92 GREAT WHITE WATER-LILY. 



catecl a motion to the surface not unlike the ruf- 

 fling caused by a gentle breeze. A Water-Lily-pond 

 should always be furnished with a plentiful supply 

 of clear water, and, while the supply is constantly 

 kept up, it is equally essential that provision be 

 made to run off the superfluous water regularly, 

 at short intervals, in order to preserve the purity 

 of the pond, which, besides being greatly advanta- 

 geous to the Lilies, adds considerably to the beauty 

 of the pond itself, and, on that account alone, repays 

 the trouble and expense. In these times of sanitary 

 reform, a piece of stagnant water should not be 

 accounted the ornament of a pleasure ground, yet, 

 strange to say, such ornaments are not unfrequently 

 found where their existence might be least suspected. 

 In the cultivation of aquatic plants, it is a great 

 error to suppose that, in every case, so large a pro- 

 portion of their nourishment is derived from the 

 surrounding water, that it is a matter of little mo- 

 ment what kind of soil their roots are made to rest 

 upon. The soil is of great importance in the cul- 

 ture of Water-Lilies, and with none of the native 

 species, perhaps, so much as the present. The 

 roots descend to a great depth, and it is, of course, 

 at their lower extremities where their nourishment 

 is chiefly obtained. The bottom of the pond should, 

 therefore, be formed of soft mud, heavy enough not 

 to be readily washed away; but by no means of a 

 clayey nature, although a clay lining may be made 



