WATER PLANTS— WATERSIDE PLANTS 409 



plants instead of the tubers. I have raised 3 2 tubers within a year, 

 starting only with a single tuber. N. gigantea is the aristocrat among 

 the Nymphaeas; her ways are not the ways of the common herd, but 

 she responds heartUy to the will of the propagator when she is 

 understood. With N. alba rosea the trouble seems to be caused by 

 our hot Summers. However, there are numerous other species and 

 many hybrid forms which require much less attention than the 

 majority of other classes of plants to bring them to perfection. Of 

 these about half are tender; the others will stand the Winters suc- 

 cessfully if the crowns are low enough in the water to be out of the 

 reach of frost. Or if they be grown in places from which the water 

 has to be drawn in Winter, the plants may be covered with some 

 protecting material. But the question of just how much cold the 

 various kinds will stand has not been ascertained. 



The tender kinds are divided into two well defined sections — 

 day blooming and night blooming. In the day blooming section we 

 have N. (Jlavo-vircns) gracilis, white; A'', capensis, N. stellata, with 

 numerous forms ranging from colors almost blue to deep rose; N. 

 ampla {pidcherrima) produces flowers exactly similar to those from 

 plants raised from seed of N. {flavo-virens), which have evidently 

 been fertilized by pollen from forms of N. stellata; N. elegans, a 

 Mexican species, has purplish flowers; N. gigantea, a light blue- 

 flowered species from Australia, has the largest blooms of all, some- 

 times attaining a diameter of 16 inches. 



The night blooming section is represented by N. Lotus, N. 

 rubra, N. rubra (devoniensis) , N. dentata and N. rubra Sturtevantii. 

 Most of the other sorts are cross-bred forms between N. Lotus and 

 N. rubra. All of the tender kinds have thick, swollen root stocks, 

 while the hardy species, with one or two exceptions, have thick, 

 fleshy rhizomes. 



Among the hardy sorts N. odorata is the one most commonly 

 grown for its flowers. A form of this is known as the Cape Cod 

 Water Lily; N. odorata rosea has bright rose colored flowers; N. 0. 

 sulphurea, N. Marliacea chromatella and N. tuberosa flavescens have 

 yellow flowers; N. Marliacea albida and A'', alba are pure white. A 

 hybrid race of which N. Laydekeri rosea is the best known, has 

 several named kinds with rather odd colors, but they are less de- 

 sirable than some of the better known varieties. They are, however, 

 well suited for growing in tubs half filled with soil, and the remaining 

 space with water. 



SolL All of the species and varieties will thrive in loam two 

 parts and one part half-rotted cow manure. Another good me- 



