GIANTS. 365 



one on each side of the Atlantic, which, for size of 

 page, are almost the largest of modern books. The 

 oft-repeated account of its discovery on New Year's 

 Day, 1837, by Sir Robert Schomburgk, whilst on 

 his way up the River Berbice, has become a historic 

 record, and is the basis of all detailed chronicles. 

 " There were," he says, " gigantic leaves, five to six 

 feet across, fiat, with a broad rim, lighter green above,, 

 and vivid crimson below, floating upon the water; 

 while in character with the wonderful foliage I saw 

 luxuriant flowers, each consisting of numerous petals,, 

 passing in' alternate tints, from pure white to rose 

 and pink. The smooth water was covered with the 

 blossoms, and as I rowed ■ from one to the other I 

 always found something new to admire. The flower- 

 stalk is an inch thick near the calyx, and studded 

 with elastic prickles about three quarters of an inch 

 long. When expanded the four-leaved calyx mea- 

 sures a foot in diameter, but is concealed by the 

 expansion of the hundred-petaled corolla. This 

 beautiful flower, when it first unfolds, is white with a 

 pink centre ; the colour spreads as the bloom in- 

 creases in age ; and at a day old the whole is rose- 

 coloured. As if to add to the charm of this noble 

 water-lily, it diffuses a sweet scent. Ascending the 

 river we found this plant frequently, and the higher 

 we advanced the more gigantic did the specimens 

 become ; one leaf we measured was six feet five 



