BELDT'S AQUARIUM 
SAINT LOUIS, MO 
HOW TO PLANT YOUR WATER LILIES 
Hardy Water Lilies 
Can be planted at any depth 
from 12 inches to 48 inches. They 
will, however, do best at a depth 
of about 12 inches because the 
deeper you plant them the more 
strength is consumed in under 
water growth; also the flowers 
are not quite as strong if they 
are planted too deep. Use good, 
rich soil and for each bushel of 
soil add one pint of our Magic 
Water Lily Food, which comes in 
one pint cartons at 35c each. This 
will insure a vigorous growth and 
will build up the soil to last for 
at least two or three years. It is 
best to lay the hard water lily 
root flat about 3 inches below the 
surface of the soil in the box and 
do not forget to put about 2 
inches of sand on top of the box 
to keep the water clear. 
Tropical Water Lilies 
Are shipped after the weather is 
warm, which in the latitude of St. 
Louis is about May 20th. South¬ 
ern shipments are made as early 
as the later part of March. The 
important thing in planting tropi¬ 
cal water lilies is not to plant 
them any deeper than they have 
been growing in the pot. Pack 
the soil down solid so that the 
compact root growth in the pot 
in which the lily has been grown 
will not settle to the bottom of 
the lily box. In other words, if 
you leave the soil loose and plant 
the lilies, there is danger that the 
clump of dirt in which you re¬ 
ceive this tropical lily will settle 
down to the bottom of the box. 
Do not plant the tropical water 
lily too deep. It is best to lower 
the water surface of the pool so 
that the tropical lilies are not 
more than 6 inches below the wa¬ 
ter surface, or else raise the box 
by placing several bricks under 
it. Then after the lily has been 
growing for a month and is well 
established in your pool, you may 
lower this box. For planting 
tropical water lilies use boxes at 
least 16 inches square and 12 
inches deep. Fill them with good 
rich soil and use % pint of our 
Magic Water Lily Food to each 
box. Very good results and won¬ 
derful effects may be had by 
using a 20 inch square box and 
planting two tropical lilies to one 
box. This will give you more 
flowers from one box and you can 
also plant different colors and 
improve the general appearance 
of your lily pool tremendously. 
The planting of water lilies is 
really not different than planting 
most other kinds of plants except 
that you set them under water. 
Never plant your water lilies first 
and then fill the pool. It is best 
to have the pool filled at least a 
week in advance so that the wa¬ 
ter has had a chance to get warm. 
The newly planted lilies will 
grow much better in aged water 
than in fresh water. Plants do 
best, and you keep your pool 
much cleaner, if you do all your 
planting in various boxes instead 
of covering the entire bottom of 
your pool with soil. Never use 
any kind of metal containers. 
The Care of Goldfish 
While we cannot go into the 
details of breeding and propa¬ 
gating, etc., as this would be too 
lengthy a subject, we would like 
to call your attention to a small 
booklet, “Goldfish and Their 
Care,” which we have listed in 
this catalog and which can be 
sent to you for 15c, postpaid. It 
describes all the diseases and 
how to prevent them. It also de¬ 
scribes the breeding habits and 
other details useful to you in 
learning the successful methods 
of handling goldfish. 
We wish, however, to bring out 
a few important points which 
everyone should know who keeps 
goldfish in a pool. In the average 
pool of three-foot depth, goldfish 
may be left out during the winter 
without any danger of loss except 
if the pool is crowded. That is, if 
you have raised a lot of goldfish 
and the pool is very crowded with 
them, then you should dispose of 
your surplus goldfish in the fall 
of the year and only keep as 
many goldfish in the pool as you 
desire to start with next spring. 
Goldfish become almost lifeless as 
the water freezes. It must be re¬ 
membered that they are cold 
blooded creatures and the colder 
the water gets, the less they 
breathe. In fact, after the ice 
once forms on your pond, you 
may quit feeding the fish as they 
do not consume any food until 
after the ice has disappeared and 
the water again becomes warmer. 
If you wish to bring the fish 
indoors into the living room for 
the winter, or keep them in the 
cellar, adequate provisions must 
be made to take care of them. 
Most people overcrowd these 
goldfish and lose them. When 
keeping goldfish in an aquarium 
or trough over the winter, you 
should not keep over two inches 
of fish to the gallon of water. It 
is best to keep them in a cool 
place. Of course, you can keep 
them in a warm living room over 
winter, but if the temperature is 
70 or above, then at the most you 
should keep only one inch of fish 
to the gallon of water. If a gold¬ 
fish is two inches long and has a 
tail two inches long, then you 
should have four gallons of wa¬ 
ter to keep it in. 
Fish Can Not Be 
Put In a New Pool 
A newly constructed pool must 
be seasoned. That is, when the 
pool is filled with water for the 
first time the water absorbs the 
lime contents in the concrete. 
This is fatal to the fish as their 
fins get ragged and rotten. It 
usually ends in Fungus which is 
a white cotton like growth on 
their fins, tails, and body. 
How To Prevent Fungus 
In a New Pool 
There are two ways to prevent 
Fungus in a new pool. The old 
method is changing the water 
after letting it stand for about a 
week. Three changes of water 
usually removes all this lime 
sufficiently to prevent any further 
trouble. The other method is the 
use of waterproof enamels. These 
waterproof enamels are listed 
elsewhere in this catalog and 
may be obtained in various col¬ 
ors. These asphalt enamels 
should be applied to dry concrete 
only, as this asphalt will not ad¬ 
here to damp walls. Therefore, 
great care must be taken to see 
that the concrete is absolutely 
dry. This asphalt enamel can be 
supplied in the Black color at 
$1.25 per gallon or in 5 gallon 
cans at $5.00. One gallon of this 
enamel will cover from 150 to 250 
square feet of surface, all de¬ 
pending on how thick you desire 
to apply it and how smooth the 
concrete work is. The thicker 
you put it on, the more effective 
is the protection it affords. As- 
phaltum enamel also stops many 
leaks as it seeps into the porous 
concrete. Another quality to be 
considered is that the asphalt 
enamel coating prevents algea 
and other slimy mosses from 
taking root in the concrete. The 
water stays clearer and does not 
get green nearly as quick. 
Planting things on the bottom of the pool in pots or boxes is to be preferred to 
placing soil directly in the bottom of the pool. It is easy to make small wooden 
boxes or you may use the regular fern pots which are squat shape flower pots. 
They do not tip over as easy as the standard size pots. 
OUR WATER LILIES IN AUSTRALIA 
This photograph was mailed to us by R. W. Mildred, 50 Hughes St., North 
Unley, South Australia. Tropical water lilies are not grown commercially in Aus¬ 
tralia. We only shipped the tubers as this was much less expensive, and this 
picture shows the results of the quality tubers we are able to supply. Of course 
it is much easier if you can set out the lily plants already developed but in Aus¬ 
tralia, when we have summer here it is winter there, and it would not have been 
very practical for us to ship tropical water lilies during the winter. 
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