NATURAL AND ARTIFICIAL LAKES 



"Put the required amount of sulphate of copper 

 in a coarse gunny-sack or feed bag, and draw it 

 around in the water behind a boat ; or, in the case of a 

 very small pool, on the end of a pole. It will dissolve 

 slowly, and must be distributed as evenly as possible 

 over the entire surface. Nothing will happen at 

 first; but the day after the treatment, the algae will 

 be seen to have changed from yellowish green to 

 brown, and will break up and precipitate to the bot- 

 tom. The effect of the sulphate apparently has been 

 to wither it up; and a mass formerly the size of a 

 barrel will be like a handful of wet hay. There will 

 be an unpleasant odor for a day or two ; but getting 

 rid of the nuisance will more than compensate for 

 any annoyance from this cause. While blue vitriol 

 is a poison, the very dilute solution that is used ren- 

 ders this quality negligible. ' ' 



The objection is sometimes raised that the pres- 

 ence of blue vitriol, or sulphate of copper, will kill the 

 fish in the lake. But as this proportion is merely 

 "a drop in a bucket," there is little to be feared from 

 this cause. When one possesses a sure cure for the 

 algae, and also for the malarial tendencies through 

 the extermination of the mosquito-distributors, it 

 will be a pleasure to establish garden lakes of goodly 

 dimensions, in whatever location they may be found 

 desirable. 



