AQUATIC PLANTS. 



31 



A'', aspericcmle may be regarded as an improvement 

 of the type ; the variety album is a white-flowered 

 Indian form. The flowers of X. caspician are piurc 

 white, tipped with rose. 



JN'. Lcichardtii is a desirable form, native of 

 Queensland, which has not yet been introduced, 

 though attempts have been made by means of seeds. 



As a species, A", spcciosum is found throughout India, 

 China, J apan, in North 

 Australia and Queens- 

 land, the Malay and 

 Philippine Islands, 

 Persia, and the Cas- 

 pian Sea. It is now 

 extinct on the Nile, to 

 which, probably, it 

 was introduced. An 

 illustration is given in 

 the Guide to the 

 Royal Gardens of 

 Kew ; " there is a cut 

 in T/ic Garden, vol. 

 xix., p 213, and it is 

 figui-ed in the JBota- 

 nical Magazine, as well 

 as in several other 

 botanical works. In 

 the " Treasury of Bo- 

 tany" will be found 

 an interesting account 

 of the plant with 

 regard to its associa- 

 tions. 



Xipa fruticans. — 

 Though quite as orna- 

 mental as many other 

 Palms that are culti- 

 vated, it is rather more 

 of botanical interest 

 than horticultural 

 value. The leaves are 

 pinnatisectj and of 

 handsome outline, but 



the coloiu' is yellowish-green and unhealthy look- 

 ing. It is now placed near Fhijtchphas, the Ivory- 

 nut Palm, but it has also some features of the 

 ' Pandanacece, in which order it has been placed. The 

 nuts of a similar plant abound in the tertiary forma- 

 tions at the mouth of the Thames, but this is a native 

 of the salt marshes and coasts of the Indian seas, 

 importation is effected by means of germinating seeds 

 or young plants in a Ward's case. The seeds soon 

 lose vitality if kept dry. 



Kympha>a. — Nearly all the kinds of this lovely 

 group are easy to grow, and there need be no garden 

 ha ving a warm house without some of the best. Such 



Neltjmbium speciosum. 



a house as the Water-lily House at Kew, with its 

 large circular basin, may be instanced as offering all 

 the convenience necessary, and failing a proper tank 

 some may be grown in tubs half filled with soil. In 

 any case light is an essential, and the plants should 

 never be much shaded by Palms or other ornamental 

 specimens. The best soil is good loam, enriched 

 with cow-manure, and the mixture is better if stacked 

 some time before use> 

 Light soil should not 

 be used. In a proper 

 aquarium the plants 

 are grown usually in 

 large pots, which may 

 be sunk rather deeply 

 if there is plenty of 

 room. If there is not 

 much room, the tops 

 of the pots should be 

 kept about six inches 

 below the surface of 

 the water, and then 

 the leaves do not 

 sj^read so widely. It 

 is often convenient to 

 drain off the water of 

 the tank and gradually 

 dry ofl[ the tubers for 

 the winter ; but this is 

 not the best treatment. 

 The better plan is to 

 keep them in water all 

 thi-ough the year. If 

 it is more convenient 

 to diy off the tubers^ 

 as much care as possi- 

 ble should be exer- 

 cised to make it a 

 gradual process, but 

 with all care some lo&s 

 may be expected. The 

 tubers may remain in 

 the soil they grew in 

 till March, when it is the proper time to re-pot them 

 in pots as large as will be necessary for the season, 

 because they cannot well be again re-potted. The tem- 

 perature of the water generally should be about 70° 

 to 75°. Seeds maybe imported dry, or in bottles of 

 water, and tubers at rest in damj) moss will survive 

 a long journey. 



Is. ampla. — A beautiful free-flowering kind, with 

 white flowers, which open in the morning and close 

 at mid-day. They are sweetly scented. The leaves 

 are nearly round, and are deeply notched, green 

 above, and deep red below. Native of Jamaica and 

 St. Domino-o. 



