St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1894-09-08
LIKES WATER LILIES.
MRS. CLEVELAND HAS MANY
AT THE WHITE HOUSE.
The Great Victoria Regia Blooms
in the Stone Pond-Other
Fountain Basins.

w
Mrs. Cleveland's water flowers are in
their fullest bloom. She is extremely
fond of them, and vases in the rooms OF
the White house are kept filled with
them when she is here in summer.
From the windows of her Doudoir she
looks out upon large circular pond,
stone.curbed. in which the most beauti-
ful varieties from all over the world
are growing. Conspicuous among them
is the wonderful Victoria ReCia, with
leaves six feet in diameter, looking like
enormous trays, with the edges turned
up four inches all around.
The South American Indians, in the
! region of the Amazon, put their chill
dren on these floating platters while
gathering the seeds of the plant for use
as food. That is nothing surprising, for
fully developed leaf will sustain 200
pound man. The leaves grow some-
times at the rate of half an men all hour
or eight inches day. The flowers OF
this giant among water lilies are fifteen
inches across. They are white when
they first open, turning to pink on the
second day.
One of these blossoms would serve as
a corsage bouquet, but Mrs. Cleveland
would hardly think Of using them for
that purpose, for they are thorny up to
the very petals. 1t is all interesting
fact that the first Victoria Regia that
bIoomed in the United States WAS grown
| in big tank at the White house. The
| place OF honor was given to it in the
aquatic house which formed a part of
the presidential Conservatives. But
| during Andrew JOhnson'S administra-
ton this water garden under glass was
| destroyed by fire, and it was never
| rebuilt.
Other fountain basins in the White
| house grounds are utilized for water
| gardening on small. but artistic scale.
| This branch OF horticulture is eXten-
sively carried on in the parks of Wash
| ington. 1t was first attempted here
| fourteen years ago by Henry Pfister,
| then, as now, in charge of the gardens
| of the executive mansion. The earliest
| trial was made III the stone-curbed pond
| already referred to. south of the presi-
| dents dwelling. At nearly the same
time DR.. Hessel began experiments with
| hardy water lilies in the ponds used for
| propagatlng carp and other fishes near
| the Washington monument.
These fish ponds are beautiful sight
at this season of the year, half dozen
| CLASSY little lakes being fairly covered
with lilies OF almost every color of the
rainbow. The varieties represented
have been brought originally from Ja-
| pan, Zanzibar and other far-away parts
| of the world. Only a small minority
| are native to the United States. DIR.
| Hessel has succeeded in making some
crosses between tropical and hardy
| lilies that will winter out of doors in
this. latitude. OF course only hardy
! kinds are suitable for growing IN ponds
| so far north as this.
| Mrs. Cleveland's lilies are propagated
| In the White house greenhouses for
| planting out. None of them are raised
| boxes of earth containing the bulbs are
placed in the fountains. where the
| plants are left to develop. In the autumn
| the boxes with the plants are removed
TO a cool place, where they are permitted
| to remain until the next spring. Then
the plants are taken out Of the boxes.
| the leaves and stocks being dead, and
| the living roots are divided and planted
| anew in pots OF fresh rich soil. until
they are ready for the fountain again.
| The tubers of tropical lilies, however,
| require more particular care. They
must be kept over the winter in damp
| moss where the temperature does not
| exceed 80 degrees, iu order that they
may remain dormant. III warm place
they would spront. Since the burning
| of the aquatic house attached to the
| White house .there has been no water
| garden under glass in Washington.
| There are two aquatic greenhouses in
| PittSburg and two in Chicago. Pond
water-gsrdens are feature of every
| public park nowadays. while the foun-
tain basins in city squares are common
| ly beautifed with water plants.
The first park in which this kind of
horticulture was attempted was Fair
mount park, Philadelphia: The beauty
greatly enhanced in this way. The
| culture of water plants is rapidly eX-
tending in this country. Fifty years
ago it was practically confined to few
| show gardens, of Europe. AT Chats
| worth, country seat OF the Duke of
| DevonShire, the first Victoria Regia
brought to Europe displayed its incom-
| parable blossoms. There also originated
the finest of all water lilies, if the Vic
torla Regia be excepted-the superb
| DevonienSis.
To Edmund D. Sturtevant is due the
credit OF having introduced water gar
| denng in the United States twenty
| years ago. OF late a number of new
varieties of lilies have been obtained by
| cultivation, the most notable ones ow-
ing their existence to Frenchnan
| named Latour-Marliac. One of the
| most beautiful kinds Is named after
| him. Seeds even Of the rarest water
lilies may now be purchased, but they
come high. The seeds of the Victoria
Regia cost S. dozen. or one can buy a
young plant for $1n This most won,
derful of all aquatic plants asRY, be
| grown in open ponds in the Southern
states.