AQUATIC PLANTS 



THE growth of aquatic plants, although long per- 

 formed in the tanks of greenhouses, is a com- 

 paratively recent acquisition on the lawn, where 

 it serves, when arranged properly, to greatly enhance 

 the charms of pools and streams of water and their 

 shores, as well as the surface of fountain basins, on both 

 public and private grounds. 



A half cask filled with a little good mold and water 

 may easily serve to secure for the smallest village yard 

 the enjoyment of the charms, and they are many, of 

 hardy aquatic plants. The shores of pools or streams 

 of very humble dimensions may present a creditable ex- 

 hibition of aquatic plants by accumulating, for their 

 growth, deep rich mold along their margins and at their 

 bottoms, although care should be taken to confine the 

 roots of such kinds as nelumbium speciosum by means 

 of boxes or bricks or stone partitions, to prevent an 

 overgrowth which will soon occupy the whole surface of 

 the water, to the great detriment of the picturesque 

 beauty of the scene. The great leaves of the lotus are 

 extremely decorative, and striking in effect, to be com- 

 pared only — if we may be allowed so humble a compari- 

 son — to the splendid leaves of a pumpkin vine ; and, like 



