INTRODUCTION AND CULTIVATION.
T F our description should fail to convey a correct ide a o f this •‘Vegetahle W onder," as Sir K. H . Schomburgk calls it, o u r figures, we cannot doubt,
win suffice to show th a t th e F id cm , hen. out g lernlly known to exist, was n ot likely to be long before i t should become a denizen o f our
stoves, and' take its pla c e with our our iV r f» * « » ., an d our NyuijAm,; y e t th e earliest attempts to introduce it proved eminently
unsuccessful; Sir f t. H . Sohomburgk d i^ i jp t f a d i to use his b e st exertions, and to employ those o f his friends in B ntish Guiana, to send over both roots
and s cM li i 'tBoth the>One and th e o th # a r r iv e d in a s ta te toM ly iin f it foravegetation an d germination.
u T h e first living seed were .purchased <by th e B o y d ' G ardens o f Kew from Mr. B r id g e s th e y w ere brought home in a bottle containing moist
earth. T h e s e we obtained in August, 1846. Two p lants only wore raised, and in October they were in. a thriving condition, b u t th e dark and cheerless
B K o p S I L f o H S w c d seemed ve ry unfavourable to th e n fu rth ti progress, and in December the? h a d je r ish e d .
Ag am an importation w as re c e ived a t Kew o f roots, in a W a rdian case, which arrived in October, 1848. T h ey were procured b y Indians employed
for UuTpnrpose in th e U p p e r Essequibo, b y o u r liberal friend, D r. Bought™,. o f Legman Island. The same gentleman also subsequently sen t us a
qu an tity B > m th e a p O m m i seeds e x p o r te d :* m uddy w ater; b u t all wereliipjce dead. A t leng th ;» » : th e S8th*of February, 1849, Dr. Hugh
« d i e and M r Lachie, o f George Town, Deinemra, p ro cu red seeds, which they forwarded, in accordance with our instructions, in phials o f pure water;
a succession also came from th e same gentlemen b y th e th re e following mails, and all arrived in good condition. B y th e 2Srd o f March half a dozen
seeds were sprouting, sown in earth, in .pots immersed in g > - case within a tropical propagahon house,
giving them th e advantage of bottom heat. , Young p lants were soon distributed b y US; and. as is well known, they have come to p e rfe c t» » a t
th e D u k e o f Devonshire's, Chatsworth, a t th e Du k e o f Northumberland's, S y o n ; and. a t Kew. W e he re mention them in th e order in which they
have be en first b ro u g h t to.flower.
We; a re extremely in debted to Mr. P ax to n :fbr th e following Notes on th e Hdoria r * « , prepa red expressly for this m emoir, and th e more so from
the ir b e ing written in th e midst o f th a t gentleman's arduous duties a ttending u pon th e erection o f th e “'Crystal Palace," for th e Great Exhibition o f
th e Wo rk s o f In d u s try o f all Nations.
« T h e Victoria regin is, iu m y opinion, d e c k e d ly a perennial plant. Afte r-re c e iving our young p lan t from th e Royal Gardens a t Kew, on the
3 rd o f August, 1849, i t was pla c ed in a p o t filled with water, an d plunged in a b e d he a ted to 86*, until th e la rge r tan k was ready for its reception,
which was on th e 10th o f August. I t w as th en tam e d o u t o f th e p o t into a h illock o f prep a red soil in th e centre o f th e tank, which, in th e short space
o f seventy-nine days, i t had completely filled, its dimeusions b e ing eighteen: feet e ight inches b y n ineteen feet one inch. Calculating from th e s u e of
th e b ox it arrived in, which was th irte en inches squa re and afforded ample space for it, and th e size o f th e tan k filled, it must have added doily to its
^ size th e almost incredible n umber o f six h u ndred and fort,emven squa re inches. This may b e considered th e most remarkable instance o f th e rapidity
o f vegetable development we have o n record.
“ E a rly in November, th e leaves be ing four fe e t e ight inches in diameter, and exhibiting every appearance o f possessing g re a t strength from e
d e e p th ick ribs, which form th e foundation o f th e blade; I was desirous o f ascertaining th e weight which th ey w ould bear, and, accordingly, pla my
younge st daughter, e ig h t yearn o f age, weighing forty-two p o uuds upou oue o f th e leaves; a copper-lid, w eighing fifteen pounds, being th e readies,
th in g th a t presented: itself, was first placed upon it, in order to equalise P»'md8' ThB *he “ B
extremely w ell, as d id several othem u p o n which th e experiment w as tried, the ir diameter b e ing four feet tivo mcl.es to four fe e t n ine inches.
“ T h e p lan t continued to increase in size u n til th e 11th of November, when i t perfected its la rge st leaf, which was nearly five feet in ammeter,
with th e edge turned u p full two inches, showing th e da rk p u rp le colour o f th e u n d e r side o f th e leaf, and forrnmg an agreeable confrast with the
beautiful yellow-green o f th e u ppe r. This edge th e leaves preserve for about a mouth, an d after lh a , gradually become flat, and this edge is generafiy
d ie first p ortion o f th e le a f to decay, unless th e decay is occasioned b y sc|nto internal constitutional disease, w hich generally occurs more o r less u> e
dull months o f autumn and winter. A t those seasons th e decay a p p e a r, in sp o t, on various p arte o f th e surface. The young as w efl as M leaves are
liable to this disease, which should immediately b e tak en o ut with a sharp knife, to prevent its spre ading; for i f this be omitted th e w hole surface o f a leu
will become d e c om p o s e d .* th e space o f five o r six days, although originating in four or five spots n o , larger than a pea. The to n e from the
appearance o f th e le a f to the perfect, development averages from nine to twelve days, and, to the ir premature decay, six to e ig h t weeks.
■■ From th e 11th o f November .file p lan t b egan to decline in growth, and its smallest le a f was termed on the find, o f December, which w as to o feet
and h a lf an inch in diameter. A fte r this p e rio d th e plan , b egan to shew symptoms o f reaction, and th e leaves to increase m sum, although very s l o t* ,
u ntil file en d o f Janua ry. I t h ad a t th a t time twenty-four leaves u po n it, and, with two or th re e exceptions, all were in a healthy state. ^
greatest number w e have h ad a t th e same time on this plant.