Arizona republican., 1912-03-16

to the Botanic Garden of the Uniyer- sity of Oxford, England, for the love- ly display of water lilies by the cura- ter of that institution, MT. Baxter. at least fifty years ago. Since that time
 Mr. F.. D. Sturtevant. formerly of Bordentown, N. J.. and now of Holly wood. Cal. has been instrumental in
 introducing these aquatic beauties in
 most of the eastern and western cities of the United States of North America.
 The poets have sung their praises
 Of the Egyptian or Sacred Lotus of
 the Nile, Moore in Paradise and the Peri" sings:-
 Those virgin lilies. all the night Bathing their beauties in the lake That they may rise more fresh an' bright
 When their suns awake.
 of water lilies 100 have two genera Nelumbium and Nymphaea and the Sacred Lotus Of the ancients is classi- lied with the former. known as N. spc- l c.cSum The Sacred Lotus was by no
 r-eans confined to Egypt. for in h. d.a. Thibet, China and Japan it is still employed in religious invoca- ti"ns and ceremonies. The Lotus flower has been found embalmed in the mummies of PharaohS and so we'll was embalming done in those days that those flowers were still found in a good state of preservation when the mummies were unrolled for examination by French Psychologists and corrOborated by the African tray eler. Dr. Schweinfurth. who stated that even the colorS were preserved The seeds of the Lotus which like
 those of the largest South American srecies-Victoria Regia. contain fCcula and are edible This nutritious pI operty has gained for the Brazilian species the name of Water Maize" and farina is made thcrefrom
 The natives of India, China and the far east generally utilize not only the seed of the Lotus lily but likewise the farinaceOus tubers for economic purposes. In North America the | Nelumbium Luteum or the well known Water Chinquapin." found as far north as southern Connecticut also in New Jersey on the lake Mahopac. as well as near Philadelphia and in some of the southern states. lG's nut of the size of an acorn and very sweet This species has large lemon cOlored flowers and foli- age of immense diameter The edi-
 be property of most of the water
 lily seed is supposed to have given
 the scriptural provcrb Cast thy
 bread upon the waters and in due
 time it will return"
 The root stocks of Nymphaea Alba o' Eurone contain gallic acid. also
 starch and are used for dyeing pur- poses. In France a kind of beer is
 prepared from the roots of this species. Nymphaea Odorata the frag-
 rant white species of North America
 also contains gallic acid and with
 Nitrate of silver makes q fine brown
 h"il dye. I informed q barber of
 New York of this circumstance and
 he prepared q good hair dye by mak-
 ing decoction from the fresh roots
 of this species obtained on Silver
 ake, Staten Island. The tubers of
 this water lily are fleshy as thick as
 child's arm. and when cut with
 knife instantly stain it black. q prop
 ertY found in the roots of many other
 SFecies. When sulphate Of iron is
 used as the mordant these tuberous
 roots yield good black dye for
 fabrics. On the northern lakes of
 New York the shores abound with
 this white water lily and the pads
 furnish food for deer
 The powdered root of Nymphaea
 Alba, mixed with equal proportions of poke root or garget-PhytOlacc De- candid. and slippery elm bark, and employed in the form of a hot cat @piasm to the breast of a parturient woman is q positive cure for man.
 mitiS. and l never had to resort to
 the lancet treating obstinate cases of the ulcerativc stage of this dreaded disease. And if powdered LObelia seed is added in large proportion to the roultice the severe pains of caked breast vanish as if by magic Many a woman has blessed me when em- ploying this humane treatment for the alleviation of an inflamed breast and permitting her child to nurse at the same time.
 Aside from the various uses of all water lilies their employment for water gardening shall not be over looked. Phoenix must have water lily basin. In the city of New York four such are to be found in the very heart of that great metropolis At the junction of Broadway and White Hall street near the new custom house of Battery Park there is a water lily basin = feet in diameter. At Union square and 14th street there is another measuring 90 feet across. and the benches around this water pond are filled with ladies and their children on any fine day of the season, admiring the rich colors or these grand water lilies and other aquatic plants to complete a water garden. At 59th street and 5th aven-
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