround them 
