692 



LIGHT FROM THE SOCIETIES. 



with their products. After taking an account of what 

 each man put in, the products were delivered b}- their 

 man. If any remained over, it was sent to other 

 cities for sale. They soon found it to their advantage 

 to establish drying houses, canneries and cold storage, 

 and in various ways accomplished far more than indi- 

 viduals can do. — E.\li-act from tlie Discussions of Indiana 

 Horticulturists . 



Aquatics and Their Culture. — Fifty years ago the cul- 

 tivation of nymph^as and other aquatic plants was con- 

 fined to some of the finest places of that time ; no- 

 tably the grounds of the Duke of Devonshire, where 

 originated that superb variety, Devoniana The dis- 

 tribution of thousands of plants annually is a feature 

 of our own day, and one which, from present indi- 

 cations, is certain to become much more important in 

 the near future. 



A few years ago many persons supposed the flowers 

 were artificially colored. Now the blooms are generally 

 admired, and are sold from the leading flower stores as 

 cut-flowers, and are also used by thousands in designs 

 and bunches on various occasions. 



The Nymph.ia. — Nyinpiura lotits and /V. cmruha were 

 both figured on Egyptian monuments, also Nehimbitnii 

 speciosuni , representations of which are found on the 

 ruins of the ancient temples. From this evidence we 

 learn that the Egyptians were doubtless acquainted with 

 it, although the plant no longer abounds in an uncultivated 

 state in Egypt. It is supposed to have been originally in- 

 troduced from Asia, where it is still found plentifully in 

 many parts. 



Some confusion exists in regard to the name lotus 

 Nyinphaa lotus is probably the true Egyptian lotus, or 

 lotus of the Nile of the ancients, and was held sacred 

 to the God Isis, and was engraven on some of their ver\' 

 ancient coins. The lotus of the lotus-eaters was a tree 

 (^Zizypluis lotus) found growing in northern Africa and 

 bearing a sweet fruit. NeluniHum spcciosuvi is the 

 sacred lotus, or water bean, of India. Nyniphica ca-ru- 

 Ica is called the blue lotus of the Nile, but is also found 

 at the Cape of Good Hope. 



The introduction by several of our large cities of 

 water plants into their public parks has done much to 

 educate the public taste for aquatics 



Arratiging IVater Gardens. — The introduction of water 

 affords one of the most effective features in landscape 

 gardening, and when judiciously planted becomes doubly 

 pleasing. Many estates contain low, out-lying pieces 

 of ground, half neglected, which, by the introduction of 

 water gardening, might be made the most attractive of 

 spots. If no natural body of water exists, a cemented 

 basin of any shape or extent might be made at a com- 

 paratively slight expense and planted with aquatics ; 

 the background and margins with cannas, cyperus, 

 caladiums, Arundo Donnx , callas, irises, and other moist- 

 ure-loving plants, making a most pleasing and attractive 

 garden. 



Any low piece of meadow with a clayey sub-soil, and 

 which could be inundated, if broken up and well en- 



riched might be planted with hardy lilies, with Villarsia 

 nyiiiphuoides, aponogetons and other small-growing 

 aquatics for the shallow parts, and would make a most 

 satisfactory lily garden. The nymphaeas best suited for 

 this purpose would be : odorata and varieties, yellow 

 and pink ; alba candidissima ; chromatella, fine yellow ; 

 and for a blue, N. sen ti folia would probably prove 

 hardy, except for very far north The nelumbiums 

 also should be given a chance ; for, while the tubers will 

 not bear freezing, yet if planted so that the runners 

 could bury below frost line, they will generally winter 

 over. The calla of the greenhouse will also winter out 

 if planted deep enough, and would be very effective 

 with its fine blooms. Sagittarias, nuphars, orontiums, 

 Poutcdcria cordata. Sahhatia chloroides , and a host of 

 native aquatic and bog plants could be added from 

 time to time, which would make such a garden of much 

 interest to botanists as well as mere lovers of the 

 beautiful. 



To all who hesitate about beginning the cultivation of 

 wate ■ plants under the impression that the possession of 

 natural ponds or the large outlay of money in prepara- 

 tion was necessary, I would say that a few tubs set in a 

 sunny sheltered spot, with other plants set about them, 

 and planted with nelumbiums and tender nymphaeas, 

 would give an opportunity for their succeseful cultiva- 

 tion. The tropical kinds flower more freely than the 

 hardy ones, a? a rule, and, being in tubs, might be re- 

 moved to a warm cellar to winter. 



The compost best suited for growing them in tut)s or 

 pots is good strong loam and well-rotted stable manure 

 — about equal parts. With the proper conditions at 

 first supplied, their after requirements are few, and 

 these readily suggest themselves. — Abstract of paper by 

 Benj . iircy , read before the Toronto Comiention of the So- 

 ciety of American Florists. 



The Hybridization of Plants — In the lowest forms 

 of vegetable life the process of reproduction is exceed- 

 ingly simple — that is, one plant divides itself into two ; 

 each new plant divides again, and so on indefinitely. 

 Under less favorable conditions reproduction takes place 

 in a general way as follows : Two of these plants come 

 together and merge their substance into one another — 

 that is, fertilization consists simply of two entire plants, 

 or parts of plants, which fuse into one, and lose their 

 previous identity. This means the simple union of two 

 individuals for the sake of strength and production. 

 The united plant is able to live and resist adverse in- 

 fluences which otherwise would have destroyed the 

 single plants. 



The two plants after union become one round body, 

 and this covers itself with a protecting shell ; and since 

 the larger the mass is, the smaller, proportionally, is 

 the exposed surface, the united plant needs less covering 

 than the two did before the union, thereby saving both 

 material and force. Thus the union of the two into one 

 mass has saved the life of the individual and has per- 

 petuated the species. This is essentially what takes 

 place in every plant where there is anything like 



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