The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1922-08-31
Frederick Haskin's | letter
THE LADYOF THE LILIES

Victoria lilies. the royalty of III.
water lily family. The leaves o.
the Victorias are sometimes seven
feet across. They are like round
boats. with turned up edges to keen
out the water. A child can ali
safely on one of the largest Of
these floating trays. The flower ia
q giant, too, great bluish-tintea
blossom that scents the air with
a heavy fragrance suggestive Of
pineapple.
Mrs. Fowler leads the way mas,
all these water wonders. Twenty.
FIVE years ago her father, W. B.
Shaw Started by making one lilv
pond in his swamp land. Seven
acres are now under water. Their.
are "a ponds in all, Constructed
from marsh land. They are fed nv
springs, and the water can be raised
or drained off at will. All excent.
the tenderest plants stay in the
water duxing the winter, and wl,en
ice forms the ponds afford fms
skating.
Mrs. Fowler and her assistants
are kept busiest between MAY and
October. June is the height of the
season. At that time three or fom
thousand blooms day are picked
and sold, but all through the warm
months a thousand or more bios
SONS are harvested each morning.
Harvested at Dawn.
The lily farmer must be an early
riser. Four O'Clock is none tor
soon to start work. Later in the
morning the lilies are full blov,
and then they cannot be shipped
successfully. The closed buds ara
gathered and packed in boxes with
damp moss. AS soon as the boxes
are unpacked, in Boston or s.,
Louis. the blooms open Quickly
Mrs. Fowler ships more lilies to
Boston than to any other city. For
some reason the florists there Seem
best to understand handling them
profitably.
There are only few simple pre-
cautions to be taken in keeping wa.
ter lilies SO that they will last a
week. They should not be display
! ed in vase with the heads hang.
, ing over the edge, because the stem
of; the lily does not bring enough
water to the petals and they soon
wilt. The blooms are properly ar.
ranged in low bowl, so that thew
float on the water as they would
on pond. 1t is also important to
avoid placing the lilies where
strong wind or the breeze from an
electric fan can blow directly on
the fragile petals. Aside from these
restrictions, handling cut lilies is
not difficult.
The grower, however, has numer-
GUS problems. Like other farmers,
the lily raiser has to wage constant
warfare on enemies OF his crop.
The turtle is the most ferocious Of
, the creatures that prey on the wat
er lily, as has been stated, and the
one that gives the most trouble.
Mrs. Fowler says that she has tried
PoiN'oh ohA ~ 20 vain lie
ties eat Paris green and enjoy it
They avoid traps in derison. Shoot
ing is slow, but effective.
The muskrat, another enemy o.
the water lily, is trapped, and the
skins are sold by a trapper who
works on the farm. Mrs. Fowler be-
lieves in turning pests into profit
She regularly sells hundreds Of
punches of water weeds that threat
en- to choke her lilies. Acqtiariums
buy these weeds and other water
plants in large quantities. Fish need
more oxygen than the NAter in
small tank provides, and the plants
aerate the water.
Frogs, water moccasirs and fish
in the lily ponds are let strictly
alone. They are unofficial workers
/ for the crop. They catch mos
quito larvae and insects that harm
the lilies.
! Raising water lilies has been re-
duccd to science by Mrs. Fowler.
! 1t is fascinating work if you Love
waller plants as much as she does.
And the interest to the public is
shown in the throngs of people who
flock to Kenilworth to see the
marshes ablaze with acres of yari-
colcred flowers thriving under the
skillful guidance and protection OF
The Lady of the Lilies.
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