NELUMBIUMS AND NYMPH^AS. 



water plants started very early 

 in spring and have made mag- 

 ' nificent blooms, beginning on 

 May 15. The large and elegant 

 Nymphcra alba candidissinia 

 has been the first to show life 

 and also to blossom. This 

 is one of the free bloomers. 

 It is full of flowers all the time. 

 I measured leaves 16 inches in diameter and flowers 

 7 inches across. The center is rich yellow and the 

 petals very broad and waxy white. 



When only one variety is wanted, this should be taken 

 into consideration before any other is bought. N . tiibc- 

 7-osa, our own western lily, is also a rapid grower, very 

 full and double, pure white, with a yellow center. Some 

 admirers call it the finest of all white water lilies. It 

 is a very lovely sight to see these delicious flowers lirst 

 open. At about nine o'clock in the morning they expand 

 and continually grow larger till about noon (according 

 to the temperature) when they soon commence slowly 

 to shut up again and go to sleep, about two or three in 

 the afternoon. Water lilies and lotuses nearly all eith- 

 er closed in the day time or at night, and generally open 

 and close for three or four days. 



N. odorata rosea was about showing life at the same 

 time as the two preceding. This is generally early in 

 spring — usually in March. This lily has received much 

 praise wherever introduced. It is sometimes called the 

 Cape Cod lily. Like the rose called by any other name, 

 it is just as pretty. People who visit my lily ponds call 

 this a rapturously beautiful floral treasure. Its leaves 

 are 12 to 15 inches across, and single flowers fill the in- 

 side of a man's hat. It is a very free bloomer and en- 

 dures transplanting and rough usageextraordinarily well, 

 N. odorata is our own sweet-scented water lily. It is 

 also a lily whose praises can never be too highly sung. 

 I planted a small tuber from one pond into another this 

 spring and it has roots, and now (July 10), four large 

 beautiful buds in all stages of expansion. It is almost 

 as large, leaves and flowers, as the Cape Cod lily, and 

 snowy white. 



N. odorata minor is much like odorata, only smaller. 

 One of my ponds is almost entirely covered with it. 

 Bees have a pleasant time on the inside of the flowers, 

 and extract a large amount of honey from them. Hun- 

 dreds of them are open almost all the time, and these 

 busy creatures makes use of them nearly all summer. 



Liinnantheniiiin ny?)!p/iceoides. Floating-heart, is now 

 in its fullest glory. It is not as pretty as our lilies, but 

 its curiously formed flowers, rich yellow color and lace- 

 like petals are all blended in such a way as to make it a 

 lovely companion for its more royal namesake. 



Nuphar adveiia is of the lily kind, but bears only a 

 partially developed yellow flower, something like the 

 yolk of a large egg. It has large leaves, which some- 

 times stand out of the water. Mud lily is one of its 

 names, and splatter dock another. 



N. Devoniensis, IV. dentata and N. rubra are three ten- 

 der and night-blooming lilies. They are cultivated 

 mostly in hot-houses from seeds or tubers left over from 

 the preceding summer and then transferred to shallow 

 ponds. I generally put some good strong plants in a 

 shallow place, and when the "warm nights come they soon 

 spread over a large area, 



IV. Devoniensis and N. rubra are pink and red, and IV. 

 dentata is white, something like N. alba candidissima, 

 but larger. This spring I planted some blue water lilies 

 from seed, and they are doing well. 



Zanzibarensis is highly praised by some of our 

 principal florists. Lincoln Park, Chicago, and Central 

 Park, New York, as well as many public and private 

 ponds make fine displays of the last named tropical 

 plants. I expect my N. Zanzibarensis to bloom in Au- 

 gust. This blooms during the day ; the other three dur- 

 ing the night. 



Pontederia crassipes major, or water hyacinth, is a 

 curious water plant, and makes a good show all summer. 



Azolla Caroliniana , or floating moss, is very pretty when 

 grown in the shade, and grows reddish when exposed to 

 the full glare of the sun. 



Pistia stratiotes, or water lettuce, is also found in my 

 ponds. These bear no flowers, but are very useful for 

 carp and other fish ponds, forming a complete carpet 

 bed for places not taken up by the hardy and tender 

 water plants. 



Zizania aquatica, or wild rice, is coming up for the sec- 

 ond time this summer, as I mowed off, dried it and have 

 made hay of the first crop. It is greedily devoured by 

 all kinds of cattle, either green or in a cured state. It 

 is found in our fish ponds and is highly recommended 

 by fish culturists as very necessary for German carp. 

 The seed falls in the water, where it is appropriated by 

 the fish, I have often noticed that carp are constantly 

 nosing and hunting for food under the leaves of lilies 

 and floating moss, and among the reed stems of wild rice. 



After all, the nelumbiums, or sacred lotuses, are the 

 most unique, grand and wonderful floral attractions I 

 have in all my aquatic collection. They show life a 

 little latter than the hardy nymphseas, such as the larger 

 white European (candidissima) lily, and our own tube- 

 rosa ; but when they have commenced to grow and 

 show leaves, they make such a rapid display among the 

 other plants that the latter sink into utter insignificance. 

 New leaves and flower buds are constantly shooting up, 

 and there is no end to bloom and blossom, 

 N. speciosum is a large flowered variety, and has done 



