V..1, r.xxvm 
Published Weekly by The Rural Publishing Co., 
333 W. 30th St., New York. Price One Dollar a Year. 
NEW YORK, NOVEMBER 8, 1919. 
Entered as Second-Class Matter, June 26, 1S79. at the Post 
Office at New York, N. Y., under the Act of March 3, 1879, 
No. 4559. 
A 
Competence in Water-lilies 
Farming, in a Frog Pond 
H OW II' STARTED.—W. B. Shaw, owner of the 
Shaw Aquatic Gardens at Washington, D. C., 
came from Maine several years ago to work under 
the Federal Treasury Department. In one of the 
suburbs of the city he purchased a small 12-acre 
farm with a part of the land extending into the 
swamps of the Anacostia River. Remembering the 
white water-lily (Nymphma odorata) found so fre¬ 
quently growing wild in 
the shallow ponds of his 
native State, he began 
to wonder if it could be 
made to thrive in this 
climate. The swamp 
land was useless for any 
ordinary agricultural 
purpose but. used for 
growing water - lilies, 
might easily become a 
matter of great interest 
for himself and liis 
friends. Accordingly he 
obtained from Maine 
about half a dozen roots, 
and set them out in a 
small basin dug in the 
edge of this swamp. The 
plants grew well during 
the first season, lived 
over Winter, and con¬ 
tinued to thrive. The 
experiment was success¬ 
ful. and not only he but 
also his friends and 
neighbors became enthu¬ 
siastic. Consequently the 
next season he dug a 
pond about half an acre 
in extent, and set it out 
to this same species of 
water-lily. The growing 
of these plants was at 
first merely for the plea¬ 
sure of his family and 
immediate friends, but 
others heard of the ven¬ 
ture. A few demonstra¬ 
tions of the artistic uses 
of the cut flowers soon 
created a commercial 
d e m a n d among the 
Washington florists, a 
demand which to one 
who could meet it meant 
a paying business. Mr. 
Shaw was alive to the 
possibilities, and soon 
another pond three- 
fourths of an acre in 
extent was set out to 
different species and 
varieties of h a r d y 
lilies — plants w h i c h 
would be able to with¬ 
stand the Washington Winters in the open. 
A BUSINESS VENTURE.—About this time, on 
account of the demands of a growing business, and 
questions of health which made an out-of-door life 
especially desirable, Mr. Shaw resigned his position 
with the Government and from then on devoted his 
entire time to the growing of water-loving plants. His 
motto always has been to purchase only the best. 
Some Plea *“>e8 of a Country Holiday-Boating and Flower Gathering. Fig. 538 
and as the business increased to add to his collection, 
as far as possible, any and all worth-while varieties 
offered for sale. He has often paid as high as $25 
for a single rootstock of some new or rare variety. 
GREENHOUSE AQUATICS.—In the meantime 
two greenhouses had been constructed for the propa¬ 
gation and over-wintering of the tenderer lilies, 
which require artificial heat during the Winter 
months. From time to 
time other ponds have 
been dug out. and all 
different hardy and ten¬ 
der varieties have been 
added to the collection 
as fast as put upon the 
market. At present a 
little over five acres are 
under water, besides a 
considerable area de¬ 
voted to swamp-loving 
plants. Many varieties 
have been imported from 
S w e d e n and from 
France, and the blue 
lilies from Africa. The 
collection also includes 
the so-called Egyptian 
lotus CNelumbo nuci- 
fera) and the native 
American Nelumbo or 
water-chinquapin; the 
umbrella plant (Cyperus 
alternifolius). the Egyp¬ 
tian papyrus (Cyperus 
papyrus) : the Cabomba 
(G. caroliniana) so com¬ 
monly used in small 
goldfish aquaria: Elodea 
(E. canadensis) ; water 
milfoil (Myriophyllum 
sp.) : liornwort (Cerato- 
phyllum demersum) ; 
forget-me-not (Myosotis 
scorpioides) : duckweed 
(Lemna sp.) : Salvinia 
(S. natans); an Italian 
variety of eel grass 
(Vallisneria sp.) : the 
water-hyacinth (Eieh- 
hornia speeiosa). and 
many other swamp and 
water-loving plants. 
AN ODD WATER- 
EIUY.—One of the ex¬ 
ceedingly interesting 
water-lilies grown in 
these ponds is the Nym- 
pha?a Daubeniana (Fig. 
541). In this species a 
rapid method of natural 
reproduction consists in 
the development of 
young plants from the 
upper surface of the 
