Water-lilies and Other Aquatic Plants 



151 



inches thick, and finished with a facing of Portland cement; the bottom 

 should be constructed in like manner. When the above-named materials 

 are used, the sides should be flar- 

 ing. The depth when finished 

 should not be less than two feet. 

 The ground should by no means be 

 new or made ground. A water- 

 lily basin needs a solid substratum, 

 so that settling in any part is out 

 of the question, for should there 

 be a leak the consequences will be 

 disastrous. The best and most 

 practicable method is to construct 

 the basin of brickwork. This work 

 may be entrusted to a local bricklayer, and an approximate cost can 

 be given or ascertained beforehand. The walls should be eight inches 

 thick, built perpendicular. The joints should be all well filled in as the 

 work proceeds. The wall may be tapered near the top, finishing with 

 a four-inch brick laid flat. The walls on the inside, as far as they are 

 tapered, should receive an inch-thick plaster of Portland cement. The 

 bottom, or floor, may be grouted or laid in with brickbats or whole bricks, 

 and should afterward receive a good facing of cement. 



Before anything is done in the way of construction, the water-supply 

 must be assured, especially if there is danger of prolonged drought. Provision 

 must also be made against a freshet after heavy rains, in case the pond is 



Lotus in a farmer's yard 



The white water-lily of the South, as it grows at State Line, Miss., in a pond fifty by one 

 hundred and twenty feet, belonging to Mrs. M. S. Gaines 



