88 THE GARDEN BEAUTIFUL 



natural position for a sheet of water is in a hollow 

 or low spot in the grounds. The total depth of the 

 pond should be two feet and four inches. 



KEEPING THE WATER PURE 



Ponds need a renewal of water only when they 

 get their annual cleaning out, and a little occasion- 

 ally to replace that lost by evaporation, etc. If the 

 proper balance of animal and vegetable life is main- 

 tained it naturally follows that all the inmates are 

 living under perfectly natural conditions. Who has 

 not noticed that natural ponds containing animal 

 and vegetable life have clear, pure water throughout 

 the year? Aquatic animal life abstracts oxygen gas 

 from the water and gives off carbonic acid gas ; this 

 latter vegetable life absorbs and sets free the oxygen. 

 The author has kept a pair of golden carp, or "gold- 

 fish," in one gallon of water without changing it 

 for several months. The only other contents were 

 a few pebbles and a single water plant. If this can 

 be done it should prove an easy matter to preserve 

 the proper balance in a pond. A few healthy fish 

 will also keep the pond clear of mosquitoes, as all of 

 them will be greedily devoured while in the "wrig- 

 gler" stage. 



All tanks, ponds or lakes should have submerged 

 plants growing in them to aerify the water, thereby 

 keeping it pure and sweet. The best plants for this 

 purpose are Anacharis Canadensis gigantea, Ca- 

 bomba viridifolia, Sagittaria natans and Vallisneria 

 spiralis. These can be planted in water from six 

 inches to two feet deep. 



WHAT TO PLANT 



Forty varieties of water lilies, besides many small 

 water plants, as also ten varieties of Egyptian lotus, 



