fRESMT-DAi' WAfEE LILIES. 



least, such, is the case with us. I saw recently some seed floating 

 upon the surface of the water, but unfortunately it escaped my memory 

 to skim it off before it sank to the bottom. The iseed of the Nymphaea 

 usually floats for about twenty-four hours after the capsule has burst 

 and discharged its contents ; then it sinks to the bottom, usually floating 

 to the sides in shallow water; here it should be looked for in May of 

 the following year as seedlings. If secured, however, it should be sown 

 at once in a gentle heat and be kept growing all the winter. Sow the 

 seed on mud and cover with about two inches of water, using shallow 

 pans for the purpose. All of the vigorous growers can be easily propa- 

 gated by offsets. These may be cut away clean from the main stem, 

 if possible, with a few roots attached thereto. The work of propa- 

 gation should be done early in the summer — May and June being 

 the best times to see to it. If the divisions be small it will be well to 

 keep them for a time in shallow tanks, where attention can be easily 

 given to them. I would pot them into small or fairly small pots, 

 unless the growth be quite vigorous and the roots plentiful. When 

 such is the case place them at once into small baskets, properly secured, 

 and sink them for the first season in shallow water, and in the warmest, 

 most sheltered spot, but not in any shade whatever. Shade is not 

 desirable at any period of growth, and the drip from trees overhead is 

 certainly a disadvantage at any time. 



Their Preference for Still Waters. —The Nyniphaeas have a decided 

 preference for still waters, or where the movement is of the slightest. 

 I have watched for them on various occasions when on my holidays, but 

 have never, in any instance, found them where the waters were much 

 on the move. I saw them once on the Rhine, but it was in a sheet 

 of water that was almost surrounded by land, where no perceptible 

 motion was felt. I have noted them, too, on the lakes in Norway, but 

 close to the water's edge. It is almost useless to grow them in 

 running streams where such pass through the gardens; they are not 

 at all congenial to their growth. In its native habitat Nymphaea 

 gigantea, the blue Lily of Queensland, thrives, so I have been 

 informed by a lady who has travelled there, in the lagoons where the 

 Water is comparatively still. Here also was found the Lotus {Nelum- 

 hium speciosum). Nynifhaea Lotus thrives amazingly in the channels 

 in the delta of the Nile that supply water for irrigation purposes for 

 the cotton and other crops, but not in the river proper. I have upon 

 various occasions had questions sent to me with respect to the failure 

 of Water Lilies to thrive satisfactorily. I have, upon inquiry, invariably 

 found that running water was the cause , of non-success. If running 

 water can in some way be modified by forming what may be termed 

 Backwaters, it is possible to succeed. In such positions the water will 

 bfe' slightly warmer, and this is a distinct advantage. 



Their Floral Beauty. — When grown in masses, and where it is 

 possible to view them from slightly elevated ground as at Wisley, at 

 Gravetye, and elsewhere, the floral effect is extremely beautiful. For 

 ^ effect it is hardly possible, I think, to find anything in the \n ay of 



