Attempts to establish the beautiful native American lotus in new locations have often been marked by failure, a fact which evokes scientific interest in the growth and dormancy habits of this plant. In spite of the fact that embryos have been known to sprout after two hundred years of dormany (6), it is doubtful if the plant reproduces from seed at all frequently in nature. The facile multiplication of tubers and the rapid growth of shoots from these create a competition for light and space which seedling's, if started under natural conditions, could probably not overcome. With the lotus in nature primarily dependent upon tubers for perpetuation, it is not surprising that florists in commercial production also rely chiefly upon them rather than upon seeds. The tubers produce a large flowering plant in a single season while the seedlings require at least two and sometimes probably as many as four years for floral development. No record has been found in the literature of successfully growing the plant from seed. It is stated (3) that if holes are made in the fruits and they are then placed in a pond, their embryos are so delicate that they do not survive. In another case no signs of plants were found a few years subsequent to the planting of thousands of the fruits sown just as they came from the pods (3). The writer is personally acquainted with men who have had similar failures. Scientifically, interest has centered largely in the germination of Nelumbo seeds. Old Indian lotus fruits obtained by Ohga from a prehistoric peat bed in South Manchuria are the most striking examples of protracted dormancy known to science (6). These were estimated to be three hundred to four hundred years old and certainly not less than two hundred years. A long period of dormancy has not been recorded for the American species but the fruit structure of the two species is practically alike and no sign of swelling occurs in either after being kept in water for several months (2). Ohga (6) found concentrated sulphuric acid treatment to be the easiest method of overcoming this dormancy. Fifty per cent, chromic acid and concentrated potassium hydrate also overcome the impermeability after a longer period of time. According to his work, practically all of the fruit coat shows the cellulose reaction. Shaw (9) describes the cells as having a middle lamella of a mixture of pectic compounds and lignin, and a cellu-