380 



THE GARDENER'S ASSISTANT. 



Manor and at Wisley, at Glasnevin and at Car- 

 ton, County Kildare, tropical colour and luxuri- 

 ance are imparted to the pools and lakes by the 

 best of the new Water-Lilies. Even the Nelum- 

 biums may yet be found amenable to open-air- 

 culture in warm and sheltered court-yards by 

 using shallow tanks or tubs of water exposed to 

 fullest sunshine. 



Cyperus Papyrus, Nymphcea stellata, N. devoniana, 



and others cultivated in pots have already been 

 grown successfully out-of-doors in England dur- 

 ing the summer months, receiving shelter during 

 winter and early spring. There is yet ample 

 room for ingenuity and invention in aquatic- 

 plant culture by amateurs and others, and no 

 ornamental plants will repay intelligence and 

 skilful culture better than the new coloured 

 Nymphseas. 



Fig. 473.— Corner of Nymphaea Pond, Glasnevin. 



Planting. — Nymphaeas and plants of similar 

 character may be planted in shallow baskets or 

 flat wicker hampers of clayey loam or pond 

 mud, or in loam and cow-dung, and sunk into 

 their places in pond or tank. Near the margins 

 of ponds, &c., where the water is shallow, the 

 baskets can often be slided down planks sup- 

 ported at one end on the bank; but in the case 

 of large lakes, &c, a punt or raft must be used, 

 not only in the planting but also for cutting 

 weeds, gathering flowers, &c, during the summer 

 season. "When there is a foot or more of rich 

 mud at the bottom of ponds, the rhizomes of 

 aquatics — Nymphaeas, &c. — may be tied to a 

 large stone and sunk without further trouble. 



"We have added lists of — I, aquatics proper, i.e. 

 such as grow absolutely in or on the water, and 

 II, of marsh and bog plants for wet soil at the 

 water-side. 



I. Hardy and Half-hardy Aquatic Plants 



It is not easy to speak definitely as to the 

 thermal limits of aquatic plants, but so far as 

 their resistance to cold goes it is largely de- 

 pendent on the heat of summer. For example, 

 we know that in America many Nymphaeas, 

 Nelumbium speciosum, and N. luteum withstand 

 many degrees of frost with impunity, the same 

 species dying with us although our winters are 

 comparatively mild. We may also point out 

 that though shallow water is warmest and best 

 for tender aquatics during summer, the reverse 

 is true in winter, when they are less liable to 

 injury in deep water. Shallow, exposed tanks 

 and small pools filled with the half-hardy kinds 

 should be protected with boards, or poles and 

 mats, during severe frost. 



Aponogeton distachyon (Cape Pondweed) (fig. 474), one 



