HARDY HYBRID WATER-LILIES. 



297 



intense violet, clear violet, violet-red, pink, &c, that it is possible 

 to imagine. But, alas ! these charming varieties, which have 

 also the advantage of being day-flowering, will only thrive with a 

 considerable amount of heat. At Temple-sur-Lot, which has a 

 great number of running springs, they are grown all the year 

 round in the open by the following means. From the end of 

 October to April 15 we pass through their basins a constant 

 current of water from the running springs to preserve them from 

 the cold, and as soon as the cold is less intense we turn off the 

 springs, so that the temperature of the water in the basins 

 becomes the same as that of the air. By these simple means it 

 is possible to enjoy for five months the flowering of these grand 

 plants, which, like some of the Nelumbiums, have a decided 

 tendency to acclimatise themselves in the south of Europe. 



As regards the Nelumbiums their position is too important 

 amongst decorative aquatic flowers to pass them by in silence, 

 and I have not yet given up all hope of obtaining in time 

 varieties sufficiently hardy to live without protection in England ; 

 for it must be remembered that they are nearly as hardy against 

 the frost as the indigenous Water-lilies, and that the only 

 obstacle against the realisation of this hope is the fact that they 

 require, in July and August, a greater degree of heat than 

 the Water-lilies for the ripening of their rhizomes, which 

 renovate themselves in the heat of midsummer. It is in 

 April that the Nelumbiums begin their growth, and when 

 their first floating leaves appear, followed shortly by larger ones, 

 which stand up 2 ft. or so above the water. They display them- 

 selves majestically like vast air bubbles hanging from a very 

 slender stalk, and the drops of rain or from the waterpot roll off 

 them sparkling like diamonds from their concave and velvety 

 surface. The flowers have an exquisite perfume, and are of the 

 size of large Peonies, appearing in July, August, and September. 

 They are of many very rich shades of pink, white, red, yellow, 

 carmine, and lilac. Some double varieties have been obtained 

 lately, with about twenty- four petals, which will no doubt still 

 further augment the already great fame of the charming 

 Nelumbiums, whose temperament it is so desirable should 

 acclimatise itself to the climate of England. 



[Nelumbiums have been grown in the open air by planting 

 them in tubs whose upper rims were sunk a foot or 18 inches 



