There is special delight in the cultivation of aquatics, due partly to the novelty of the work, and partly to the feeling of rest associated with this particular branch of floriculture. One can rarely go into the garden in the early summer without seeing something to do, a plant to be trimmed, or a vine the wind has blown down, and always plants needing water. When the lily pond is reached, be it natural or artificial, one feels that here there is rest, for an established lily pond seldom needs care. In small tanks the water must be renewed occasionally, but once a week will be sufficient.

Probably the simplest way of constructing a lily pond where the lay of the land and soil are favourable, is to mark out a desired area, remove about two feet of soil and turn the cattle on it. With stiff clay soil this will in a few months give a bottom sufficiently hard to hold water. Spread several inches of muck and old manure on this prepared ground and the place is ready for the water, which may be piped from a well or supplied by a wind-mill. Such a pond has this advantage over one made of cement, that semi-aquatic plants, such as Reeds and Bamboos, Japanese Iris, Cardinal Flowers, and the native Flame Lily may find a place on its banks and add greatly to the beauty of the pond.

When one is so fortunate as to have a little stream flowing through a corner of the grounds it can be diverted to form a pond with sufficient current to prevent stagnation, yet not enough to interfere with the growing of water-plants. By selecting a low spot beside the stream very little excavating will be necessary, and the nature of the soil and force of the water will decide what, if any, barrier may be needed. Should the stream be some distance from the house a shrubbery, hardy perennials, and an occasional tree may lead up to the pond. If this is so fortunately placed as to be on the north side of the grounds, so that the sun lies on it when seen from the house, the effect will be greatly heightened by a clump of evergreens on its northern shore, making a background to arrest the eye and focus it on the lily pond. Where the landscape is limited, a group of tall Bamboos is effective at this point, and Japanese Iris may have a place in the foreground; Sagittarias and ornamental grasses may also be used with good results.

Where one lacks the advantage of natural conditions a cement pond is a good substitute. It may be expensively constructed with piping for water, drainage, etc., or it may be made at a cost of from five to thirty dollars, according to size. Five or six by eight, or eight by ten or twelve feet, will be found convenient sizes, as they will admit of reaching the centre. The basin should be about two feet deep when completed, and if of clay the soil should be wet and made as hard and smooth as possible. If the soil is loose and sandy it will need a coat of clay before applying the cement. This may be done by mixing the clay with water to the consistency of mortar and applying in any convenient way. Allow this to dry before using the cement. A neat curbing will greatly improve the appearance of the pond.

When the cement is perfectly dry, place six inches of old, well-rotted manure in the bottom of the basin, and cover with eight or ten inches of muck. Make this smooth and level, and cover with one or two inches of clean white sand to keep the water clear and sightly and prevent the muck from rising to the surface. Fill with hose or watering-pot, letting the pond overflow until the water is clear and the sand firm and smooth, when it is ready for plants.

When a permanent bed of this kind is out of the question, a large zinc tub, or half a hogshead, will make a small water-garden. These would better be raised somewhat above the surface of the ground to protect them from decay. Three small five-inch drain-tiles laid sidewise make a good foundation, and a very pretty effect may be obtained by piling rough stones around the tank. Fill in with earth and cover with vines and plants suitable for a rockery. If a tall Bamboo, or even a fine clump of Papyrus or Umbrella-plant can be grown on the north side, so as to overtop the tank without shutting off the sunshine, it will add much to the general effect. The Lily pond should have full sunshine, but be protected from rough winds, as the leaves of large Lilies that stand well above the water are easily injured. The Egyptian Lotus is the finest of all Lilies suitable for growing in small ponds or tanks. These plants should be purchased from growers, as they do not seed in this country and the imported seed is uncertain. One plant is sufficient for a tub or tank, as they increase very rapidly and do better when not crowded.

One of these Lilies may be placed in the centre of a small pond of ten feet or more, and other Lilies grouped around the sides. Hardy NymphÆas may be planted in the soil of the pond, while the more tender Zanzibarenses should be planted in twelve-inch pots and plunged in the tank, as these are not hardy like the Nelumbiums, to which class the Lotus belongs. Both the Egyptian and the American Lotus are quite hardy in the open ground with a protection of rough litter and boards. An interesting peculiarity of the Lotus, by which it may be distinguished from other Lilies when quite small or out of bloom, is that water splashed on the leaves always rolls up into little drops like quicksilver instead of spreading over the leaves, as on NymphÆas and the like.

There are several varieties of NymphÆas suitable for amateur cultivation—the Cape Cod Water Lily, with its large, cup-shaped flowers of a lovely pink; T. Richardson, probably the finest white variety; our native NymphÆas, and the lovely Zanzibar Lilies in blue and crimson. These last are very easily raised from seed, which, if planted early in February, will give bloom by July, and may be wintered in a warm, dry cellar. In a cold, damp cellar they rot. If grown in tubs drain off the water at the approach of cold weather, remove to the cellar and keep merely moist. If grown in ponds it is better to plant them in pots, which may be lifted and brought into the cellar for the winter. Into a large bowl or crock put a few inches of rich soil, cover with clean white sand and turn on tepid water until it runs clear. Sow the lily seed on the surface of the water; it will go to the bottom when entirely wet and be more evenly distributed than would be the case were it sown on the soil and the water turned over it.

Through the clear water the whole process of germination may be watched. In six days a thread-like sprout will have started from the swollen seed; in six days more this thread-like shoot changes into a tiny dart-shaped leaf; in another six a true leaf comes upon the scene, a very small lily-pad, but giving promise of great performance.

When the dish becomes crowded transplant into other dishes, keeping plants out of water as short a time as possible. When the nights are warm—at least 60°—plant out in tubs or ponds. For the first year an eight by ten foot pond may have a Nelumbium in the centre, two or three Zanzibar varieties on either side, and pink and white NymphÆas at the end. If the plants have done well reduce the number the second year.

Water Hyacinths are found interesting principally because they are more or less of a novelty even at the South, having been introduced from Venezuela about fourteen years ago. This plant has already proved itself a nuisance in the Florida rivers, seriously interfering with navigation and calling for appropriations from the Government for its destruction. In house or garden cultivation the roots increase rapidly. A small plant set in a tub in full sunshine in May will fill it by August. The leaves form rosettes and expand at the stem into a sort of bladder that supports the plant on the surface of the water. The roots trail in the water until the plant is ready to bloom, when they enter the soil. The flowers are a pleasing shade of lavender with a yellow centre and form in spikes like a Hyacinth. Paris green must not be used in the water where the Hyacinths are grown, but lumps of charcoal and a small quantity of kerosene may be substituted.

A few Water Poppies holding their bright yellow cups well above the surface of the water are always attractive, and Parrot’s Feather trailing over the sides of the tub gives a bit of tender green through the summer, but the rockwork, with ferns and plants and a tall reed or two, makes a much tidier appearance. The Papyrus—the plant from which our first paper was made—is very effective and will grow wherever a Canna thrives, though it prefers a low, damp soil. It must be wintered in greenhouse or cellar. A well-developed clump will grow to a height of ten feet. Several varieties of Bamboo, to be had from South Florida nurseries, will do well in the North in summer and stand a considerable degree of cold. Bambusa arundinacea is a magnificent quick-growing sort from forty to sixty feet tall at maturity, and will stand considerable frost. B. aurea and B. Metake are hardy with good protection at the North. B. Metake is a handsome evergreen species of considerable decorative value for indoor culture, growing six feet tall with large, handsome foliage, while A. falcata is a pretty variety with the tiniest of leaves. Bamboo requires an abundant water-supply, and is therefore most suitable for the borders of natural ponds, or low, damp spots on the grounds.

The objection raised to ponds is that they breed mosquitoes and malaria and are likely to become offensive. So will anything that is neglected, but there is not the slightest reason for the lily pond becoming a nuisance in any way. A small amount of Paris green in the water—a teaspoonful to an eight-foot pond—will keep it perfectly clear and sweet and prevent the formation of green scum and moss, so offensive in stagnant water, and the breeding of mosquitoes. Or a little charcoal and kerosene will give the same results.