File:Aquatic life (1918-1919) (19751918431).jpg

Title: Aquatic life
Identifier: aquaticlife419181919baus (find matches)
Year: 1918-1919 (1910s)
Authors: Bausman, Joseph E
Subjects: Aquariums; Fish culture
Publisher: Philadelphia : J. E. Bausman
Contributing Library: Harvard University, Museum of Comparative Zoology, Ernst Mayr Library
Digitizing Sponsor: Harvard University, Museum of Comparative Zoology, Ernst Mayr Library

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WATER LILIES Some Historical and Cultural Notes G. H. PRIMG, :: Missouri Botanical Gardens
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Nature's Lily Pond 4. The cultivation of water lilies is one of the most fascinating branches of hor- ticulture. This is undoubtedly enhanced by their exquisite flowers and the import- ant feature of water in beautifying the landscape. Water gardening holds an important place in our parks and private estates. Unfortunately, however, a fal- lacy prevails in supposing that water lilies in general demand large bodies of water, combined with expert knowledge of cultivation. On the contrary, an ordi- nary half-barrel is large enough to grow a representative of certain varieties. The cultivation is an easy matter, providing a few rules are followed, which will be dis- cussed later. The history of water lilies dates from the ancient Egyptians, who held the so- called Egyptian Lotus as a sacred flower. It was also deemed sacred by the natives of India, China and Japan, being to a greater extent still employed in religious invocations and ceremonies. Beauty of flower was not the only quality possessed by the Nelumbium which compelled the admiration and ven- eration of the ancients, for the plant had utilitarian properties that appealed to them, rendering it of considerable eco- nomic importance. The root stocks and seeds were prepared and eaten as food by the inhabitants of China, India and Australia. In Cary's translation of Hero- dotus, it is recorded as follows: "But to obtain food more easily, they have the following inventions: When the river is full, and has made the plains like a sea, great numbers of lilies, which the Egyp- tians call Lotus, spring up in the water; these they gather and dry in the sun; then, having pounded the middle of the Lotus, which resembles a poppy, they make bread of it and bake it. The root

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