3o FLORA AND SYLVA, 



are white, with a reddish-brown band across the 

 base, the gland is small, round, and hairy, and there 

 are short scattering hairs on the base of petal. At 

 first glance it would be called a white C. splendens, 

 and is a native of the mountains of San Diego 

 County, California. 



Group VI., Sego Lilies. — In these the stems 

 are umbellate, with a very prominent bulblet at the 

 base ; the gland is round, the flowers very large and 

 handsome' — lilac, white, yellow, or pink. They are, 

 with one exception, natives of the Great Basin and 

 the arid regions east of the Rocky Mountains. 



C. Nuttalli. — Stem rigidly erect, a foot or two 

 high. The petals in the type are pure white, yel- 



lowish below, and often marked with maroon. 

 There is no more chastely beautiful flower than this 

 lily of the desert. In some regions the flowers are 

 yellow, in some pink, and in others wonderfully 

 varied. In the early days of Utah the Mormons 

 were often nearly starved, and the edible bulbs of 

 the " Sego Lily," as they called it, were very accept- 

 able food. They have made it their State flower. 

 C. Leichtlini is a smaller flowered alpine form. I 

 have often seen it flowering at an inch in height, 

 or even with the cup set in the sand. The petals 

 are smoky white, with a dark spot at the base. 



tti • i. n it • Carl Purdy. 



Ukiah, California. 



A Group of Blue Water Lilies in the Open Air. 



Dear Sir, — The following particulars relative to 

 the blooming in the open air of the blue Water Lily 

 (Nymphcea stellata, var. Berlin) may interest some of 

 your readers. The first plant, for which I was in- 

 debted to the kindness of Mr. Moore, of Glasnevin 

 Gardens, Dublin, flowered vigorously in a pond 

 during the summer of 1901, and in the autumn was 

 lifted after the first frost and gradually dried off in 

 a tub. Towards the end of February of last year 

 (1902) the crown appeared to be dead ; but closer 



throughout the summer not to allow more water into 

 the pond than would make up for the loss from 

 evaporation and soakage. By this means the danger 

 of any sudden fall in the temperature was diminished. 

 The soil used is derived from the old red sandstone 

 formation, and contains 75 per cent, of moderately 

 fine sand. The " top spit " ot this soil was mixed 

 with one-third part of well-decayed horse manure 

 and peat litter, and the mixture was placed in the 

 pond on the top of the puddling-clay. This clay 



NYMPHAEA ST EL LATA, BERLIN VAR. 

 In Mr. R. H. Beamish's Garden at Ashbourne, Cork. 



examination disclosed the fact that eighteen small 

 offshoots had sprung into existence. These were 

 divided and were grown on in separate tubs filled 

 with water and placed in a greenhouse, where the 

 temperature varied from 45 to 70 Fahr. The 

 young plants developed rapidly, and some were 

 finally placed in a pond in the open air in May. 

 The crowns were placed within six inches of the 

 surface of the water, which nowhere exceeded a 

 depth of more than 2 feet, and great care was taken 



consists of 55 per cent, of small angular sandstone 

 fragments, coarse and fine sand, and 45 per cent, of 

 clay and organic matter. There are only traces of 

 lime. The result has been that as many as twenty- 

 six flowers and buds have been counted on a single 

 plant, and the plants have continuously flowered 

 throughout the past summer and autumn. 



Yours faithfully, 



R. H. Beamish. 

 Ashbourne, Glounthaune, Cork. 



