796 



The Weekly Florists' Review^ 



MAT 24, 1900. 



pipes sufficiently large to replenish 

 that lost through drainage and evap- 

 oration, the water will be kept in cir- 

 culation, so essential in aquatic gar- 

 dening. This thorough drainage will 

 prevent the diseases which occur so 

 frequently when a pond is badly or not 

 at all drained. With large and con- 

 venient outflow pipes placed near the 

 surface, all the dust which naturally 

 collects on it, as well as the insects 

 which skip about the surface, are car- 

 ried away. These pipes may be so 

 placed as not to be seen even by the 

 most critical observer, by placing over 

 them a few boulders or some graceful 

 border plant that will completely 

 cover the opening. The number of 

 these pipes must vary according lo 

 the size of the pond. 



Besides the natural drainage of a 

 soil bottom and the surface outflows, 

 it is very important to have a pipe 

 sufficiently large, placed at the deep- 

 est part of the pond, to carry off the 

 water in a short time. It will be 

 found of great advantage in the fall, 

 when the tender plants have to be 

 removed. Always have the pond so 

 graded that the deepest part of it is 

 in the center. If the pond is exceed- 

 ingly large, have several parts that are 

 deep enough to drain the entire pond. 

 The trap of this pipe should be so 

 made that it can be opened without 

 entering the pond. The outflows at 

 the surface should be large enough to 

 carry away the water from the rains. 



One of the greatest difficulties met 

 with in aquatic gardening is that the 

 place where we wish to locate the 

 pond does not retain the water. We 

 may resort to various means to rem- 

 edy this great evil. The cheapest as 

 well as the best, as far as the health 

 of the plants is concerned, is to place 

 a layer of clay mud (the amount vary- 

 ing according to the porosity of the 

 lower soil) at the bottom and the 

 sides, which must be thoroughly 

 packed. 



The granitoid pond has its advant- 

 ages as well as the soil bottom one, 

 although not as numerous. If it is 

 found necessary to have a granitoid 

 pond, the whole car be so arranged 

 as to give a natural effect. It must 

 be made to produce the best effect re- 

 gardless of the curves, which are 

 rather difficult to make out of granit- 

 oid. Have the edge about six inches 

 lower than the surrounding soil, and 

 have this graded to make a gradual 

 slope toward the side of the pond. In 

 this way the whole of the white gran- 

 itoid edge, so unsightly, will be com- 

 pletely hidden. The water in the 

 pond can be raised to the soil and 

 occasionally allowed to flood it. This 

 will keep the border moist enough for 

 some of our best border plants. In 

 the granitoid ponds all plants should 

 be placed in tubs or something sim- 

 ilar. 



The ease with which plants are 

 moved about after being in the water, 

 and the fact that the water does not 

 become discolored from the dirt that 



is plowed up as one enters the pond, 

 and the ease with which they are 

 kept clean, are the advantages not to 

 be disdained by the layman, who has 

 only the few leisure hours after his 

 daily work is performed to look after 

 the requirements of his pond. You 

 will not have the rank weeds so 

 numerous in the other ponds and the 

 wild water lily (Nymphaea Mexicana) 

 will not become a nuisance, as it can 

 be well controlled if planted in tubs. 

 This nymphaea, if left to take care of 

 itself, will soon assert its right as a 

 native and will in a short time com- 

 pletely fill the pond, and there is no 

 other way to get rid of it, after it 

 has established itself, than to dig out 

 a foot or more of the soil and cart it 

 away. The whiteness of the bottom of 

 a granitoid pond, without the gravel 

 at the bottom, has such a glaring ef- 

 fect that the eye is pained to look upon 

 it, besides it reduces much of the beau- 

 tiful color of the aquatics. So with the 

 white edge— it must not be tolerated, 

 not only because the reflected light 

 pains our eyes, but the contrast be- 

 tween the green foliage and the white 

 edge is too great, and consequently 

 lessens the beauty of our plants. 



The granitoid must be of the best, 

 as it would easily crack during the 

 cold weather if othervnse, and even 

 if it is of the best material it must be 

 covered with straw or something 

 equally as good. 



Soil. IZ! 



Soil requisite for aquatics can be 

 obtained easily and cheaply. They 

 have done exceedingly well in a clay 

 soil, though in good, rich soil, thor- 

 oughly mixed w,th a liberal quantify 

 of well rotted cow manure, the plants 

 will many times repay the trouble in 

 the profusion of blooms and the sub- 

 stance of the forage. In a pond 

 where but little clay has been us;d 

 to retain the water, and where a good 

 rich loam is found beneath, no other 

 soil will be required. Whether our 

 ponds have a clay, natural soil, or 

 granitoid bottom, it is well, and will 

 give a neat appearance, if a layer of 

 sand or gravel is placed at the bot- 

 tom. Moreover, this prevents the 

 water from becoming muddy when it 

 is necessary to enter the pond. 



Plants for a granitoid pond should 

 be potted — or, rather, planted — in 

 boxes or half kegs. The boxes shou'd 

 be rather shallow and wide, as the 

 roots of most aquatic plants have a 

 spreading habit. The bottom should 

 be well drained so as to admit a free 

 circulation of water. The practice of 

 making pockets in granitoid ponds is 

 a great disadvantage, as it is diffi- 

 cult to remove the soil the following 

 spring, in order to replenish it, be- 

 sides it does not admit thorough drain- 

 age. 



Heating. 



Through the numerous varieties of 

 water plants at our disposal, it will 

 readily be seen that in the few years 



of attention that has been given to 

 the culture a great many distinct and 

 beautiful kinds have been produced. 



A pond can be artistically planted 

 with nothing but these hardy plants 

 and the use of them is to be especi- 

 ally recommended to those who have 

 but limited areas, and no greenhouses 

 or other suitable places to keep the 

 more tender varieties through the 

 winter, and those who have but little 

 time to devote to the aquatic garden, 

 and the care which the more tender 

 varieties naturally require. But even 

 those who have but a small part of 

 their surroundings devoted to aquat- 

 itcs, and have their residence heated 

 with either hot water or steam, will 

 be al)le to enjoy the lovely nymphaeas 

 of the sunny south by simply laying a 

 branch from the main heating plant 

 to the pond where it is desired to grow 

 these favored plants. 



Those who wish to make ponds the 

 chief ornamental factor on their 

 grounds and have a large tract of land 

 at their disposal, will see from the fol- 

 lowing that there is one way in which 

 the beauty of the tender nymphaea 

 can be enjoyed with but slight ex- 

 pense compared with the methods or- 

 dinarily practiced. 



If a lake or pond of considerable 

 size is on the ground or near at hand, 

 the work can be commenced at once. 

 At the surface of this body of water 

 have a sufficient number of pipes 

 that will supply the amount of water 

 lost through drainage. This water is 

 conducted to another pond of smaller 

 dimensions than the preceding one. 

 This, in turn, will be quite deep 

 in one part, with a shallow arm in 

 the other. From the deep part of this 

 pond, but at the surface, have the 

 pipes which lead into the pond where 

 you wish to grow the tender nymph- 

 eaes. 



The surface water of the large pond 

 is heated during the day by the sun. 

 This warmed water is carried away 

 by the pipes — they being near the sur- 

 face — into the next pond, and enter 

 it in the deepest part. The large shal- 

 low arm would become heated to 

 quite a high temperature were it not 

 for the deep and large body of water at 

 the other end. As the water becomes 

 heated it naturally intermingles with 

 the cooler one of the deep basin, thus 

 raising the temperature of this body 

 considerably. With plenty of fish in 

 the water this will be accelerated. 

 [To be concluded next week.] 



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