90 



JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



this way they have a very pretty effect. It is not advisable to break the- 

 backs of the sepals in order to try to retain the flowers expanded for a 

 longer time. 



Change of Water in the Tanks etc.— The simplest way to effect this 

 is to provide a tap from which a gentle trickle can be frequently left 

 running. If not in any way changed the water will stagnate. We like 

 to have a few gold and silver fish in the tanks : these gain their own 

 livelihood and assist in clearing away what might otherwise be a 

 nuisance. 



Varieties. — The following four varieties are in every respect excellent. 

 I consider them to be par excellence the best of the Blue Nymphaeas. 



N. stellata, Berlin variety. — I first obtained this beautiful and most 

 floriferous Water Lily from Mr. F. W. Moore, V.M.H., Royal Botanic 

 Gardens, Glasnevin. I have been informed by Mr. W. Watson, of the 

 Royal Gardens, Kew, that he first noted and secured it from Berlin ; 

 hence the definition employed. It is, under our system of cultivation, 

 the most vigorous grower of any. Each crown will produce hundreds of 

 flowers in the season. Upon our best plants we have repeatedly from 

 nine to twelve flow r ers expanded at" one time. These stand up well above 

 the water, scarcely ever less than 12 in. and often as much as 16 in. 

 clear of the surface. It is of a pale blue colour with golden anthers. 

 The blue in this Lily is not at all unlike that found in the Neapolitan 

 Violet. Its fragrance is most marked, and is distinctly that of the Violet. 

 The reverse of the sepals is pale green. The stems of the flowers are 

 short and support the flowers readily.* 



N. 'ji'iantca.— This fine Lily w r as given to me originally by Mr. Low,, 

 gardener to the Duke of Grafton at Euston Hall, Thetford. This 

 Australian species is quite distinct from any other in every respect. Each 

 flower has a larger number of petals than the preceding variety. In 

 colour it is of a deeper shade of blue. In form the flowers are more 

 incurved, whilst they are also larger. Many of its blooms measure 7 to 

 9 inches in diameter. Another of its marked characteristics is the breadth 

 of the petals, these being wider than in any other Blue Nymphcea that we 

 grow, being at the same time more obtuse in shape. One most striking 

 feature of this Lily is its multiplicity of golden anthers and pollen 

 masses.t Its season of flowering is not so prolonged as in the preceding 

 in tancc. (F. C. C, R.H.8., June 27, 1900.) 



N. pulchcrrima. — This Lily is, I believe, a hybrid of American origin. 

 In colour its flowers are distinctly of a darker tint than in the ' Berlin ' 

 1 ariety. They possess the same fragrance, but not in so marked a degree. 

 The p dicels, or foot-stalks, are as stout, but on the whole not so long ; on. 

 an average the flowers do not stand more than a foot above the water. 

 The reverse of the sepals, and the foot-stalks too, have dark lines upon 

 them, making it quite distinct in that respect from the ' Berlin ' variety. 

 By reason of its robust growth and excellent constitution I consider this 

 Water Lily to be the best, without exception, for outdoor cultivation in 

 tlw summer in warm positions, or where the overflow water from the 



' I In - Lily i- tin first to lower with us, and it is also amongst the latest of any. 

 + Its Mowers are not supported upon such stout foot-stalks, but partake more of a. 

 I" 1 >'> cliai ii- ter, being usually about six inches or so clear of the water. 



