86 



this plant, together Avith the rearing uf its foliage to extraor- 

 dinary proportion, and through the pages of his Treatise on the 

 entire plant, in all its stages of growth, has been only Avorthily 

 and meritoriously bestowed. 



It is perhaps well known that the Victoria had been pre- 

 viously grown and flowered by Mr Cope and Mr Buist of 

 Philadelphia, and by Mr. Feast of Baltimore. Mr. Cope's 

 plant was the one which flowered first in this country, and Avith 

 great liberality he supplied seeds or plants to others, who have 

 flowered it, and to many who failed in its cultivation. 



The seed from which Mr. Allen's plant was raised was rip- 

 ened at Springbrook, near Philadelphia, the seat of Caleb Cope, 

 Esq. It was sown in the early part of December, 1852, in a 

 box of loam, which was placed under water, first in a tub, but 

 subsequently in a tank prepared expressly for it. The temper- 

 ature of the water in this tank was kept at 74'-' to 78° Fahr.^ 

 until January, 1853, when it Avas raised to 78° to 82*. On 

 the 13th day of January last, there appeared a young filamen- 

 tous shoot, as fine as the finest grass blade, which at the end of 

 eight days had lengthened three or four inches. At intervals 

 of about a week new leaves appeared, each growing different in 

 shape and size ; for instance, the second leaf, on the 22d of 

 January, was six inches long when fully growai, and the blades 

 of the leaf assumed an arrow shape. The third leaf, of nearly 

 nine inches length, became in shape similar to the j^oung leaves 

 on the Calla ^thiopica. The fourth leaf, was a floating leaf, 

 reaching the surface of the Avater and measuring, when mature, 

 four inches in length by one inch and seven-eighths in width. 

 In about five months, from this stage of growth, the twenty- 

 fifth leaf appeared, and with it were appearances of the coming 

 flower bud ! On the third of July, the twenty-sixth leaf 

 appeared, and when it was fully groAvn it measured sixty-six 

 inches in diameter. The flower bud was now visible. On the 

 tenth of July, the twenty-seventh leaf appeared, which finally 

 measured sixty-eight inches in diameter. The flower bud now 

 appeared in sight rapidly, and in company with it the twenty- 



