WATER GARDENS. ! 73 



many scores of flowers might be gathered at one time : perfect 

 blooms fine in colour. The earlier kind sent out, some of them, were 

 not decided as to colour, but of late years they are fine in that way. 

 The lake is rather deep, 12 feet or more in places, so there was little 

 chance of attending to the "toilet" of the plants, as may be done in 

 shallow lakelets or fountain basins in thinning out the plants, which 

 is certainly a gain. Here we had no means of doing this, except by 

 emptying the lake, which was not done except on rare occasions. 

 The plants are such vigorous growers that an occasional thinning out 

 is to be desired. The depth of the water seems to have little effect 

 in preventing growth. As to their care, there has been none. Before 

 the war we were able to keep the weeds down, but since then no 

 opportunity has been afforded for doing this. None of these draw- 

 backs, however, has marred the beauty of the Lilies. 



The only thing that has really mattered has been that great 



enemy of Water-Lilies, "the* water rat. He never goes far from the 



waterside, but is as destructive there, enjoying him- 



Enemies of self very much carrying the flowers to the bank 



Water-Lilies. and cutting the centres out at his leisure. For 

 many years we set traps for him, with some success, 

 but since the war we have had to discontinue this, with the result 

 that many of the blooms disappear. Shooting and trapping is 

 essential in this case. Another enemy is the water hen, which comes 

 in shoals out of the woods. Though not nearly so bad as the water 

 rat, she also must be kept down. 



A mistake is any kind of artificial rearing of ducks in ponds where 

 Water-Lilies are grown. The heron occasionally visits us, and also 

 the swan, the kingfisher, and a few small birds ; but none of them do 

 harm to the Water-Lilies. The case is different when ducks are 

 artificially reared and bred, for then farewell to all the beauty of the 

 flowers. In one or two instances I have given way to this in the 

 interests of shooting friends, but never again! 



Many water plants will grow almost anywhere and bid defiance 

 to game or rats, but the newer and rarer Water-Lilies will not 

 show half their beauty if they are subjected to 

 Enemies. the attacks of certain animals. They may, indeed, 

 when young be easily exterminated by them, and 

 even when old and established the common water rat destroys the 

 flowers, and, taking them to the bank, eats them at its leisure. When 

 the plants are small, the attacks of the common moorhen and other 

 water-fowl may mean all the difference between life and death to a 

 Water-Lily. Perhaps, therefore, the first thing to be done in estab- 

 lishing these plants is to put them in some small pond apart from the 

 rougher waterside plants, and especially where they will be safe from 



