Vnl III »Z.UUAYEAR. 



vol. III. 24 Numbers. 



CHICAGO, OCTOBER i, 1894. 



.. G. BAKER'S GARDEN POND. FINEV 



Aquatics. 



fl LITTLE POND IN lOWfl. 



In a former article I spoke of the forma- 

 tion of a small pond on our place. It is 

 filled from an artesian well and is quite 

 picturesque, as well as valuable in dry 

 .seasons. The flow from the well was 

 thirty-six gallons a minute wh n first 

 bored. It has varied little since, but dur- 

 ing this dry summer the water has evap- 

 orated wonderfully. We have had to use 

 the water constantly for the yard and 

 garden. This use and the evaporation 

 have reduced the pond from five to three 

 feet in its greatest depth. But this has 

 never happened before. The water is im- 

 pregnated with iron that discolors ob- 

 jects near the flow. The bottom of the 

 pond is black mud. I think the iron in the 

 water assists in decomposing rapidly the 

 leaves and all trash that blows into the 

 pond, and helps to form the slimy black 

 muck in the bottom. 



White pond lilies do splendidly. I never 

 saw larger blooms I have tried the pink 

 and yellow. They lived two years and 

 then were either winter-killed or eaten by 

 the musk rats. That Httle pest has made 

 us quite a bit of trouble; sometimes eat- 

 ing the roots of the v/hite lilies and some- 

 times killing the fish. 



A few years ago a nurseryman sent me 

 a plant that is making us a great deal of 

 trouble. If not disturbed I believe that 

 in two years it would take the pond. I 

 have forgotten the name. It has a single 

 yellow flower the size of a silver dollar, 

 the edges of the six petals slightly fringed. 

 The leaf is shaped and grows on the 

 water like the water lily leaf, from one to 

 three inches in diameter, the edges repand 

 and the old leaves spotted. It is rather 

 pretty but a nuisance and should never 

 be sent out. The musk-rats don't care 

 for it. 



The banks of the small island and half 

 the pond are perpendicular. On the other 

 half of the pond the bank is gently sloping. 

 Clover grows everywhere to the water's 

 edge. In the coldest weather the water 



freezes from twelve to fifteen inches. There 

 is a large space, where the water enters 

 the pond between the island and the west 

 bank that never freezes. The temperature 

 of the water at the well is 50°. The 

 main supply of water is carried to the 

 pond by an underground pipe. At the 

 same place it receives a flow from a rub- 

 ber hose connected with the well. This 

 gives more water and is handy in water- 

 ing the yard. We shall be glad to have 

 you give us 3'our ideas about planting 

 the pond and name the kinds of aquatic 

 plants we could use. 



So far the drouth has not affected our 

 trees or shrubs. Weir's cut leaved maple, 

 the birches, catalpas, wild olives, Euro- 

 pean and American mountain ash, blue 

 spruce, golden arbor-vita;, blue fir, white 

 pine, and all common pines stand our 

 climate without killing back. Our win- 

 ters are quite severe. Sometimes during 

 the season the thermometer is 25° below 

 zero. But with us the spring does the 

 most damage; the days of hot sunshine 

 and freezing weather alternating. 



Russian tamarix, Syringa Japonica, 



