CULTURE OF WATER LILIES, ETC'. 121 



Lily pond near it, so that the waste steam or hot water 

 (if free from chemicals or filth) might be utilized for 

 keeping, the water warm, and from freezing in winter. 

 It may be asked, "Why all this trouble and expense ? 

 Why not grow the Lilies in ponds with a bottom of nat- 

 ural earth ?" We answer, that for the hardy kinds this 

 is undoubtedly a good plan, and very fair success may be 

 had in the same way with the tender kinds; bnt in a 

 pond with a cement bottom the water is more readily 

 heated by the sun, and retains its heat better. 



THE WATER LILY GARDEN COMPLETE. 



I will add here a few words upon the " possibilities " 

 of aquatic gardening. One argument in favor of culti- 

 vating tropical Lilies in the open air is, that larger leaves 

 and flowers are obtained, and in case of the colored 

 kinds, greater depth of color than under glass. Another 

 argument is, the grand effect which may be produced 

 on the lawn or in any part of the pleasure ground. Let 

 us suppose that you wish to have an aquatic garden, fifty, 

 sixty, or a hundred feet in diameter. We will not build 

 it in the stiff form of a circle or oval, but the outline 

 shall be irregular, with here and there a small bay, 

 across which we will throw a rustic bridge to a miniature 

 peninsula. Somewhere on the margin we will build a 

 rustic summer-house. It shall be a two-story affair, for 

 sometimes we shall want to view our pets from an ele- 

 vated position ; for, unlike our fellow-creatures, they 

 smile upon us when we look down upon them. If we 

 have a rocky ledge in our grounds, let us place our pond 

 near it. Now, let us suppose that all has been planted, 

 established, and come to midsummer perfection. Some 

 morning, before the night-blooming Lilies have begun 

 to take their midday sleep, let us ascend the low tower 

 and take a view of the picture. There, beneath us, is the 

 noble Nymphcea deniata, covering a space twenty feet 



