266 



FLORAL BEAUTIES OF OUR BOGS AND PONDS. 



all requiring the same general treatment, excepting per- 

 haps that the tender species require a little coaxing. In- 

 stead of putting a dormant plant into deep water, which 

 is always cold at the bottom, it should be first set in a 

 pot in shallow water, where the sun will warm it, and 

 after attaining a good growth transferred to deeper water. 

 A strange thing about many tender species is that they 

 will make a wonderful growth and yield flowers abund- 

 antly in one season, even with seedling plants, whereas 

 the seedlings of our native species do not bloom until 

 the second year. 



Nymphcea Dei'oyziensis is the choicest red water-lily 

 in cultivation. In one season, under liberal culture, a 

 single plant will cover a circle 20 feet across, with leaves 

 25 inches in diameter and flowers 12 inches from tip to 

 tip of its rosy crimson petals. The stamens are scarlet. 

 The leaves are rich green, with serrated edges and occa- 

 sional brown blotches. N. Stia-tevanti is a semi-double 

 red lily, a seedling from N. Devoniensis. A', rubra is 

 a native of India, with large flowers of a deeper shade 

 of brilliant red. N. dentata and A^. lotus are white- 

 flowering species. The latter is supposed to be the lotus 

 of the ancient Egyptians, and one variety of it has a de- 

 licious odor like that of ripe apples. These are tender 

 species and all are night-bloomers, opening in early even- 

 ing and remaining open until about ten the next morning ; 

 the flowers all stand up out of the water. 



Among the day-blooming tender nymphaeas we have 

 A'. scutifoUa, a distinct blue species from the Cape of 

 Good Hope, with large flowers of aromatic sweetness, 

 unlike that of any other species A', cccruica is a blue 

 lily and a free bloomer, with very fragrant flowers. A'. 

 Zanziharcnsis is said to be the best of all the blue or 

 purple sorts. A variety of it has lighter colored flowers, 

 and, strange as it may seem, one variety of this blue- 

 flowering species has beautiful rosy pink flowers. A 

 pretty, small-growing variety from Mexico, similar 

 to N . flava, is called N. Mcxicana. A'', elegans. from 

 New Mexico, has white flowers tinted with pale blue. 



Hardy nymphaeas, other than N. odorata and its nu- 

 merous varieties, are A', reniformis and N. marliacea 

 in four distinct varieties, one of which has bold flowers 

 with broad yellow petals and orange-colored stamens ; 

 another quite similar but of a flesh tint, is vanilla-scented. 

 Two others, similar in form but different in color, are 

 delicate rose and pure white. 



A', alba is the hardy English lily with but little fra- 

 grance. Its variety candidissima is larger, stronger, and 

 a better bloomer. Last and least is A^. figmcca, the 

 smallest of all nymphaeas, from China, with sweet white 

 flowers smaller than a half dollar. They open at noon 

 and close at sunset. A variety of it has yellow flowers. 



Belonging to a different genus in the same family is 

 our common yellow pond-lily, toad-lily, frog-lily, horse- 

 lily, bonnet, gold-watch, yellow-jug, or spatter-dock, 

 as it is variously called. It is Niifhar advetia. It is a 

 strong grower with enormous roots, the leaves and flowers 

 often standing up out of the water. What is generally 

 taken for its corolla is the ring of six bright yellow sepals 



that surround the flower proper. It is showy at a dis- 

 tance and is of a curious and beautiful structure that 

 will bear closer inspection. There is a variety of it 

 called minus, which appears to be something between 

 this and the next rarer and smaller species, Nuphar 

 kalmianitm, which has only five sepals instead of six. 

 Its delicate small flowers are more like gold collar-but- 

 tons than gold watches. It has one set of thin round 

 leaves that lie submerged, and another set of thick ellip- 

 tical leaves floating on the water. We first noticed it 

 from a car-window, and were so strongly impressed with 

 the fact that it was the small nuphar, which we had 

 never known, that a stop-over was made at North Haven, 

 Conn., which verified our first impressions, and gave 

 us the honor of being the first to report this species to 

 Yale College as growing in that vicinity. 



A pretty little species that is perfectly hardy has been 

 recently introduced from Japan, and is called A'uphar 

 Japonica. A^uphar lutciim is the European yellow 

 lily, having a brandy-like scent. 



Another strange and beautiful native plant in the water- 

 lily family is the water-shield (Brason'a pcllata). Its 

 floating and unparted oval leaves, bright green on the 

 top and reddish brown beneath, are secured by smooth 

 red stems, When the flower-buds begin to form, nature 

 coats and protects the plant with a gelatine as clear as 

 crystal and so soft and delicate that we could hardly feel 

 its touch but for its coolness. The crape-like chocolate- 

 colored flowers, standing slightly above the water, are ex- 

 ceedingly beautiful on close inspection, but they are the 

 most difficult flowers to get the first sight of that I ever 

 looked for. 



A'eliDnbium lutettm, which Gray now calls nelumbo, is 

 the American lotus, or water-chinquapin, which grows 

 from Ontario to east Nebraska, but its only locality in 

 New England is Sheldon's Cove, Hadlymie, Ct., where 

 it covers acres. Gray says it is probably of Indian intro- 

 duction, which, when we consider that it is strictly an 

 American species, is far more probable than the common 

 tradition that the seeds came hither in Egyptian paper- 

 rags. Like all the nelumbiums, it has enormous leaves 

 and flowers and a wonderful seed-vessel with many cells, 

 of which one writer says, " We can see the large round 

 seeds embedded therein like so many plums in a pud- 

 ding." The flowers are a creamy greenish white, and 

 very showy at a distance. The locality is resorted to by 

 people from far and near, who are so greedy as to pick 

 and carry away immature buds that can never open, and 

 thus, notwithstanding the abundance of the plants, a 

 flower from that place is seldom seen. It is difficult to 

 cultivate, either from seed or root, but will do well when 

 once established. 



N. spectosum, from India, Asia and Japan, known also 

 as the sacred lotus or sacred bean, is of easy cultivation 

 either in pond or tank, and is perfectly hardy. The 

 leaves are 30 inches across, and footstalks 5 to 6 feet in 

 length ; its flower-stalks are 5 to 7 feet high. The first 

 day the flowers appear like gigantic tea-rose buds of a 

 bright rose color. The second day they open like a 



