WATERHOUSE, JOHN WILLIAM (1847- )

This article appears in Volume V28, Page 371 of the Encyclopedia Britannica.

Encyclopedia Britannica - Main :: WAT-WIL

WATERHOUSE, JOHN WILLIAM (1847- ) , English painter, was the son of an artist, by whom he was mainly trained. As a figure-painter he shows in his work much imaginative power and a very personal style, and his pictures are for the most part illustrations of classic myths treated with attractive fantasy. An able draughtsman and a fine colourist, he must be ranked among the best artists of the British' school. He was
elected an associate of the Royal Academy in 1885 and academician in 1895. Four of his paintings, " Consulting the Oracle," " St Eulalia," " The Lady of Shalott " and " The Magic Circle," are in the National Gallery of British Art.
See " J. W. Waterhouse and his Work," by A. L. Baldry, Studio, vol. iv.
WATER-LILY, a name somewhat vaguely given to almost any floating plant with conspicuous

flowers

FLOWERS, ARTIFICIAL

, but applying more especially to the species of Nymphaea, Nuphar, and other members of the order Nymphaeaceae. These are aquatic plants with thick fleshy rootstocks or tubers embedded in the mud, and throwing up to the surface circular shield-like leaves, and leafless flower-stalks, each terminated by a single flower, often of great beauty, and consisting of four or five sepals, and numerous petals gradually passing into the very numerous stamens without any definite line of dernarcation between them. The ovary consists of numerous carpels united together and free, or more or less embedded in the top of the flower-stalk. The ovary has many cavities with a large number of ovules attached to its walls, and is surmounted by a flat stigma of many radiating rows as in a poppy. The fruit is berry-like, and the seeds are remarkable for having their embryo surrounded by an endosperm.. as well as by a perisperm. The anatomical construction of these plants presents many peculiarities which have given rise to discussion as to the allocation of the order among the dicotyledons or among the monocotyledons, the general balance of

opinion

OPINION (Lat. opinio, from opinari, to think)

being in favour of the former view. The leaf-stalks and flower-stalks are traversed by longitudinal air-passages, whose disposition varies in different species. The species of Nymphaea are found in every quarter of the globe. Their

flowers

FLOWERS, ARTIFICIAL

range from white to rose-coloured, yellow and blue. Some expand in the evening only, others close soon after

noon

NOON

. Nymphaea alba (Castalia alba) is common in some parts of Britain, as is also the yellow Nuphar luteum (Nymphaea lutea). The seeds and the rhizomes contain an abundance of

starch

STARCH

, which renders them serviceable in some places for food.
Of

recent

RECENT

years great strides have been made in the culture of new varieties of water-lilies in the open air. Many beautiful Nymphaea hybrids have been raised between the tender and

hardy

varieties of different colours, and there are now in commerce lovely forms having not only white, but also yellow, rose,

pink

PINK

and

carmine

CARMINE

flowers. fn many gardens open-air tanks have been fitted up with hot-water pipes running through them to keep the water sufficiently warns in severe weather. The open-air water-lily tank in the Royal gardens, Kew, is one of the latest and most up-to-date in construction. These coloured hybrids were originated by M. Latour Marliac, of Temple-sur-Lot, France, some of the most favoured varieties being carnea, chromatella, fiammea, ignea, rosea, Robinsoni, Aurora, blanda, &c.
Amongst

hardy

species of Nymphaea now much grown are candida, nitida, odorata, pygmaea and tuberosa, all with white, more or less sweet-scented flowers; flaws, yellow, and sphaerocarpa, rose-

carmine

CARMINE

. Amongst the tender or hothouse Nymphaeas the following are most noted: blanda, white; devoniensis, scarlet (a hybrid between N. Lotus and N. rubra); edulis, white; elegans, yellowish white and purple; gigantea, blue; kewensis, rose-carmine (a hybrid between N. devoniensis and N. Lotus); Lotus, red, white; pubescens, white; scutifolia,

bright

BRIGHT, JOHN (1811-188g)
BRIGHT, SIR CHARLES TILSTON

blue; stellate, blue, with several varieties; and Sturtevanti, a pale-rose hybrid.
Under the general head of water-lily are included the lotus of Egypt, Nymphaea Lotus, and the sacred lotus of India and China, Nelumbium speciosum, formerly a native of the Nile, as shown by Egyptian sculptures and other evidence, but no longer found in that river. The gigantic Victoria regia, with leaves 6 to 7 ft. in

diameter

DIAMETER (from the Cr. &a, through, µErpov, measure)

and flowers 8 to 16 in. across, also belongs to this group. It grows in the backwaters of the Amazon, often covering the surface for miles; the seeds are eaten under the name water maize.

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