The Garden Magazine, August, 1921 
357 
must constantly bear in mind the practical building of the 
pool when he should be free to think only of the aesthetic 
arrangement of the rock work. In other words the impersonal 
interferes with the personal. With a completed concrete basin, 
the designer can work ahead freely. 
Concealing the Water Inlet 
T HE method of introducing water requires considerable deli- 
cacy unless it is piped in below the water surface. Illustra- 
tions on pages 355-356 show unobtrusive ways of supplying the 
water. In the first the water flows from a small iron pipe, the end 
of which is completely concealed by two flat stones, one above 
and one below, forming a crevice from which the water issues 
in a tiny trickle over the lower stone into the pool. The other 
provides for a considerable flow of water, which can be seen 
by the strong overflow of the same pool (page 356). Here 
the water is carried through a twelve-inch pipe from a neigh- 
boring stream. The top of the pipe is very little above the 
water level in the pool, and the opening is well hidden by 
the overhanging rock, whose lower edge is barely above the 
still-water. 
A more spectacular way of supplying water is suggested by 
the miniature fall that serves as the overflow of this pool. 
Where this method is used, care must be taken that access to 
the fall is difficult so that the lack of a stream above to feed it 
may not be discovered and the illusion of a natural source should 
be carried out by planting or other devices, similar to those 
shown on page 355 for example. 
The overflow may be disguised, as it is in a formal pool, or it 
may be carried away in a stream. The treatment of both 
overflow and supply depends principally on the amount of water 
available. Where very little is used, as in “Sylvia’s Pool,” 
there is insufficient water to make a stream and so some in- 
conspicuous overflow should be provided; perhaps, as in this 
case, hidden by rocks. 
If the supply permits a small stream, the treatment becomes 
merely a matter of design, governed to an extent by existing 
local conditions and by the fancy of the creator. A blow-out 
(or drain pipe) should always be provided in any pool. It is 
probably safer, as with formal pools, to leave water in the pool 
all winter; but at a slightly lower level than the normal. This 
freezes as the ground freezes, and more nearly equalizes the 
pressure on the walls of the basin, which reduces the danger of 
their cracking. 
IF YOU KEEP FISH IN THE LILY POOL 
JOHN T. NICHOLS 
Associate Curator (Fishes) American Museum of Natural History, Editor of “Copeia,” etc. 
The Pearl Roach May Eat Your Water Plants — Breeding Young Gold- 
fish to Keep Down Mosquitos — What Fish You Want and Why 
Editor’s Note: — The presence of fish lends a convincing touch of realism to any garden pool, and is, in fact, its final justification, 
rendering it something more than a mere man-made structure architecturally interesting. Beside the note of life and colorful movement 
they introduce, certain types of fish have a distinct place in the economic cycle and play a part in keeping free from impurities and in 
a balanced condition water which might otherwise become stagnant. 
As a gardener cannot be expected to know about fish and to appreciate the differences which make some species very desirable 
tenants of the water garden and others a deadly nuisance, we have asked a recognized authority to present the actual facts as seen 
from the standpoint of the ichthyologist. This is, we believe, the first statement of such a character that has ever been presented to the 
horticultural reader and is one from which he will be able to make some very practical applications. 
POOL of pure water which remains in a garden for 
K ;-/Vf several months, or even weeks in the summer time, is 
sure to be inhabited by a number of creatures. Various 
1S2A2S aquatic insects can fly, and travel across country by 
this means, probably mostly at night, and some of them are 
sure to find it out. Then there are insects whose first or larval 
stages are spent in the water — caddis-flies, dragon-flies and many 
others, including, unfortunately, the mosquito tribe. 
The toad is more than likely to resort to such a pool to spawn. 
This unattractive-looking warty gentleman is a veritable bug- 
trap, and as such one of the gardener’s best friends. In the 
day time we come across him half buried in the loose dry soil, 
sulking in some cranny, or hopping between the rows of flowers 
in a stupid elderly manner. When the shades of twilight fall 
he is altogether changed and takes up the night’s task of collect- 
ing and digesting insects with all the enthusiasm and elasticity 
of youth. He goes skipping along the paths like a fleeting 
shadow, or resorts to some pool of water to sing his droning 
love song, puffing out the skin of his throat, which acts as a 
resonator, like a toy balloon. 
The tadpoles which sometimes appear by scores in a garden 
pool somewhat later in the season are in most cases the offspring 
of the toad. They are active, blackish little fellows which 
keep mostly near the surface, and never grow very large; for 
unlike most frogs, toad tadpoles turn to toads while still very 
small. Herein lies an advantage in having at least one border of 
the pool gently sloping so that the little fellows can get out 
when their time comes, and start on their useful careers. If all 
the sides are vertical they can not do so and must perish. 
Sooner or later frogs are bound to find their way to a garden 
pool. These are usually the green or pond frog whose voice, 
like the twanging of a banjo string, is one of the pleasantest 
sounds of a summer night. 
Sometimes one or two big night herons will drop down out of 
