THE AQUARIUM, JANUARY, 1897. 



91 



able amount of forage for fishes, but 

 this one being a strong feeder, natur- 

 ally adapted to growth in tanks, and a 

 good oxyginator, may be introduced 

 to advantage for shade, flowers and 

 purifying the water in aquariums or 

 tanks having a superficial area of fifteen 

 feet or upwards, and kept in open sun- 

 shine. 



This plant is a native of China and 

 Japan, where it has ever been and now 

 is, worshipped as the first flower of the 

 land. Believing, as these people do, 

 that the world emanated from the 

 waters, the water lily is held as an em- 

 blem of the creation, because it springs 

 from the waters, and their deities were 

 thought to have no other passage from 

 their elysian abode to and from the 

 earth except through the medium of 

 the water lily. Both Brahma and Bud- 

 dha were said to have emanated from a 

 lotus blossom and retired from the 

 world through it. Hence, we can read- 

 ily see why the lotus is esteemed the 

 most sacred of plants. This one, being 

 of pure white, was regarded as perfect 

 — the god-parent — and when associated 

 with mortals — pollution and sin — its 

 face was stained by corruption, and in 

 this way they account for the variegated 

 and blotched varieties of the other 

 lotuses. 



These nations have ever been famous 

 for their inventive genius, and to the 

 artistic eye the lotus has been a proto- 

 type for most all their advancements in 

 art, architecture and agriculture. 



Fancy in its leaves a direct counter- 

 part of the hat, the parasol, the fan, the 

 plate, the drum, and a suggestive idea 

 for silk and velvet. In its floating leaves 

 — on which often mud is deposited and 

 small plants growing — a floating garden 

 in miniature — the lotus pond at night 

 quickly suggests Chinese lanterns, while 



the boat is modeled exactly after its 

 petals. Is not a plant that has been 

 revered, imitated and utilized, by all 

 ages and nations, worthy of recognition 

 from young America ? 



GEO. B. MOULDER. 

 Smith's Grove, Ky. 



HOUSE PLANTS. 



An important point in the manage- 

 ment of house plants, is to have a fer- 

 tilizer which will act as a good manure, 

 and at the same time will not be offen- 

 sive in closed rooms. The following is 

 recommended as an excellent compost, 

 entirely unobjectionable when it has 

 had time enough to fully ripen. Mix 

 wood mould with one-third its bulk of 

 cow manure, and work it over after the 

 fermentation has become active ; then 

 cover it with straw and stir occasion- 

 ally till it is reduced to a fine, evenly- 

 grained compost. A good way also is 

 to treat in a similar manner leaf mould 

 mixed with guano, bone dust, hen 

 manure, etc. 



But other precautions are necessary, 

 besides having a suitable compost, to 

 be successful in raising and keeping 

 house plants. When they are first 

 potted, it is important that they grad- 

 ually become accustomed to their 

 changed mode of life. They should be 

 taken np from the ground while there 

 is yet growing weather, carefully 

 pressed into the pot, pruned to dimin- 

 ish the evaporating surface, and shaded 

 a few days till they recover. When the 

 plants are taken indoors, it is best to 

 keep them in a room without a fire, 

 and where they can have plenty of air 

 on mild days. October is a good month 

 for potting most flowers for the winter. 



Dust and dryness of the atmosphere 

 are the two greatest troubles of indoor 



