PARK AND CEMETERY 
250 
arts — being itself the fundamental art, and it is our 
aim to develop this spirit to the uttermost while work- 
ing along practical lines and by practical methods. 
The local interests involved or contemplated should 
appeal to every intelligent Chicagoan. 
Besides other work accomplished or begun during 
the past year, the co-operation of the Board of Educa- 
tion has been secured in the work of improving some 
of the Public Schoolgrounds of the city. This work 
is deemed of such vital importance that its continua- 
tion on an enlarged scale is to be made the chief effort 
of the present year. It is believed that the results will 
demonstrate the feasibility of establishing a better en- 
vironment for the children of the Public Schools. 
Surely a consummation devoutly to be wished. 
Join the Women’s Auxiliary and help us to secure 
shade, foliage, flowers and freshness to replace bricks 
and ash heaps in the schoolgrounds of Chicago! 
President, Mrs. Eben Byron Smith, 5413 Washing- 
ton Ave. ; Vice-President, Mrs. Thomas Ambrose, 
Water 
March is the best month to sow water lily seeds. 
Started now and properly grown ahead, the tender va- 
rieties will bloom in August, and the hardy ones 
will develop nice plants for another year. 
Tender or tropical varieties should be sown in a 
Avarm, light room or greenhouse, where a temperature 
of 90 degrees can be maintained for Victoria Regia 
and Randi, and 70 to 80 degrees for Nymphi^as 
and Victoria Trickeri. Where tanks are not at hand, 
tubs or even pans three or four inches deep can lie used 
to start them. Eill the pans half full with heavy soil, 
sprinkle the seeds on, cover lightly and fill pans with 
Avater. Give all the sunshine possible and heat as above 
recommended. As the first leaves begin to float trans- 
plant into two-inch pots, sink the pots in Avater six or 
eight inches deep, and keep the same temperature. In 
about a month they Avill again show signs of croAvding 
Avhen they should have four or five-inch pots, and still 
deeper Avater — say from tAvelve to tAventy inches. By 
June 1st to 15th good plants should be had ready to 
plant out into open ponds. 
To sow Hardy Varieties I prefer out of doors to the 
greenhouse. Use tubs filled two-thirds full of soil and 
to the top Avith water ; boxes of soil sunk in tanks ; or 
find a sheltered place in the edges of ponds Avhere the 
soil is rich and sunshine abundant. Press each seed 
into the mud one-fourth of an inch and protect them 
from fish and water fowls. They will germinate as the 
water becomes warm in the spring. 
Lotus or Nelumbium seeds must have a hole drilled 
throug-h the hard shell to admit moisture to the kernel ; 
otherwise they will not germinate; They may be sown 
with either the hardy or tender Nymphaeas. 
Making Ponds. If not already done, this should be 
2446 Michigan Ave.; Treasurer, Mrs. Ezra Twitchel 
Shedd, 3233 Forest Ave.; Secretary, Mrs. Wm. Fred- 
erick Grower, 964 Jackson Boulevard. 
Advisory Committee; — Chairman, Mrs. Henry C. 
Schuhmann, 539 E. 44th St. 
Planting Committee: — Chairman, Mrs. Frances 
Copley Seavey, 7554 Bond Ave. 
Publication Committee : — Chairman, Mrs. Wm. 
Frederick Grower. 
Delegate to School Extension Society : — Mrs. Wal- 
ter C. Nelson, 5120 Jefferson Ave. 
Mr. O. C. Simonds, Consulting Landscape Gar- 
dener. 
Club Slogan : — Artistic Ideals ; Practical Methods. 
“And he gave it for his opinion that xvhoever could 
make tioo ears of corn, or hvo blades of grass to grozv 
upon a spot of ground zvhere only one grezv before, 
zoould deserz’c 'better of mankind, and do more essen- 
tial scrz'ice to his country than the zvhole race of poli- 
ticians put together.” — Swift. 
Eilies^I. 
hastened before the busy days of spring. The primary 
rule to folloAv in making a lily pond is to be natural. 
In locating it, select a Ioav place Avhich is generally the 
most natural spot and usually requires less labor. If 
the surounding^and is rolling the surface drainage Avill 
suffice to maintain a Avell built pond. Another requisite 
in a site for the lily pond is sunshine. No one ever 
succeeded with water lilies in the shade. 
The outline adds much to the appearance of a pond. 
Avoid straight lines and sharp angles. Let the outline 
be irregular and follow nature. 
Removing and disposing of the soil can be done in 
the way most convenient to each owner. The depth 
should be from o at the edges to 3 ft. in the center. 
Where the soil is porous or gravelly, a heavy coat of 
stiff mud may be necessary to make it hold Avater. A 
good tramping or pounding, hoAvever, usually gives it 
sufficient body for use. 
Tanks, or cement basins, are ponds finished off Avitb 
cement or granitoid sides and bottoms. They are 
usually from one to three or four feet deep according 
to size. The masonry may be a single coat of cement, 
temporarily plastered to the soil, but for permanent 
Avork, that Avill endure the rigors of northern winters, 
make the sides and bottoms fifteen inches thick of 
brick or stone laid in cement, and finished off Avith ce- 
ment. So construct it that the edges of the water Avill 
extend out to the soil. Nothing so mars the attractive- 
ness of a Avater garden as great, bare walls a foot or 
more high, which destroy all harmony Avith its sur- 
roundings. In nearly every instance all artificial Avork 
can be concealed and the lily pond or tank, with all sur- 
roundings, made to imitate a bit of nature. 
Geo. B. Moulder. 
