HORTICULTURAL JOURNAL. 137 
flowers borne on a strong foot-stalk, elevating itself eighteen inches above the 
water ; these flowers, three times the size of those of Magnolia grandiflora, 
have almost their form ; they have eighteen imbricated petals, of a brilliant 
rose, lined with a bright red from the middle to the circumference ; I doubt if 
the celebrated flowers of the Victoria regia excel those of this new acqui- 
sition, which presents besides, as well as its congeners, the inappreciable 
advantage, of being cultivated by the humblest amateur, almost without 
care and with the greatest ease, according to the difl"erent processes which 
I shall show. 
They may be cultivated in tubs, pots or boxes. The amateur who has 
neither basin nor vivarium, nor any piece of water, has no reason, on that 
account to fear ineflectual attempts ; he can undertake it with every assur- 
ance of desirable success. Large pots carefully stopped at the opening, 
boxes lined with zinc, tubs either large or small, barrels or oil-casks, 
cut in half and bound with iron for greater strength, are very suitable and 
serve perfectly for their cultivation ; these last indeed, should be preferred 
as well on account of their durability as their moderate price. 
The best situatioi^ is an exposure to the south, next to that, an eastern 
one ; the next best, towards the west ; a northern exposure is too cold for 
Nelumbiums, a large number of other aquatic plants can nevertheless 
accommodate themselves to it. 
The place, then, most exposed to the sun should be preferred. The 
vases should be buried as deep as to within four or five inches of the edge ; 
put into each of them ten or twelve inches of turfy peat, if it can be pro- 
cured. The mud drawn from ditches or streams, mixed with an equal portion 
of grape-mash or leaf-mould would be excellent; I employ in preference, 
the following compost : 
One Third clayey marl burnt ; 
One Third Grape pomace ; 
One Third Leaf soil ; 
all well mixed. The burnt earth is very fertile and drives away or destroys 
insects, snails, &c. All these difi"erent composts ought to be passed through 
a hurdle or a sieve, to extract carefully from it the roots of parasitic plants 
such as dog's tooth, Potentilla &c. For mud, take out carefully the roots 
and stalks of Potamogeton, chara, water arrows, typha palustris and other 
aquatic j^lants, the least fragment of which left by mistake, will soon take 
a prodigious development. 
The earth being placed and leveled, arrange on it with little wooden 
hooks, the rhizomas of the Nelumbium, which then cover with two inches of 
