412 PLANT CULTURE 



of any of the above can be started in the Spring, and by careful ma- 

 nipulation they will give several plants each, which will afford as 

 much, if not more, satisfaction than would the older plants. Another 

 matter which should be kept in mind concerning the above kinds is 

 that they do not form small tubers at the sides of the large ones 

 made during the growing season. The reverse is the case with such 

 species and forms as N. dentata, N. devoniensis, N. rubra, N. rubra 

 Sturtevantii, N. Omarana, N. columbiana, N. Deaniana, N. deli- 

 calissitna and N. Smilhiana. These are all tender, night blooming 

 kinds and form tubers around the sides of the parent tuber or root 

 stock; they are very irregular in shape, not at all resembling the pear 

 shaped tuber of a young starved plant. After the display of flowers 

 is over for the season, cut off the leaves close to the crown, and with 

 a spade cut off the roots about 6 inches from the crown ; lift the clump 

 and put beneath the stage of a warm house. The central part will 

 decay in a short time, and before this actually happens the tubers 

 may be gathered and stored for the Winter. N. gracilis and N. 

 pulcherrima, white and blue, respectively, will keep easily, if the old 

 root stocks are saved, as they do not decay so easily as the other 

 tender day bloomers. 



When it is necessary to keep old plants of the above named day 

 bloomers other than N. gracilis and N. pulcherrima, lift the smallest 

 of the plants, save as many roots and leaves as possible, pot them and 

 sink in a tank, the water of which does not fall below 30 degrees F. 

 There are several methods of keeping the small tubers of the tender 

 Nymphceas over Winter. Those from the night bloomers should not 

 be removed in a hurry, as the wound made by separating is apt to 

 be slow in healing, and the riper the tubers when the work is done 

 the greater the success. They keep well in damp moss, on the floor 

 of a warm house. If they are starved tubers, that is, of the Pear 

 shaped form, there is little fear of decay setting in, for then there 

 are no wounds to heal as in the case of detached tubers. They may 

 be then kept dry, but warm. Probably the safest plan, and the one 

 which I adopt, is to put each kind in a pot of sand and sink in a 

 warm tank. 



Raising Hardy Kinds from Seeds. A'', pygmcea seeds very 

 freely, in fact, every flower may be depended upon to ripen a cap- 

 sule; but if there is an overflow to the pond the seeds are very apt to 

 get lost, as they float on the surface after being liberated from the 

 capsule. If gathered before this takes place, and the pulpy material 

 removed from around them, they may be thrown in a part of the 

 pond where they are likely to germinate. A'^. caroliniana, X . tu- 



