AQUARIUM. 



39: 



Aquatic Gardens in the Back Yard. 



BY HER MAX BURGIN, M.A., M.D., PRES1- 



DEXT OF THE PHILADELPHIA AQUARIUM 



SOCIETY. 



PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA. 



Most people have an idea that it is 

 not within their reach to have aquatic 

 gardens in their house yards, but 

 almost any one having a good sunny 

 exposure can at small cost and with 

 moderate attention secure satisfactory 

 results in the cultivation of pond lilies 

 and a number of other aquatic and 

 semi-aquatic plants. In addition, if it 

 is desired to keep and breed goldfishes, 

 some or all of the minature ponds can 

 be arranged to suit such purposes ; in 

 fact for several reasons it is better to 

 always have the ponds in suitable form 

 for the habitation of fishes, and this 

 article will treat of such conditions 

 only. 



For convenience the subjects spoken 

 of will be taken up in the following 

 order: the containers in general; the 

 plants; the fishes; the construction of 

 the tanks; the making of ponds. 



The following three sizes of tanks 

 are desirable : 



No. i. Thirty-six by twenty-four by 

 eight inches, holding about twenty 

 gallons. This is a good size for the 

 young fishes after they are hatched, as 

 it better enables their examination and 

 permits the easy discovery of any 

 enemies. It is also the best depth for 

 certain plants such as water poppies 

 and other small aquatics. 



No. 2. Thirty-six by twenty-four by 

 twelve inches, holding about thirty gal- 

 lons. This will do very well for about 

 sixty fishes from one to two months 

 old. As the stronger outgrow the gen- 

 eral run they should be removed to 

 larger tanks. If not kept crowded they 

 then grow very fast if properly fed. 



No. 3. Sixty by twenty-four by six- 

 teen inches, holding one hundred gal- 

 lons. This will be large enough for 

 adult fishes and deep enough for any 

 of the ordinary aquatic plants. 



It is best to have at least one each 

 of Nos. 1 and 2 and two of No. 3, so as 

 to have of the latter one for the grow- 

 ing fishes and one for the adult fishes. 

 They can be arranged in a parallelo- 

 gram, taking up a space of about five 

 by seven feet. However, each person 

 can find various ways of arrangement 

 that will be pleasing to his or her own 

 sense of fitness. 



If a tank is placed above the level of 

 the ground an ordinary rubber hose 

 can be utilized as a siphon to draw off 

 the water; but for thorough cleaning 

 it is more convenient to have an open- 

 ing in the bottom. When the tank is 

 embedded in the ground, which for 

 many reasons is preferable, the latter 

 is the only method that can be used. 

 In this case a fairly deep well should 

 be dug under the tank to facilitate the 

 emptying. 



'Idie pictures accompanying this arti- 

 cle indicate how an arrangement can 

 be made of tanks to present an attrac- 

 tive appearance. One can see an ad- 

 mixture of nearly square, oblong and 

 round containers. All are spaced so as 

 to be easy of access and yet grouped 

 to be effective. The tanks are of sizes 

 mentioned in this article with the addi- 

 tion of half barrels and hogsheads. The 

 angular spaces between the tanks and 

 barrels are planted with what is com- 

 monly called "moneywort," a hardy, 

 running plant that is always green and 

 also gives a perfect show of yellow 

 blossoms in June. The tall plants are 

 semi-aquatics — the calamus or sweet 

 Mag and the so-called umbrella plant. 

 The leaves seen floating are mostly 



