THE AQUARIUM, APRIL, 1893. 



45 



head, wliich disappears at times. While 

 in Europe a couple of years ago, we 

 saw, at the Exhibition of the Berlin 

 Aquarium Society, a pair of large Teles- 

 cope fish with ''hoods" the size of a 

 large hazel nut. These fish attracted 

 a great deal of attention, but they were 

 not for sale at any price. 



In future numbers of The Aquarium 

 we shall have portraits of some famous 

 goldfish in the possession of private 

 parties. These will no. doubt be of 

 great interest to our readers. 



CULTURE OF THE WATER 

 HYACINTH. 



(Eichhornia crassipes major.) 



So much has been written concerning 

 the Water Hyacinth, and yet so little 

 information given, that would help an 

 amateur in its successful culture, that I 

 could not refrain from writing my ex- 

 perience and success with this most 

 beautiful and interesting of aquatic 

 plants. Early last spring I obtained 

 two small plants, both as near one size 

 as possible. I placed one plant in a 

 small mackerel bucket, the other in an 

 eight-gallon tub. In each vessel I put 

 four inches of good, rich soil, topped 

 with a layer of sand mixed with dry 

 manure. I then placed them in the 

 sunniest part of the yard, being careful 

 to always keep them well filled with 

 water. They took root immediately. 

 As the plants expanded and grew, I 

 clipped off all semblance of dead matter 

 and discolored leaves. I was well re- 

 paid for my care. The middle of July 

 the buds commenced showing, and they 

 have kept flowering ever since, the most 

 beautiful lilac-shaded flowers. On the 

 plant in the small vessel I have already 

 had thirty- three spikes of flowers with 

 the buds still shooting up all over the 



plant. On the plant in the larger 

 vessel I have had forty-eight spikes, 

 with plenty of buds also showing. I 

 must say, however, that on the plant 

 in the small vessel the flowers last much 

 longer, the foliage is much more com- 

 pact, and does not grow near the height 

 of that in the larger vessel. 



The flower is but ephemeral, and 

 judging from my experience the smaller 

 vessels are the best for a showy appear- 

 ance and durability of flowers. Cut off 

 each spike to body of plant after it has 

 done flowering. Never plant them in 

 the same vessel with the Water Poppy; 

 the Poppy will eventually overrun the 

 Hyacinth and dwarf it. They have 

 excited a great deal of admiration in 

 our locality, where so many have met 

 with only partial success, owing, with- 

 out doubt, to lack of attention in their 

 primary stage. 



Give each vessel two coats of bronze 

 green paint, and as the runners grow 

 over the sides of the tub elevate it on 

 bricks. 



— Mrs. E. S. Martin, in the Mayflower. 



The Water Hyacinth is a close relative 

 to our native Pickerelweed, Pontederia 

 cordata, so abundant along the borders 

 of most creeks or little lakes all over 

 the United States, but its flowers are 

 far superior both in shape and size. 

 The delicacy of the flower reminds one 

 of an orchid. The leaves are of a 

 glossy dark green, borne upon a curi- 

 ously puffed-up but comparatively short 

 stem. This stem consists of innumer- 

 able little air cells which make the en- 

 tire plant buoyant. The roots, which 

 appear in great profusion, form hairy 

 tufts hanging into the water below. 

 When not in flower the odd shaped 

 leaves, being arranged like a large ro- 

 sette and the tufts of roots hanging 

 from it, make it a very attractive plant 

 for the aquarium, where it is seen from 

 above and below at the same time. 



