n8 The American Flower Garden 



the sides and bottom of the pond to the depth of three or four inches. 

 After it has been well tamped, let him tamp it yet again. A coating 

 of beach sand and pebbles over the clay bottom is desirable where 

 they may be had. Spread over the soil in the bottom of any 

 pond, natural or artificial, they prevent the manure and other 

 rubbish from rising through the water, which should be clear as a 

 mirror always. 



Cement will be used where there is no clay available for 

 lining the artificial pond, especially where the soil is naturally 

 sandy and mixed with gravel, through which Niagara itself 

 would drain through to China. For the pools and wide 

 canals of frankly formal gardens concrete is indispensable. After 

 a carpenter has made the wooden frame for the circle, ellipse, 

 square or whatever shape is desired for the pool, it is a simple 

 matter for the village mason to pour mixed cement and sand into it. 

 Some very beautiful effects have been obtained with aquatic plants 

 in artificial basins, notably at the great expositions in Chicago and 

 St. Louis; but generally speaking, lotuses, water lilies and their 

 associates are best adapted to the naturalistic method of treatment 

 on home grounds. 



From the artistic standpoint, the artificial pond is usually 

 sadly handicapped, but from that of the practical grower of choice 

 aquatics there are undeniable advantages in having cultural 

 conditions under control in being able to regulate the water 

 supply with a spigot, to drain off the water, if necessary. For the 

 little sluggish brook that looks so innocent at midsummer, when you 

 make your delightful plan, may swell into a raging, obstreperous 

 torrent next spring, tear away your wild garden and rockery, scour 

 a devastating course through your ineffably precious bog garden, 

 undermine the banks and the dam of your pond, and actually 



