Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1889-01-26

We have been much interested in vX,ehin,
the growth Of ths water lilies which the enter
prising Chinese laaDdrymen Of our city. SsH
Sing and Hop Lung have growing il The viz
dovs Of their embellishments In vain ".
have tried 70 talk With Sam and Hop aboui
their culture, asking them ~kar the plant sas,
the color Of the foser, etc, bat about all sc
could get out Of them vas that the plants
we're "va-tsr lily" Not hat sc we're en-
sirslf ignorant Of the history Of the plan.
and the way il 10 srosu, but ~e wanted, Il
possible, 20 get At original IDEAS Of It's GUITAR
in il native country. and 10 hear the traii-
selves.
Visitors a. the lAundri-s will have noticed
the care given these plants, and the apparent
affection manifested for them. Thi, 10 be-
cause the hly-Poly Aathus nArcissus--is the
sacred plant Of the Chinese; and there Is ,
pretty little goody legend As TO il, origin.
Plant history informs Us that there is al old
story in Chinese annals which is told some
What after this fashion,: Once upon = tin
father left his property to his two sons, an
told them, in dying, 10 divide ii equally
But the elder one seized all the nllabls
land, and left the younger nothing but a.
acre covered with rocks and water Unabls To
obtain justice from his brother, the younge,
son sat down on the water. edge To benoan hi
misfortune. loving fairy appeared asc
giving him some nAreissus bulbs told him &c
drop them into the water. Shortly after
wards their flowers were developed and
neighbors crowded to admire the fairy gift
In the course Of fe~ years the younger son
aecum ulated fortune BY their rapid increa.e
and sale Of the bulbs. This made the elder
brother envious. He bought great number,
Of the bulbs, and tried to &c. monopoly OF
the business by purchasing all he Could
This he did at so heavy 40 expense that b.
mortgsged his property to obtain modey foi
their purchase. He planted all his land |.
them. But they soon began to die, as the
cannot live long out of water. He va.
ruined His brother who had purchased the
mortgage, foreclosed it, and became pos
sessed Of the whole estate in time TO replaDt
some Of the eying bulbs in his little pond
and thus save the fou ei from entire destruc-
ton"
While the Chinese succeed wonderfully
in the culture Of this bulb, it may be grown
by anybody with almost equal success. Be-
ginning in Septe mber we may plant basin.
full, from two to six bulbs, every two weeks
till the end of January and thus have con
tinous bloom Of this beautiful flower from
October to March. The dish may be any
shoal china or glass dish three or four
inches deep and among the Dulbs place a
handful of pebble or small stones We no.
,ice Sam Sing has his plants supported by
small marble chips. Keep the dishes in a
sunny place and supply water as it evaporates.
They will blossom in about five weeks from
planting, and the white flowers, which are
both double and single, are very fragrant
snowy, and last in fairly good condition for
three weeks.
The water culture of bulbs is an interesting
feature of the window garden in winter but
we must confess that the hyacinth, which is
strongly recommended by florists for water
culture has never been a success with u.s.
But with the sacred water lily. or Narcissus
there is no possibility of failure, and any
body may grow them. If our Chinese cousins
succeed in interesting us in the house culture
Of these charming, fragrant plants, We shall
have something to thank them for besides
clean shirts at four cents apiece