July 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
185 
little water to it; then, with a wooden hammer hav¬ 
ing a long handle, heat it well till every part is of an 
uniform consistency, having the appearance of clay 
dough. Spread this on the bottom of the pond about 
six inches thick. Proceed with mixing up and beat¬ 
ing barrow-load after barrow-load till the bottom is en¬ 
tirely covered. Then either put on a pair of wooden- 
soled shoes or go on it with naked feet—the last is the 
best way. Tread the prepared clay firmly, closely, and 
evenly down. Do this well and properly, and the 
bottom will never leak. As soon as that part is 
finished mix and beat more clay for the sides. With 
the spade, as soon as it or a portion of it is ready, 
dab it against the sloping bank, commencing at and 
joining it to the clay bottom. As soon as this is done 
beat it with the wooden hammer firmly against the 
bank. If you have plenty of clay, eight inches will 
not be too thick for the sides. Remember, the more 
firmly the clay is beaten to the sides, the better it will 
hold water. The clay must be quite pme ; that is, 
have no stones or other matter left amongst it. If 
there are any such left, they will serve as conduits 
for the water to escape by, and all your labour 
will be in vain. Proceed with adding layers of clay 
upward until you reach the level you intend the water 
to be. Carry the clay puddle two or three inches 
higher, level the natural soil down to it, and let this 
soil be two inches or more higher than the clay. 
This will prevent it cracking away from the bank. 
Your aquarium is now ready for the water. Pre¬ 
viously to filling it, however, cover the bottom, upon 
the clay, with a coating of loam, four inches thick. 
This is intended to encourage the water plants to 
root in, and cause them to grow finely. If you can 
procure a sufficient quantity of rough stones or peb¬ 
bles, place them against the banks. These will pre¬ 
vent the water from washing away the clay puddle. 
All being now ready, let in the water. 
Planting. —As soon as the aquarium is full of water 
you may plant the aquatics. There are several me¬ 
thods of doing this. The best is to have some wicker 
baskets of various sizes, to suit the size of each plant. 
Fill one with soil, inserting the plant intended for it 
at the same time; cover the top of the soil with some 
twisted haybands, coiling them round the plant; 
then lace them firmly down with some strong tliree- 
cord twine, passing it under the rim of the wicker 
basket, so as to keep in it the soil and the plant. 
Throw either a plank or a long ladder across the 
water. On this you can walk, carrying the plant 
with you. Drop it into the place you intend it for, 
and so treat all the other water plants you may have 
obtained, leaving space for others you may obtain 
hereafter. Some of them, the water lily , for instance, 
have their leaves floating on the surface, but this is 
not needful at first. They (the leaves) will soon rise 
to the surface, and assume their natural position. 
The water violet has both its roots and leaves floating; 
all that is required, then, is to cast it into the water, 
and let it flourish away as it pleases. 
It may be, as in the case of our correspondent, that 
the water may be required for cattle to drink. In that 
case, a place should be fenced off with posts and rails, 
to prevent them trampling through the puddle or eat¬ 
ing the plants. That part, as far as they can reach, 
should have the bottom, upon the puddle, covered 
with shiugly gravel, to protect it from the feet of the 
cattle. 
Some of our readers may wish to have aquatics 
cultivated in tanks formed with masonry, the water 
to be used for watering plants in pots, &c. This can 
be easily accomplished by puddling the bottom with 
clay, as mentioned above, and building upon it slop¬ 
ing walls, using Roman cement for mortar. These, 
if well executed, are very ornamental and of a neat 
appearance. If the tank walls are carried up three 
or four feet above the level, the plants are then brought 
nearer to the eye. An example of this may be seen 
in the royal gardens at Kew. Single plants of this 
kind may be cultivated in vases or even in troughs, 
the only thing they will require being a portion of 
mud at the bottom for the plants to root in. The 
after-culture the aquatics will re;quire is, if possible, to 
change the water frequently and keep the surface clear 
from water mosses. A few ducks soon clear off the 
latter; otherwise the mosses must be skimmed or 
flooded off with water, if there is supply enough. 
A question has been asked, “Where are water 
plants to be procured ?” The greater part of them 
are natives of this country, and may be had from their 
native habitats, but, as these habitats are not general, 
we may mention that the writer of this (Mr. Appleby) 
can supply them. 
We subjoin the promised select list:— 
Aponogeton distachyon (Two-spiked Aponogeton), a 
very pretty floating aquatic from the Cape of Good 
Hope ; yet, although from a warm country, it is suf¬ 
ficiently hardy to survive an ordinary winter. It has 
white flowers. 
Butomus umbellatus (L'mbell-flowering Rush), one 
of the best of our native aquatics found in ditches. 
It has beautiful heads of pink flowers, and does not 
require deep water; consequently, may be planted 
near the edge of the water. Cattle are very tond ol 
its leaves. 
Galla palnstris (Marsh Calla), a native of North 
America, and 
Calla AEthiopica (African Calla), both plants of great 
beauty ; the latter is on that account cultivated as a 
greenhouse and window plant, and is commonly 
called the “arum plant.” This species is rather 
tender, but will survive our winter if planted in deep 
water. 
Hottoniapalnstris (Marsh Hottonia),flesh-coloured 
flowers : a native of Britain. 
Menyanthes trifoliata (Three-leaved Buekbean), 
with white flowers. This is another native species, 
growing in shallow waters. It is very pretty, and 
worth cultivation. 
Nuphar lutea (Yellow-flowerecl Nupliar), a fine 
water plant, native of Britain. 
Nupltar advena (Stranger Nuphar), yellow and red; 
a fine species from North America. 
Nympluea alba (White Water Lily). This is, with¬ 
out doubt, the finest of our hardy water plants. It 
loves deep water, with plenty of room, and a muddy 
bottom to root in. It then will produce numbers ol 
its beautiful large milk-white flowers. 
Typlia latifolia (Broad-leaved Cat’s-tail). Though 
not so showy as some species, this plant is worth grow¬ 
ing, producing its largo flowers abundantly in shallow 
waters. 
If our correspondent’s aquarium is large and will 
hold more than the above, we refer him to the list 
at p. 168, vol. i., above-mentioned. 
FLORISTS’ FLOWERS. 
Auricula and Polyanthus. —Every day look over 
those that are to produce seed, and with a pair of 
scissors gather such pods as have turned quite brown. 
If you allow them to burst, it is likely you will lose 
some of the best seeds. Lay the pods, so gathered, 
upon a sheet of paper exposed to the sun until they 
