CHAPTER XIII. 



HEATING PLANT FOR A VICTORIA OR TROPICAL WATER LILY POND. 



THERE IS PROBABLY some one feature in any heated Lily pond 

 which is peculiar to itself — circumstances are as varied as locations are 

 numerous — yet, withal, the general underlying principles are the same. The 

 intelligent constructor will be able to learn some useful hints from a detailed 

 description of one successful heating system, and therefore reference is now 

 made to one only — that of Prospect Park, Brooklyn, N. Y., where an 

 extensive water garden is to be .seen. A space has been laid out in the park 

 for three ponds, which are walled up with concrete and provided with a water 

 supply and an outlet. One pond is used for the hardy native Water Lilies, 

 another pond is exclusively used for the Egyptian Lotus, while the third 

 pond, which is of absorbing interest to the multitudes who visit the park, is 

 used for tropical species, the principal plant being Victoria regia. The water 

 in this is heated, and the construction of the pond and its system of piping are 

 set forth in the accompanying figures. 



The water in the pond is heated by contact with the piping through which 

 hot water is circulated from the boiler. The pond is oval in form, fifty-six feet 

 long, thirty-eight feet in width, and about four feet deep. From the sectional 

 view it will be seen that the sides of the pond slope inward to the bottom, 

 commencing at a point about two feet below the surface. A water line is 

 maintained about three feet six inches above the main bottom, and the pond 

 holds approximately forty-eight thousand gallons. The water is heated by a 

 No. 10 Invincible hot water boiler, which presents a grate surface of about 

 eleven square feet, and the boiler is rated to carry about two thousand five 

 hundred square feet of direct radiation for heating buildings. The piping is 

 four inches in size, of the greenhouse cast-iron variety, with greenhouse 

 fittings and rust joints. Two flow and two return mains are taken from the 



