LIFE IN A POND 



stem of the White Water-lily is about three inches in 

 diameter, and stout and fleshy. It is full of starchy material, 

 and lies upon the mud deep down at the bottom of the 

 pond. There are many advantages in the position of the 

 flowers, for bees, flies, and other useful insects can reach 

 them easily, but slugs, snails, and other enemies cannot do 

 so. The little seeds have a curious lifebelt-like cup, which 

 enables them to float on the surface. 



Of course, our own British water-lilies cannot compare 

 with the magnificent Victoria regia of the tropics. Its 

 petals are white or pink on the inside, and its gigantic 

 leaves, six feet or more in diameter, can support a retriever 

 dog or a child. There used to be some of them at Kew 

 Gardens. A curious point about these enormous floating 

 leaves is that they are covered with little spiny points on the 

 under side and at the margin ; that is probably to keep 

 some sort of fish from nibbling at the edges. 



But to return to our pond. Beyond the water-lily region 

 and so long as the water is from twelve to twenty-four feet 

 deep, Pondweeds are able to grow, and their leaves may be 

 seen in the water, whilst their stalks stand up above the 

 surface so as to allow wind to scatter the pollen. 



This depth of twenty-four feet seems at first sight very 

 great, but it is a mere nothing compared with the regions 

 entirely below the water, where certain Stoneworts {Chard) 

 and Mosses have been found flourishing. The former has 

 been dredged up from depths of ninety feet, and a little 

 moss was discovered in the Lake of Geneva growing quite 

 comfortably at a depth of 180 feet below the surface. 



But it is quite impossible to appreciate the wonder and 

 beauty of the life in a pond unless by a strong effort of the 

 imagination. 



205 



