HARDY HYBRID WATER- LILIES. 



298 



vessels in the spring, and carefully keep them full of water. 

 The work of hybridisation is more complicated, as it is neces- 

 sary to entirely cut away, at the very first moment of expansion, 

 all the stamens of those flowers which you wish to artificially 

 fertilise, and on the second day to dust their stigmas with a 

 brush, covered with pollen from those kinds chosen for the 

 crossing of them. It is worthy of remark that success in 

 hybridisation depends principally on the care of the operator 

 in only employing subjects of a vigorous growth, well chosen, 

 and fitted to produce types that will be very free blooming 

 and of perfect forms and shades. The flowers generally sink 

 after the third day of blooming, and the pods which they pro- 

 duce, which are like those of the Poppy, come to maturity at 

 the bottom of the water. They come half open, w T hen they 

 are ripe, and allow a multitude of seeds about the size of small 

 pearls to drop out, and these immediately rise to the surface 

 surrounded by a gelatinous substance. They must then be col- 

 lected at once, with the aid of a small strainer, as they only float 

 for hardly a single day, and then sink straight to the bottom, 

 from which the sticky substance prevents them from moving. 

 After their capture they should be kept in water, so as to keep 

 them more safely until they grow. 



People who are unprovided with basins of water, and who 

 wish to start on the culture of Water-lilies, can very well make 

 shift with casks sawn through the middle and firmly surrounded 

 by iron bands round their edges. In temperate countries it is 

 unnecessary to protect these tubs against the frost, but in cold 

 countries they must be protected. To do this a trench is made 

 of a depth of about one-third the height of the tubs, which are 

 then placed in it and banked up to their edges with the earth 

 dug out. One would hardly believe what a charming effect 

 can be produced by tubs arranged in this style, with art and 

 symmetry, and clothed with Ivy. 



Water-lilies are blessed with a surprising vitality, which 

 allows them to live for quite a long time out of the water, and, in 

 consequence, to survive very long voyages without being any the 

 worse. For example, in 1889 I sent to the Universal Exhibition 

 at Paris a collection of my hybrids in a case which was lost on 

 the railway, and which could not be found for over a month. I 

 was then obliged to replace this first instalment. Some time 



