i90 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



me to go into them in detail. No praise given them has approached 

 exaggeration. You can have them for all purposes : for the great lake, 

 provided the water is not too deep ; for the large pond ; for the tiny 

 pool. For large water areas such sorts as Nymphaea Marliacea and 

 its varieties, carnea, albida, and chromatella, N. atropurpurea, N. Glad- 

 stoniana, N. colossea, and N. candidissima are excellent ; for very small 

 ponds, N. pygmaea and N. pygmaea var. helvola, N. Laydekeri rosea 

 prolifera, N. odorata minor, and perhaps N. Ellisiana will be found 

 suitable, as they are of very moderate dimensions, and grow in 12 

 inches of water. It is rather with their collective than with their 

 individual merits I wish to deal. The ordinary white native Nymphaea 

 alba, dear to everyone, has its drawbacks. It is one of the earliest to 

 flower, and it is the earliest to fade. It ceases flowering in July, and 

 the leaves quickly turn yellow, so that by August a pond covered with 

 its decaying leaves looks quite melancholy. In August the newer 

 varieties are still gay and bright, and the leaves quite fresh, and flowering 

 continues until October. I have seen flower buds frozen into a sheet 

 of ice which covered the pond in October. This is a great gain, and 

 greatly enhances the value of Marliac's race. The first water-lily to open 

 at Glasnevin for several years has been the Swedish rosy variety of the 

 common water-lily, N. alba var. rubra (N. ' Carpary '), but it has one 

 disadvantage of going off early in the season. It is difficult to get it 

 typical, and there are many very poor varieties in the market. Nymphaeas 

 are not a class of plants which get their sustenance from water alone, as 

 seems often to be supposed ; they are in fact rather greedy, and where 

 there is not a good supply of natural mud, pure cow manure, with no 

 straw or litter, is an excellent food for them. It can be rolled up into 

 small balls and thrown round the crowns just as growth begins. Where 

 there is plenty of space the several varieties of Ntiphar may be planted 

 in association with the water-lilies, but they must be so placed as not to 

 encroach on them, as the Nuphars are vigorous and aggressive, and 

 owing to their strong rhizomes and roots they are difficult to get rid of. 

 By far the nicest Nuphar is N. advena. Its leaves are dark shining green, 

 and stand well up out of the water, and the centre of the flower is dark red ; 

 a good patch of it is both effective and pleasing. Other plants suitable 

 for associating with Nymphaeas are Phragmites communis, Ranunculus 

 Flammula, Aponogeton distachyon, Stratiotes aloides, Cladium Mariscus, 

 Sagittaria, Bichardia africana, and bulrush. A word of caution is 

 necessary about some of these. The reed grass, Phragmites, and 

 Banunculus Flammula are apt to take possession of things if not kept in 

 bounds, but their runners are easily caught and pulled out by a strong 

 toothed rake. Why should a little labour and attention be grudged 

 to water-plants ? We give it freely to the alpines and herbaceous plants 

 and recognize that it is necessary. Of the other plants a word may be 

 said in praise of Cladium Mariscus, and the common bulrush, as they 

 break the even surface and give variety. The grey foliage and drooping 

 inflorescences of Cladium are particularly attractive, and it is not a plant 

 which spreads much. Bichardia africana is perfectly hardy if it is 

 planted in water about 12 inches deep, so that the crowns are covered 

 by water and are thereby protected from frost. Many illustrations 



