OUR COUNTRY LIFE 



Where did this curious plant come from? They 

 call it the Egyptian lotus, but in Egypt the lotus has 

 practically disappeared. How did it come here? and 

 why is it found only in this one grassy lake when in 

 the surrounding country the conditions appear iden- 

 tical? To these questions there are various solutions, 

 none of which are particularly satisfactory. Why not 

 be content with this as a wonderful spectacle, a miracle 

 of Nature, a joy to the senses? To be sure I have 

 heard that near Detroit more acres of lotus have been 

 found, and in the olden days the Calumet River boasted 

 blossoms; but civilization has successfully destroyed 

 the latter. Let us hope that this particular lotus bed 

 at Grass Lake may be spared to afford joy to future 

 generations. 



One season we went to the lotus fields so late that 

 many of the flowers had gone, but there was a new 

 and remarkable effect as of acres of blue blossoms above 

 the broad green leaves. 



"What can it be?" I cried. "Do the flowers turn 

 blue in fading?" 



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