56 
Feb. 
THE CULTIVATOR 
Victoria Regia.,. 
MONG the most magnificent 
water plants in the world, is the 
Victoria Regia , a native of the 
sluggish streams of tropical 
South America, of which some 
conception may be formed from 
the sketch, given on the next 
page, which represents the specimen first grown 
in northern climates, by the Duke of Devonshire, 
at Chats worth, England. Specimens which have 
been lately grown in this country, have, however, 
decidedly larger leaves than those here represent¬ 
ed. The plant very much resembles an enor¬ 
mously magnified water lily. 
The first plant in this country, was raised by 
Caleb Cope, near Philadelphia, in 1851, and 
bloomed the same season. It occupied an artifi¬ 
cial pool about 80 feet in diameter, and four feet 
deep. When we first saw it, one of its magnifi¬ 
cent flowers had just burst into bloom. Perhaps 
we may give our readers some idea of its splendor 
when we state that the flowers were about as large 
as a good-sized drumhead cabbage, and possessed 
all the delicacy and beautiful shading of white, 
pink and red, exhibited in the finest flowers of the 
Camellia . One of the largest leaves was found 
to he six feet four inches in diameter. It has 
been very successfully cultivated this year by 
Biiist, of Philadelphia, and by Feast of Balti¬ 
more. The plant in the latter collection, is said 
to be remarkably vigorous, some of the leaves be¬ 
ing so stout as to hold up a man weighing 150 
pounds ! 
This, at the north, is one of the most difficult 
to cultivate of all tropical plants. It is not 
only necessary to give it a warm artificial climate 
and warm water to grow in, but also to keep this 
water in motion , so as to imitate the current of 
its native rivers. At the garden of Caleb Cope, 
the motion was accomplished by means of a stream 
of water from above, about half an inch in diam¬ 
eter, falling on a small tin overshot water-wheel, 
about two feet in diameter, whose outer circum¬ 
ference was furnished with paddles, which kept 
up a constant circulation in the pool. The ex¬ 
pense of the house built for its special accommo¬ 
dation, and other necessary outlays, were about 
four thousand dollars, the benefit of which was re¬ 
ceived by many thousand persons, who came from 
far and near to witness this floral curiosity. 
The last number of Hovey’s Magazine, notices 
another new water lily, the Nymphcea gigantea, a 
true water lily, with deep purplish blue flowers, a 
foot in diameter, hut with much smaller leaves 
than the Victoria, being about 18 to 25 inches 
across. It has never flowered out of Australia, 
its native locality, but the seeds are offered for 
sale at five dollars each . 
Large Pacts in Small Fruits. 
[Having often visited the grounds of onr cor¬ 
respondent, and witnessed the profuse masses of 
redding fruit on his strawberry beds, we have no 
doubt of the strict accuracy of his statements be¬ 
low, were it possible that any other proof were 
needed. They afford another corroboration of 
what we have often asserted, that strawberries, 
(except picking,) may be as cheaply raised as po¬ 
tatoes. It may he proper to remark that the soil, 
in the following instances, was one of excellent 
quality, and containing the seeds of very few 
weeds, but little cultivation was needed. Eds.] 
1. During the last summer, I gathered from my 
garden more than fourteen bushels of strawberries, 
all raised at a cost of less than two shillings per 
bushel, all told. Watered not more than three 
times. 
2. I transplanted one plant of Burr’s New Pine 
Strawberry plant, on the 1st July, 1851-—from 
which, on the 1st October, I transplanted 50 plants 
in a roomy bed, and from which bed I sold on the 
28th September, 1852, 700 young plants at $2.00 
per 100, besides 300 plants left, and the fruit gath¬ 
ered in June last. 
3. On the 28lh day of April last, I transplanted 
in my garden, from a journey of 300 miles, one 
plant of Longworth’s Prolific Strawberry, which 
plant has since produced more than 150 strong 
plants, which are now attached to it in my gar¬ 
den. 
4. From eight plants of the u Crescent Seed- 
ling” Strawberry plants, I sold plants sufficient to 
one nurseryman, to amount to more than $100, at 
wholesale prices. 
I give the above, only as remarkable facts, 
the like of which may never occur again, even 
in my own experience, and for which I claim 
no particular credit, but all of which I can abun¬ 
dantly substantiate by witnesses entirely disinte¬ 
rested, in Palmyra, where they occurred and I 
communicate them for lovers of large stories. R. 
Gr. Pardee. Geneva, Dec 18, 1852. 
Securing Grafts. —We have never found any 
mode equal to packing grafts in fine moss, for 
keeping through winter. Earth or sand is the 
most common covering; but grafts kept in these 
must be carefully washed to prevent dulling the 
grafting knife. Besides, this covering is not so 
easily removed or replaced as moss. 
