BOTANICAL INDEX. 
79 
Fig. 51. — Flower, Bud and Torus of Nelumbium. 
Northern States where it is now found, hut do not propose to designate the localities 
so accurately that curiosity hunters can readily find and destroy them. However, 
we have nearly all the exact localities, and could furnish them to any one for special 
study. They are near Chicago and Peoria, Illinois; Crown Point, Terre Haute, 
| Seymour, Indiana; Kalamazoo, Monroe, Islands in the Detroit River, Vicksburg, 
Indian Lake, Michigan ; Toledo, Sandusky, Painesville, Ohio; SodusBay, New York; 
Lyme, Connecticut; near Philadelphia, Pa. ; Platte River, Nebraska. We have been 
told of several places where they are said to grow, but after a careful examination of 
the localities, and with the assistance of correspondence, they are found not to exist 
there. We would be pleased to learn of other localities where they are known to 
i grow, for a special purpose, and would thank our friends for information regarding 
j them. It will, however, be seen they are not a common plant north of the Ohio 
i river, and probably never was — their presence here being now pretty generally 
attributed to the agency of the aborigines. In the Southern States they are probably 
more plentiful; but in Chapman’s “Botany of the Southern States,” he says: “Lakes 
and still water, Florida, near Tallahassee, and northward and westward. Not com- 
mon.” In Young’s “ Flora of Texas,” he says: “Eagle Lake, near Columbus ;” and 
, we know they grow near Baton Rouge, Louisiana. So that even Southern authors, 
who are familiar with the subject, do not consider them common even in the South. 
Their large and peculiarly shaped leaf would call immediate attention of their pres- 
^ enee to collectors; while the very curious torus would not only attract the curiosity 
hunter, but would be a sure and definite proof to the botanist of their presence. We 
must therefore consider them as being widely scattered geographically, but only few 
in numbers in each single locality. It is to be hoped that where they now are estab- 
lished they will be protected from the wholesale destruction always following the 
discovery of any rare or strange object of interest. This is now being done by the 
owner of the Vicksburg pond, Michigan, for the protection of the few remaining 
plants. We would also suggest to plant lovers who have ponds of water under their 
control, or who live near slow running streams, small lakes, etc., that they plant at 
least a few seeds to grow where they can watch and protect the plants as they mature. 
It has been suggested by several botanists, who are reviewing the different species 
and genera of plants, that as the Nelumbium is not a very common plant, perhaps new 
facts might be obtained in regard to them if those who have access to fresh plants 
would correspond with some of the botanists that are revising the flora of North 
America. We shall take pleasure in forwarding any correspondence to the proper 
authors desired. 
They have not been introduced into cultivation in America, to any great extent; 
but as they are often met with in European collections, their treatment, as given by 
Sir Joseph Paxton, will be of use to any one wishing to experiment with them. He 
tells us: “They require to be grown in rich, loamy soil. The tank or tub in which 
they grow should be kept full of water while the plant is growing, but may be allow- 
ed to get dry when the flowering season is over. They require a strong heat to 
: flower. They may be increased by dividing the roots, but are more readily grown 
from seed.” 
There can be no reasonable doubt of their utility and adaptation in the near future 
I to American floriculture, and we hope to see them more generally in use. They can 
be very easily grown by planting in a barrel with a few inches of mud in the bottom, 
and the barrel filled with water; the barrel, however, should be set in the ground to 
> prevent being turned over, which really makes a cistern or tank of it. But a much 
