178 AQUATIC PLANTS 



Sagittaria gigantea is believed to be a cultivated variety of 5'. sagit- 

 tccfolia. Its leaves are broad and stocky, having a decidedly substan- 

 tial quality, and is one of the easiest plants to succeed with. A healthy 

 specimen is quite light in weight, and on this account must be well 

 planted with roots extending in different directions. Once estab- 

 lished, it holds well and will stand more rough usage from contact 

 with fish-nets, etc., than any other aquatic. Height, 10 to 15 inches. 

 It is better suited in appearance to a large aquarium than a small one, 

 but a single Giant Sagittaria in the centre of a smaller tank, sur- 

 rounded by some of its lesser cousins, makes a good effect. So popu- 

 lar has this plant deservedly become that dealers have difficulty in 

 supplying it, and they are always ready to buy up any surplus stock. 



Sagittaria siibnlata has recently come into popularity on account of 

 its small size. Fanciers of tropical fishes, now becoming so plentiful, 

 generally use numerous small aquaria, and in order to produce 

 a symmetrical picture it is necessary to introduce plants of suitable 

 proportion. The leaves are of a rather dark shade of green, narrow 

 and thick through, presenting a strong, wiry appearance. Sagittaria 

 sitbidata grows from 3 to 7 inches, the stronger the light, the shorter 

 the leaves. It multiplies rapidly from runners and soon carpets the 

 aquarium, making either a good spawning bed or a miniature thicket 

 in which 3'oung fishes may hide from cannibalistic parents. Can be 

 had from some dealers and is collected in the coast-wise States from 

 New York to Alabama. It is incorrectly know as S. pusilla. 



VALLISNERIA 



Vallisneria (Vallisncria spiralis) is another of the grass-like plants, 

 having strap-shaped leaves of the same breadth their entire length. It 

 is known as Channel Grass, Eel Grass and Tape Grass. Appearing 

 somewhat like Sagittaria, it has a distinct individuality of its own. 

 The leaves are of a lighter green and have a more translucent quality 

 than Sagittaria. Also the plant tends more to rise vertically in undu- 

 lating lines, which produces a very pleasant decorative effect, being of 

 a less spreading contour than Sagittaria. The leaves may also be 

 identified by the margins being of a slightly different shade of green. 

 By reflected light the margins appear the darker, but if held up to 

 the light, the centre is the darker when viewed by transmitted light. 

 Vallisneria is probably without a superior as an oxygenator. For use 

 in large aquaria, particularly where artistic eft'ects are striven for, it 

 is without an equal. The aquarium shown in colors (opposite page 

 7) is featured principally by this plant, although printing ink falls 

 short of giving an adequate idea of the radiant, silky green leaves. 



