HOUSE AND GARDEN 
August, 1912 
planted with some moisture-loving plants 
such as Parrot’s Feather and a few 
Cyperus alternifolias in the rear. The 
middle tub in back row may be planted 
with a Nelumbium, being tall, and the rest 
with Nymphaeas. A concrete basin will 
be found durable and not expensive and 
preferable to tubs, and can be made any 
size to suit requirements. 
Select a spot as advised for tubs, either 
oval, circular or oblong, and excavate to 
about 28 inches. In some cases the soil 
taken out can be used to build up around 
the spot. Make the sides smooth, slightly 
slanting outward. Make a form in one 
piece or sections and firmly secure around 
the sides, leaving a space not less than 
four inches for concrete, the latter to be 
reinforced with strong chicken wire or 
other wire netting or iron lathing. Ar¬ 
range the netting in place so as to be in 
the middle of the wall. 
The concrete should consist of the fol¬ 
lowing ingredients and proportion: 
2 bags Portland cement. 
3 barrows full of sand, 
5 barrows full of gravel or finely 
broken stone. 
This work may be done by ordinary help 
or a local man accustomed to laying con¬ 
crete walks and such work. Tanks, basins, 
etc., may be made any size, but larger tanks 
should have a six or eight-inch wall and 
be reinforced with the usual steel bars and 
rods as now used in concrete buildings. 
They are, when rightly built, water-tight 
and frost-proof, and may be kept full of 
water in winter. The small basins as pre¬ 
viously recommended with walls but four 
inches thick should be protected in win¬ 
ter by covering with boards, then a cov¬ 
ering of leaves and fresh manure, salt hay 
or grass to keep the leaves from blowing 
away. 
Water lilies are sun-loving plants and 
If the garden is arranged in regular lines, the natural pool on the other side is out of place and 
one of more formal arrangement should be used 
l he Egyptian lotus is hardy and one of the 
most beautiful of the aquatic plants 
If you have a generous water supply a garden pool of this size may easily be afforded. Its 
construction is neither difficult nor expensive. 
should be fully exposed, though trees, 
shrubbery, etc., are desirable as a break 
against the prevailing winds. Fountain 
basins may be planted with aquatic plants, 
but they cannot be successfully grown 
with a fountain continually spouting. 
Where the water effect is desired omit the 
plants. It is unnecessary to change the 
water in the tubs, pools, basins, etc. Keep 
filled up as the water evaporates and do 
not allow a continuous stream to run with 
the idea of cleaning the water. Avoid a 
pond having a cold spring in it unless it 
is large enough to allow planting a distance 
from the spring. Water from a spring 
open to the action of the sun and air may 
be utilized for supplying or feeding ponds. 
What is called stagnant water is good for 
aquatic plants. The plants will oxygenate 
the water and change an unsightly pool 
to a beauty spot. 
Alga will form more or less in all 
ponds and artificial pools, but this is read¬ 
ily cleaned by using sulphate of copper 
(blue stone) in a bag placed in the water 
for a short time. Any solution of copper 
will have the same effect. In all cases 
where aquatic plants are grown be sure 
to have gold fish in the water. This not 
only adds to the attraction of the pool 
but is the best means to eradicate the 
mosquito. 
The following hardy Nymphaeas are 
best suited for tub culture, fountain basins 
and small pools: 
N. Grasiella — Yellow, changing to orange 
red. 
N. Laydekeri rosea — Delicate rose pink to 
carmine. 
N. Laydekeri lilacea — Rosy lilac. 
N. Laydekeri purpurata — Rosy crimson. 
N. Aurora — Soft rosy yellow changing to 
deep red. 
(Continued on page 67) 
