194 



FLORAL BEAUTIES OF OUR BOGS AND PONDS. 



of access and dangerous, otherwise some of our choicest 

 plants would soon be exterminated. 



Of all water-plants, the common white water-lily is 

 probably the most generally known ; and yet scarcely 

 a single summer passes but that some visitor at Lake- 

 side says they first saw them growing in the Lock-shop 

 pond,* and in one or two cases they are said to have 

 seen there the first flower. Water-lily is a name for sev- 

 eral distinct genera, formerly placed in three different 

 families, but now included in one. It is far removed 

 from the lily family proper. This beautiful genus was 



dedicated by 



the Greeks to 

 the water- 

 nymphs. It is 

 generally trop- 

 ical or subtrop- 

 ical, and i t s 

 species have 

 been themes 

 for poets and 

 designs for 

 sculptors. The 

 flowers have 

 four sepals, her- 

 baceous on the 

 outside, but 

 petal-like with- 

 in. The petals 

 are arranged in 

 several rows, 

 growing gradu- 

 ally narrower 

 as they ap- 

 proach the cen- 

 ter, until they 

 pass into sta- 

 mens. The 

 fruit is berry- 

 like and pulpy. 

 About 20 spe- 

 cies are known, 

 3 of which are 

 natives of the 

 United States. 

 N' y m f h cc a 

 odorata has 

 the greatest 

 range of all, ex- 

 tending from Florida to Canada. It is more particularly 

 abundant along our coast, and yet if the tide breaks over 

 the banks of a lily-pond so as to fill it with sea-water, the 

 plants will all die. Those which naturally originate in a 

 given locality often have features by which an expert, on 

 seeing the flowers, can tell the location from whence they 

 came. These features are not materially modified by a 

 change in location, for we can easily assign each variety 

 to its original location upon inspection, where several 



White Water-lilies (Nymph/EA odorata) at " Lakeside." 



. Connecticut. 



varieties have been growing for years in the same pond. 

 The fleshy root-stalks, several feet in length, creep 

 along near the top of the soft mud, and are anchored by 

 fine rootlets that extend deeper down into firmer soil. At 

 short intervals side shoots or eyes extend, and from these 

 and the end of the main root the blossoms come. The 

 plant has no stem proper, but the peduncles and petioles 

 which we call stems extend directly from the root-stocks 

 to the flowers and leaves, and both have four canals or 

 tubular passages from end to end. The leaves are round 

 and parted to the center, making them somewhat heart- 

 shaped, the larger 

 ones being over 

 15 inches in di- 

 ameter. The 

 white and showy 

 flowers are often 

 over six inches in 

 diameter, some- 

 times seven. 



The leaves and 

 flowers float on 

 the surface of the 

 water, accommo- 

 dating them- 

 selves to its 

 depth, whether 

 six inches or six 

 feet. They thrive 

 best in from one 

 to two feet of 

 water. When 

 they grow in very 

 shallow water, 

 or are thickly 

 crowded, some 

 of the leaves will 

 stand up above 

 the surface. 

 They like good 

 soil, the richer 

 the better, and 

 will not live and 

 thrive in very 

 cold or swiftly 

 running water. 

 Still and warm 

 water is just as 

 essential to their 



growth as is running or cold water to our wild forget-me- 

 not {Myosotis fahistris). They are easily grown from 

 a bit of root having one or more eyes, by tying it to an 

 anchor and throwing it into the water. Some dealers say: 

 "Do not tie a stone to them and throw them in, but press 

 them firmly down into the mud." My experience is that 

 they do best when anchored with a stone, or pinned down 

 by sticks, with the root barely covered with soft mud. 

 They are so light that they float unless fastened down, 

 and if buried deeply enough to fasten them they are likely 



