40 
“THE QUEEN OF FLOWERS”—VICTORIA REGIA. 
The Victoria is also thriving in the Calcutta Botanic Garden, from seeds received last March from 
Chatsworth. On the 26th of May the seedling was planted out on a hillock of prepared earth in the 
tank. On the 5th of September the first flower-hud opened. The flowers have averaged ten inches 
across, and at first are of a purer white, and subsequently of a brighter pink or rose than those pro¬ 
duced in England. The leaves develope with great rapidity. On July 25, 4 P.M., the entire foliaceous 
surface was 45 square feet, four-fifths of which had attained full growth; on July 26, 4 P.M., it was 
54 square feet; showing an increase of 9 square feet, produced by the united efforts of three leaves 
during a period of 24 hours, in an average temperature—air 89°, water 94°, Fah.; the youngest leaf 
trebled its foliaceous surface by adding 4 square feet, nearly one-half of the whole increase. At that 
time (July 26) none of the leaves, when fully grown, exceeded 3 feet in diameter, and all leaves pro¬ 
duced since have been under 4 feet across. 
Perhaps the flowering of the Royal Water-Lily on the Continent of Europe has created more excite¬ 
ment than anywhere else. It bloomed at Hamburgh for the first time on 28th August, when immense 
ciowds flocked to see it; and on the two days during which the first blossom was expanded, nearly 
3000 tickets of admission (issued at about two shillings of our money) were disposed of. In a letter 
just received from M= Otto, he gives an account of the cultivation and progress of the plant at Ham¬ 
burgh ; of this the following is an abridged translation :—- 
“ The treatment of my A ictoria has been an imitation of what has been previously practised in 
Britain. Last spring, I had a span-roofed house, of 31 feet each way, and containing a circular basin 
of 25 feet diameter, and four feet deep, built for the purpose. In this basin I introduced a mound of 
earth, consisting of equal parts vegetable mould, loam, and sand, upon which I planted, on the 31st May, 
a small plant of the Victoria, having only four leaves. The plant flowered on the 28th of August, having 
up to that time produced seventeen leaves, of which the largest had reached a size of five feet, eight 
inches. Although the water in the tank had no continual and gradual flowing in and off, twenty-five to 
thirty buckets of water were daily added to it, while a like quantity was either run off, or used for water¬ 
ing other plants. The young plant, nevertheless, succeeded well from the commencement, despite the 
frequent reduction in the temperature of the water in the tank to 14° Reaumur (63| Fah.), that of the 
house being often no more, especially at the end of June and in the beginning of July. From the 
middle of July, the temperature of the house was seldom below 18° R. (72 j Fah.), and that of the 
water never less than 21 R. (79^ Fah.), the temperature of the house being generally at from 28° to 
30° R. (95° to 99± Fah.), and that of the water from 22° to 24° R. (81|° to 86° Fah.) At first, a new leaf 
was produced by the plant every eighth day, afterwards every fifth, till at last two leaves came to 
maturity in a week. The length of the leaf stalks, which only extend after the leaves are nearly full 
giown, is fiom 12 to 13 feet. The nineteenth leaf was the first on which the brimmed margin was 
developed, and it appeared on all the following ones. The first flower made its appearance on the 
11th August, expanding on the 28th. The second bloomed on the 7th September; the third on the 
14th September; and up to the 1/th of October eight flowers had been produced. The rest did not 
come to perfection, the house being then purposely very slightly heated, as I intended to reduce the 
plant to a dormant state, in which I have now nearly succeeded. The flowers had a diameter of from 
12 to 14f inches. 
The flov ering of the Royal Water-Lily has created great sensation here; for, with the exception 
of the one in Hanover, which commenced flowering some weeks sooner, none had blossomed elsewhere 
in Geimany. M. Van Houtte flowered the \ ictoria last year. M. Borsig of Berlin has also erected a 
beautiful house, but his plant has not yet flowered. I have got seeds from which I purpose to raise 
plants for blooming next year. 
Along with the \ ictoria, I had A elumbiwn luteum, Nymphcea rubra, A r . pygmcca. N. micrantha, 
N. ccerulea, A. cyanea, A. dentata, N , odorata. N. thermalis ; also Pistia Stratiotes, Limnocharis 
Plumiei i and Humboldtii, Pontedena crassipes, Cyperus Papyrus, and alternifolius, Saccharum 
officinal um, Caladium, various species, &c., mostly all of which have flowered.”— George Lawson, 
F.R.P.S., C. ui ator to the Potamcal Society oj’ Edinburgh. 
