How to Grow Water Lilies-continued 



shallow tanks 10 inches deep under clear glass, the water to be 

 at a temperature of 70° to 80°. Under these conditions they 

 will be extra large plants by planting time. 



The best results will be obtained when planted in the natural 

 mud bed, but if the water is too deep, construct boxes four feet 

 or more square and eighteen inches deep, and place these in the 

 pond twelve inches below the surface of water. In artificial 

 ponds and cement basins cover the entire bottom with ten inches 

 of soil, top-dressed with two inches of sand or gravel. If this 

 cannot be done, use boxes or half-barrels filled with aquatic soil. 

 In small tanks or ponds there should be from six to ten feet 

 between each plant; in large ponds or lakes the best effects are 

 secured by planting in groups of three or more plants of one 

 variety to each group, allowing eighteen inches between each 

 plant and from ten to twenty-five feet between each group, 

 depending upon the size of the pond, location, etc. In planting 

 Nymphasas, all that is necessary is to push the rhizomes into the 

 soft mud, so that they will be merely covered, and it is a good 

 precaution to place a stone on them until rooted, to keep them 

 in place. When planting dormant rhizomes, they should only 

 be covered with from two to three inches of water until they 

 have made their first floating leaf; then gradually increase the 

 water as the plants grow. When planting in natural ponds 

 where the depth of the water is not under control, it is 

 advisable to start the rhi- 

 zomes in boxes or tubs. 

 After they have made one 

 or two floating leaves trans- 

 plant into their permanent 

 positions. There are more 

 failures caused by planting 

 dormant rhizomes in deep 

 water ten inches or over 

 than from any other cause. 



Winter and Future 

 Treatment. Hardy 

 Nymphaeas and Nelumbiums 

 need no care duiing the 

 winter, provided the water 

 is of sufficient depth so that 

 it will not freeze to the 

 crown of the plants. In ce- 

 ment tanks drain ofiT all the 

 water and fill in with leaves 

 or cover with boards and 

 leaves or litter. Tubs may 

 be wintered by emptying the 

 water and removing to a cool 

 cellar or greenhouse, or they 

 may be covered with leaves 

 and soil in the garden in such 

 a manner that they will not 



freeze. If grown in tubs or boxes the plants should receive a 

 top-dressing of bone meal at the rate of one pound to each plant, 

 just as growth starts in spring. It should be distributed evenly 

 over the surface of the soil, and a little sand or fine soil spread 

 over all to keep it from floating away. The second spring after 

 planting it will be advisable to transplant all such plants as have 

 made a strong growth. This should be done by washing away 

 most of the soil from the roots, removing all side growths and re- 

 planting the strong roots into fresh soil as before. The side growths, 

 if planted two or three together, will also make flowering plants the 

 same season. Lilies which are grown in beds of soil or in natural 

 ponds will be much benefited by an application in spring of 

 Dried Blood manure, broadcasted on the surface of the water at 

 the rate of one pound to every ten square feet of surface. Tender 

 Nymphaeas require to be wintered in tubs or tanks in a green- 

 house where a temperature of 60° is maintained. As strong 

 plants are quite troublesome to winter, even under favorable con- 

 ditions, we advise to leave them out and get new plants each season. 



Nelumbiums. These are supplied in tubers, and should not 

 be planted before May 1st. The treatment is the same as 

 recommended for hardy Nymphaeas, excepting that they do best 

 when planted in mud or soil that is at least two feet deep and 

 covered only with six inches of water. When planted with 

 other aquatics there should be partitions of brick or boards, so as 

 to confine the tubers, otherwise they will soon take possession of 

 the entire pond. In planting, place the tubers horizontally in 

 the mud, so that the point will be merely covered. They are 



Part of our Kxhibit op Harpy Watek Lilies at the Pan-American 

 expositi' n. 



gross feeders, and shoul d have Dried Blood manure applied each 

 spring, as suggested above. 



Victorias should not be planted in the open pond until after 

 June 10th, unless the pond is sufticiently heated so that a tem- 

 perature of 80° can be maintained, in which case the plants may 

 be planted as early as May 10th. Each plant should have at 

 least three cart-loads of aquatic soil for the roots, and 300 sq. ft, 

 of water surface for the development of its leaves, and a depth of 

 18 inches of water above the crown of the plant. In other 

 respects their requirements are the same as recommended 

 for tender Nymphceas. In growing Victorias from seed, sow 

 Victoria Regia at any time between January 15th and April 1st, 

 in pots or pans, using finely-sifted soil. Cover the seeds with 

 one inch of soil and a slight dusting of sand. Submerge the 

 pots so that they will be four inches below the surface of 

 the water, the temperature of the water to be maintained at 

 90° to 95°. After the seedlings have made two leaves, pot them 

 singly into three-inch pots, using aquatic soil, and repot into 

 larger pots as required. Seeds sown before February 15th 

 should be in twelve-inch pots or pans by May 15th. The 

 water temperature can be reduced to 80° after the first potting. 

 To successfully germinate Victoria Trickeri, cut a small hole 

 with the point of a sharp knife through the shell on the oppo- 

 site side from where the germ is, sow and give the same treatment 



as recommended for Victoria 

 Regia. Victoria Trickeri 

 seed will germinate in water 

 at a temperature from 70° to 

 95°, and an atmospheric 

 night temperature of 60° to 

 66° will be sufficient for 

 both varieties. To maintain 

 as high a temperature as re- 

 quired to germinate and grow 

 Victorias, a metal tank is 

 best. This should be placed 

 in as light a position and as 

 near the glass as possible. 

 Enclose it below with a 

 wooden case and use a lamp 

 or gas-jet to give the desired 

 uniform heat. All metal 

 tanks, before being stocked 

 with plants or seeds in pots, 

 should have one inch of mud 

 spread over the bottom. 

 This prevents metals giving 

 off injurious acids and gases. 

 Submerged Plants. 

 All tanks, ponds or lakes 

 should have submerged plants 

 growing in them to aerify the 

 water, thereby keeping it pure and sweet. The best plants for 

 this purpose are Anacharis canadensis gigantea, Cabomba 

 viridifolia, Sagittaria natans and Vallisneria spiralis. These can 

 be planted in water from six inches to two feet deep. 



Enemies. Greenfly and other insects on Nymphaeas can be 

 destroyed by a weak solution of kerosene emulsion applied only 

 after sundown. Nelumbium caterpillars or borers can be kept in 

 check and eventually exterminated by dusting the foliage once a 

 week with slug shot. This should be applied early in the morn- 

 ing before the dew has evaporated, otherwise the powder will not 

 adhere to the foliage. Never use kerosene emulsion on Nelum- 

 biums. Musk-rats, the worst of all aquatic enemies, are easily 

 kept in check by steel rat-traps,set in their diving holes or about 

 two inches under water, where their runs enter the pond. Have 

 the chain fastened to a stake driven into the mud well out in the 

 water, so that when the trap is sprung the rat will not be able to 

 reach the bank, or it will escape. 



Fish. Fish should be in all ponds, from the smallest tub to 

 the largest lake, as they will destroy all mosquito larva; and other 

 insects. In lily ponds gold fish are preferable, being both 

 useful and ornamental, and, if fed regularly at one place and 

 hour, they will soon become very tame, and will be found await- 

 ing this expected meal, which may consist of a small quantity of 

 rolled oats or cornmeal. A tub should have two fish in it, and 

 twenty-five fish will be sufficient to stock a pond one hundred 

 feet in diameter. 



A short note on Growing Water Lilies from Seed is given on page 125. 



(265) 



