Fain would I have plunged into the lake to procure specimen? o f th e splendid flowers an d foliage; b u t th e knowledge th a t th e se w aters abounded with
alligators, and the advice o f my guide, d eterred me. I turned over in m y mind how I could secure th e se treasures, an d I clearly saw th a t a c an o e was
necessary; th e re fo re .! promptly returned to th e town, and communicating m y discovery and wishes to th e Corregidor, o r Governor, D o n Jo s é Maria
Zarate, he kindly ordered th e Gacigue to send Indians, with a y oke o f oxen, for th e purpose o f drawing a canoe from th e rive r Y a cuina to th e lake:
A s soon as it was ready, I se t off, accompanied b y several Indians, to aid in bringing home th e ex p e c ted prize o f lea^es>and blossoms. T h è canoe w as
so small th a t it would carry b u t th re e pe rsons; myself in th e middle, and an In d ian a t either end. I n this to tte rin g little c ra ft we rowed among th e
magnificent flowers and foliage, unavoidably crushing some, and selecting »only such as pleased me. T h e leaves were so enormous, th a t b u t two could
b e stowed in the canoe, one before me and the othe r behind, and th e ir fragility rende red extreme care necessary, so th a t w e h a d to make several trips
in th e canoe before I could obtain as many as I wanted. "T h e load o f blossoms, leaves, and rip e seed-vessels b e in g ço fte c ted , q next mused how th ey
might b e safely carried away, and I de cided on suspending th em upo n long poles b y small cord attached to th e stalks. Two Indians, each bearing on'
his shoulder th e end o f a pole, conveyed^them into th e town, th e p oor creatures wondering th e while why I should tak e So much trouble to g e t a t
flowers, and for w hat object th ey w ere destined b y me. T h e Indians a re w ellracqua inted with th e p la n t; th e Moimas, o r natives o f S an ta Anna, calling
i t in the ir language Morinqua, while th e neighbouring tribe, th e Cayababas, natives o f th e tow n o f Exaltacion, give i t th e name Of Dachocbo.
“ T h e Victoria g row s* n from four to six fe e t o f water : ea ch.plant generally sends b u t four or five leaves to th e surface, y e t the se cover th e water in
those parts where the p lant abounds, touching one another so closely th a t I observed a b eautiful aquatic b ird (Parra sp. ?) walking with p e rfe c t ease from
le a f to leaf, and many o f th e Muscicapidoe find food and a resting-place u pon them. E x c e p t a few small floating water-plants, among which T noticed a
beautiful Utricularia, th e Victoria usurps th e entire possession o f th e lake. I ts blossoms rise about ha lf a foot above th e surface, and expand first in jh e
evening ; they are then p u re w h ite ;'b u t they'change , b y exposure to th e sun, to a m ost lovely p in k o r rose colour : flowers may b e seen a t th e same tiine-
partaking o f every intermediate tinge, th e re c ently opened being*quite white, and th e ad u lt rosy, th e la tte r almost sinkin g un d e r water to ripen the
seed and produce a new ra c e o f plants when required. The la rge st flowers I saw measured from ten inches to a foot in diameter.
“ I had an opportunity o f satisfying myself about th e fragrance o f th e flowers. Those which I collected for preservation in spirits were unexpanded,
b u t on the p oint o f blowing: on arriving a t Government House, in th e town, I deposited them in my room, and re turning after dark, I found, to my
surprise, th a t all had opened, and were diffusing a m ost delightful odour, which I a t first compared to a rich pine-apple, afterwards to a melon, and then
to th e G/terimoya ; y e t indeed it could n ot be said to resemble any Of the se fruits, and I finally decided th a t i t was most delicious, though q u ite peculiar,
and produced exclusively by this noble floweri
“ W ith the aid o f the Indians we extricated from th e water two entire plants, and the ir appearance leads us to conclude th a t th e Victoria is depidedly
perennial. Ea c lï p lan t h ad from twenty to th irty footstalks o f flowers and leaves, in all stag e s ; some nearly decayed to th e b a se ; others half-way,
while others h ad b u t ju s t lost th e floating portion. The same was observed in th e pedunc le s; some bearing th e p e rfe c t seed-vessel, with ripe s e e d ;
others th e expanded flower; and ne a r th e crown, or centre o f th e plant, was ju s t emerging th e ten d e r flower-bud. W ith a k nife w e cu t o r trimmed off
th e footstalks, a n d th en th e tru n k ' somewhat resembled a Zamia, and was about eighteen inches or two fe e t high. A t th e base, and between each
footstalk, protrudes a mass or cluster o f fleshy hollow roots, about th e thickness o f a straw, or ra th e r more, and varying in colour from brown to nearly
white: a succession o f the se roots is formed as th e new leaves axe thrown o u t from th e c entre o f th e plant,’according to a wise and beautiful provision
o f nature. The base o f th e trunk, or stem, seated in soft mud, appears to decompose, in proportion as new leaves an d flowers issue from th e centre,
keeping th e p lan t from elevating itse lf above water, -which, b u t for such an arrangement, might be th e case, owing to th e rapidity o f its growth.
“ From what I have observed o f th e na ture and h ab it o f th e Victoria, I conclude th a t i t does n ot, and cannot, exist in any o f th e rivers whose
immense rise and fall o f twenty fe e t would leave i t d ry during many months o f th e year, especially in th e season when th e re is no rain. The lagoons;
being subject to little variation in th e height o f the ir waters, a re th e localities where it grows in all its beauty and grandeur. I t appears to d e light in th e
parts which are fully exposed to th e sun, and I observed th a t it w as n o t to be found w here th e trees overshadowed th e margins.
“ The vegetation which surrounded th e habitat o f th e Victoria w as b y n o means splendid ; it wanted those noble Palms, th e Mutacd and Pabna real,
which so beautifully adorn th e banks o f th e Mamoré. T h e trees belonged to gene ra new to me, and pëculiar to this level p a r t o f th e country. Among
the shrubs were two Bauhinia, and a fine purple-flowered species o f Bignonia, climbing even to th e summit o f th e trees.”
Mr. Wedde ll makes mention o f his discovery o f Victoria when accompanying M. de Castelnau in th e adventurous jo urney from R io d e Jane iro
to th e Pacific. “ J ’entrai dans Matto-Grosso le 13 août (1845), e t en repartis le 25. L e Guapore, après avoir dé c rit u n grand coude, reparait
immédiatement à l’ouest de la ville, où j e le traversai u n e seconde fois en me rendant à Casalbasco; ce village, qui n ’e s t é loigné q ue de h u it lieues de
Matto-Grosso, e st situé su r la p e tite rivière de Barbado, e t n ’e st g uè re interessant q u e parce q u ’il e st le dernier q ue le voyageur a it à rencontre r avant
de q uitte r le Brésil p our p énétrer dans la republic bolivienne. J ’eus le plaisir d’y voir le Victoria regia encore en fleur. J e n ’étais plus alors q u ’à onze
lieues d e la frontière où-un puits caché dans les broussailles indique au voyageur qu’il a cessé de fouler le sol de l’Empire brésilien.” A b o u t a month
previously, Mr. Wedde ll h ad heard o f its being in th e P a raguay, ne a r V illa Maria, b u t h e d id n o t s e e it there.
Hitherto, with the exception, perhaps, o f th e two last-mentioned travellers, all th e botanists who h ad y e t m e t with th e Victoria, came u pon it, so to
speak, unawares. Not so Mr. Spruce, th e next and la s t o f scientific travellers w ho has be en privileged to ga the r th e p lan t in its native waters. This
zealous-and talented naturalist, a t an early period o f his voyage u p th e Amazon, d id noLfail to institute enquiries respecting th e “ G iant Water-Lily,” nor
was he long in meeting, with th e success th a t might b*e expected as the re sult o f his well-directed questions. On th e 15th November, 1849, h e writes
from Santarem (as given in th e Kew Garden Miscellany, o f th e ye a r 1850, p . 173) : “ I seize th e opportunity afforded b y a vessel sailing to-day from P ara,
to w rite a b rie f letter, and to forward specimens o f th e flowers and leaves o f Victoria regia, in a ba rre l o f spirits. W e reached Santarem on th e 27 th ult.,
after a favourable voyage, although twelve days o u t o f th e seventeen were tak en u p b y th e first ha lf o f th e distance, so tedious is the task o f threading