118 WORCESTER COUNTY HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. [1898. 



ferent plants and allow for eighteen inches of soil in the centre 

 to four inches at the edge. In many soils the bottom can be 

 paddled with clay, which should be thoroughly mixed with 

 water and pounded into place. It will require masonry in some 

 form at the edge, either small stones or bricks laid in cement 

 mortar for a depth sufficient to be secure from frost. 



Another method is to place a lot of small stones at the bottom 

 of the pond and extend out as far as the sides, laying the top 

 course in cement mortar, and laying a brick wall one foot high 

 and eight inches thick on the stones at the edge, then all of 

 the surface treated with a coat of Portland cement. A drain 

 should be laid under the brick wall and connected with the 

 sewer or some similar outlet, then no water will remain under 

 the wall and no danger from frost will ensue. Proper attention 

 should be paid both to an inlet and outlet pipe, the latter con- 

 necting with the drain under the wall. A pond so constructed 

 will rarely if ever need any repairs. 



The whole surface of a pond should not be covered with 

 lilies. If the pond is large, the centre should be kept open and 

 the planting done more at the sides, producing the effect of con- 

 tinuous growth from the border of the pond, and in a measure 

 obliterating the outline of the pond in at least a portion of the 

 way. Walks should be near enough the border to permit the 

 visitor to get a near view of the lilies to fully appreciate their 

 beauty and fragrance. Seats should be so placed that different 

 views can be obtained. 



To raise lilies from seed is a very fascinating work. Seed 

 should be sown in February and March in pots of soil with a 

 one-eighth inch covering of sand and placed in a pan of water 

 deep enough to allow the water to stand two or three inches 

 over the pots. The water should be kept at a temperature of at 

 least seventy-five degrees and the seeds will germinate in two or 

 three weeks according to the variety. When the seedlings have 

 made two or three leaves they will require transplanting just as 

 other plants do. 



When this operation is done in the water, the roots spread 

 out better and can be easily placed in the pots they are to 



