Perth Amboy evening news., 1922-09-01

captivate her lovers is growing in
one of the lily ponds. SO huge is
the blossom that the visitor can only
wonder hoW the queen managed to
tuck it behind her ear, and whether
after all the effect could nave been
really coquettish. There is TO ques-
ton, however, of the Egyptian lotus
being enchanting in it's water home.
The stalk rises 4 or z feet above the
water and ends in an upturned blos-
som shading from creamy white to
carmine red.
The pink Japanese and Indian To-
fuses, which bloom on shorter stalks
are planted in front Of these tall
Egyptian lilies. To see the lotnses
blooming in p%rofusion is to under-
stand why almost every oriental
country has succumbed to the spell
of the water lily.
For centuries the Buddhiat has re
peated in his prayers, 80, the jewel
in the lotus flower" The Egyptian
sculptor used the lotus as a favorite
design in his temple carvings The
Greek poets knew it as a symbol OF
the alluring Incidence of trCpic is
lands. We have an American lotus.
a beautiful pale yellow variety, that
grows wild in the country, and that
only waits for some poet or philos-
opher to immortalize it's charm.
Further along the way are the
Victoria lilies, the royalty Of the
water lily family. The leaves Of the
Victoria are sometimes seven feet
across. They are Lire round boats,
the water. A child can sit safely on
nnn nf thn Ioronct nf thu Hnattnp
trays. The flower is a giant. too. a
great blushing tinted blossom that
scents the air with a heavy frag-
rance suggestive of pineapple.
Mrs. Fowler leads the way past
all these water wonders. Twenty
five years ago her father. w. B.
Shaw, started by making n lily
pond in his swamp land. Seven
acres are now under water. There
are "a ponds in all. CONSTRUCTED from
marsh land. They are fed by
springs, and the water can be raised
or drained off at will. All except the
? tenderest plants stay in the water
= during the winter and when ice
: forms the ponds afford fine skating
| Mrs. Fowler and her assistants
are kept busy between May and Oc'
tober. June is the height of the sea-
son. At that time three or foul
thousand blooms a day are picked
and sold, but all through the warn
: months a thousand or more bios
SONS are harvested each MOI ming.
Harvested ut Dawn
The lily farmer must be an earl!
l riser. Four o'clock is none too sooI
: to start work. Later in the morning
!, the lilies are full blown and thei
: they can Lot be shipped success
fully. The closed buds are gathered
and packed in boxes with daml
moss. AS soon as the boxes are un
packed, in Boston or st. Louis. tn
blooms open quickly. Mrs. Fowle
ships more lilies to Boston ,han t
any other city. For soma reasol
the florists there seem best to un
derstand handling them prohtably
There are only a few simple pre-
cautions to be taken in keeping wa
ter lilies SO that they will last
week. They should not be displaye'
in a vase with the heads hanging
over the edge, because the stem o
the lily does not bring enough t
the petals and they soon wilt. IN
blooms are properly arranged n
low bowl, so that they float on tn
water as they would on a pond.
is also important to avoid piacln
the lilies where a strong wind o
the breeze from an electric fan ca
blow directly on the fragile petals
Aside from these restrictions. lana
ling cut lilies is not difficult
The grower. however, la numer
Gus problems. Like other farmers
the lily raiser has to make constan
warfare on enemies Of his crop. IN
turtle is the most f~erocious OF tn
creatures that prey on the waite
lily, as has been stated, and the on
that gives the most trouble Mr..
Fowler says that she has tried POI
son and traps in vain. The turtle
eat Paris green and enjoy 1t. The
avoid the traps in derision. Shoo'
ing is slow. but effective.
The muskrat. another enemy
the water lily. is trapped. and IN
skins are sold by a trapper VIII
works on the farm. Mrs. Fowle
believes in turning pests into profi
She regularly sells hundreds {
water weeds that treaten - chok
her lilies. Aquariums buy thes
weeds and other water plants J
large quantities. Fish need MOI