With the revival of old-time garden features that has been brought about through interest in floriculture, fascinating specialties have been evolved. This is particularly true of the garden pool which lends itself to almost every kind of setting. It is no new idea, this introduction of pools into even small gardens.

The ancient Egyptians had great reverence for pools and we read of their interest in bringing into life the sacred Lotus, giving it a prominent place in their gardens. This may be better known to moderns as "the rose lily." In the early days it was used for religious purposes and was a prominent feature in their festivals. It was also used ornamentally for feasts where the walls were decorated with the beautiful blossoms that were repeated in the centerpiece for the elaborately-spread table. Not content with this use for decorative purposes, it was made in forms of garlands that were thrown over the shoulders of the assembled guests while wreaths of the same flower crowned their brows, great care being taken that a bud or cluster of blossoms was placed in the center of the forehead.

Ever since that period, we read of the constant introduction of water into gardens of every clime. While pools were not commonly used during the Colonial period, they have to-day, with the coming in of the formal and Italian gardens, grown to be one of the most interesting features. The form and the immediate surroundings have been carefully thought out and depend upon the type and the shape of the whole plan.

When the mercury registers at ninety and the whirling dust rises in clouds, parching one's throat as it settles like a dingy pall on sun-burned grass and drooping foliage, it is a pleasure to come suddenly upon a pond where over-hanging plants cast lengthened shadows far over the surface. They shelter the waxen lily cups that gleam like pearls against a background of dark green pods—a perpetual joy and delight to the eye.

There is no doubt but water, be it large or small in area, holds a charm for us all. How much more if it is inhabited and made beautiful through the use of aquatic plants and fish. These scattered apparently carelessly over the surface of the water add much to its picturesqueness. This is particularly true during the season of bloom when we find varied colored cups, resting on saucers of green, lifting their heads above the surface as if in delight with their surroundings.

Surely when you view a pond such as this you will find a double delight in watching a flutter of wings, a hopping about on the plants and glad dipping of little bills and uplifting of heads. These are the birds that form a part of garden life and who are attracted here by the flowers and the chance of a bath. Splashing and sparkling in the sunlight, they dive into the water below, drying themselves on the large pads that float artistically on the surface. Over yonder is a large gray cat bird calling to its mate. We can but note the fine proportion, the poise of the black head and the beauty of the satin gray coat which is pruned by the hour. There is the Indigo Bird, a delightful symphony of blue and cinnamon red. He sits swinging on a lily while his musical note comes to our listening ears. The Ruby Throated Humming Bird swings noiselessly over the pond, dipping his long beak here and there to gather honey from the wide-open flowers.

It depends upon the size of the pool, the shape and the finish as to the planting. It is a great mistake to have it so thickly over-spread with leaves that no water is visible. A good rule to be observed is two-thirds water and one-third lilies. This gives a chance to watch the gold fish darting in and out for food. For a small beginning of a water garden, why not try a pocket in the rock? It is a very easy matter to arrange for lilies in a case like this. All you have to do is to cement the hollow, put in your loam and plant one or two roots. It is these diminutive water gardens that attract the birds more than the large pools, and they form a charming vista in the garden scheme. Little pockets of earth can be made to surround them, and here we can plant rock-loving plants that will give a touch of picturesqueness to this cunning little scheme.

The shape of the garden determines that of the pool. A square garden demands square treatment in the lay-out of your design. A round garden, to be correct, should have a circular formation for the planting of your lilies. Then, too, the treatment of the planting should be determined by the formality or informality of the plan. Great care should be taken that they are not aimlessly placed but form a part of the design. Any attempt to digress from this rule is fatal for correct composition.

Great attention should be paid to the margin. It should not be stiff and formal; it should rather be broken here and there, so that there will be open spaces showing between. Copy nature in this treatment and you will not go far astray.

In order to make this pool successful, one thing should never be forgotten and that is that you are dealing with sun-loving plants to whom shadow is objectionable. There is another reason why the sunshine should fall unobstructed on the pond and that is that it shows reflections that are effective, and bring cheer to your garden plot.

Many people consider that stagnant pools should not exist, as they are mosquito breeders. They do not realize that the stocking of pools with both fish and plants, carefully carried out so that they are properly balanced, results in the water never being putrid but remaining fresh and sweet, making a delightful water garden that is healthful and not malaria breeding.

There are two essentials if you wish your idea to be successful; first, that the bottom be water-tight and second, that it be proof against frost. While these two things are easy to accomplish, yet many people fail in them. Cement is the only proper material to be used for foundation. Some people have an idea that puddled clay is cheaper. It may be if properly handled, but great care has to be taken that it is thoroughly puddled or it melts away and your work has been for naught.

Cement is the most reliable material if correctly applied. Before putting it on, the pool should be dug out to the proper depth and size. It should then be well packed for several inches with broken stone. Over this should be put Portland cement, using one part of the former to three of sand. Some people cement it for six inches while others prefer to use two coats, each three inches thick. It should never be so high that it will come above the frost line which is two and a half feet in depth.

Water lilies, as well as all kinds of aquatics, will grow in any kind of good garden soil; that is, if one-fifth well-rotted manure is added to it. Possibly this is not to be obtained and if so, a quart of ground bone allowed to each bushel of soil will bring about the right results. It should be remembered that the plants should be set out so they will get the greatest exposure to the sunlight.

We have supposed that you have chosen a spot for your water garden that obtains the greatest amount of sun, also that it is sufficiently sheltered from the winds. It has been dug down from fifteen to twenty-four inches and then carefully cemented. Now you are ready to plant your pool, the soil being taken into consideration. If, by some chance, you are not able to secure the kind recommended, it can be made of three parts rotted sod and one part cow manure. Remember that it should be thoroughly rotted if you do not wish ferment in the water. Too many people take little care on this subject and then wonder at the disappointing results.

Possibly there is no place for your garden pool. In that case why not use half barrels or tubs? They have the advantage of taking up very little room, can easily be sunk in the ground and are really well worth the trial. Nothing should be used that has a diameter of less than two feet and the greater the surface space the better will be the result. Tub culture requires two-thirds filling of soil and covering with sand to have it the right depth. If more than one tub is used, why not make a rockery between? It has the advantage of making another feature for your garden, besides adding picturesqueness.

There are two ways of planting as well as two kinds of tubers. They can be put directly in the soil, or they can be planted in tubs or boxes that can be sunk, but the latter recommends itself as more practical. The reason for this is that they are easily removed in winter and the water is kept much cleaner when the earth is free from tubers. It must be remembered that each plant requires from eight to nine square feet of surface room so that it would be bad taste to allow too many for an individual pool. If you wish, you can make the boxes yourself, using pieces of board for that purpose.

Next come the gold fish. For a tub, only two are necessary, but for a pond one hundred feet in diameter, twenty-five should be used. These fish spawn in June and have been known to breed enough to stock a large pond. There is an old theory,—doubted by many, that the old fish turn cannibals and devour their progeny. These people advise the putting of roots and stock into a tub, this is so the egg may be attached, removed, and hatched separately. In cases like this the small fish are allowed to grow considerably before being returned to the tub.

There are two kinds of tubers, the tender and the hardy. The latter require practically no care during the winter months, that is, always provided the water is deep enough to allow no freezing of the crown of the plant. They should be planted about the first of May and both varieties can be given the same treatment, with the exception that the hardy variety do best when planted in soil two feet deep and covered with six inches of water.

All pools should have planting in addition to the tubers of submerged plants. This is to aerate the water and keep it pure and sweet. The best kinds to be used for this purpose are Anacharis Canadensis Gigantea, and Canbomba Viridifolia, ten of them being enough for a large pool. The former is a giant water weed with dark green ovate leaves and light stems. It is a quick grower and considered by authorities to be one of the best oxygenators in existence. The latter, sometimes known as Washington grass, is also popular. It has brilliant glossy green leaves, fan-shaped and more beautiful than a delicate fern. In addition to this why not use the Ludwigia Munlerti, which is one of the prettiest submerged plants. It shows small ovate leaves that are green on the upper side and pink on the under. This makes it distinct from any other aquarium plant.

A great help in the way of nourishment for these water lilies is the application when first planted or in the early spring of dried blood manure. The proper way of using this is to broad cast it on the surface of the water, using one pound to every ten square feet of surface.

Too many people make the mistake of keeping the water too cold. This necessitates the filling of the pool and the leaving it to grow warm through exposure to the sun for several days before planting. When additional water has to be added, it should be some that has stood in the sun for several days, as cold water injures the growth. The condition for growth is the same for both the tender and the hardy NymphÆas with the exception that the former should not be planted until after warm weather sets in. It is well, however, to grow them in pots so that they will be of fair size by June first when the weather has become suitable for their outdoor existence.

If the pond is to be large, why not use groups, but if small, single ones will do. For their planting, the hardy variety can be sown in either fall or spring, as one fancies. They should have a small hole cut through the shell of each seed with a sharp knife that they may do better. For the tender kind, do not put them out until they are well started. They should be sown in pots or pans, covering the seeds with one-fourth of an inch of sand, giving them a thorough watering and allowing them to drain for an hour. Then submerge them under two inches of soil at a temperature of seventy degrees. These can be removed into separate pots when they have shown two leaves. This kind is very desirable for cutting, the best for this purpose being the night-blooming varieties.

The PygmÆa hybrid type and the Laydekri, as well, are desirable for hardy variety. The former is the smallest water lily in cultivation, a free bloomer showing white flowers, one and a half inches in diameter, while the PygmÆa Helvola, yellow in coloring, is very dainty. A combination of these two colors is always interesting, while if you wish the latter kind, why not try the Laydekria Rosea, which is a French hybrid and one of the earliest in introduction. Only a few specimen plants are found cultivated at the present time. The flowers are of delicate pink with a deep golden center that deepens into a dark shade of rose, presenting a novel feature in that it seemingly is one plant showing different colors. Another variety of this same order is the Laydekri Lilacea, three to five inches across, shading from rosy lilac to bright carmine and sending forth a fragrance like a tea rose. The Sultan is also very valuable on account of its free flowering, the plants showing never less than six flowers open daily. These are of good size Solferina red with white shading and yellow stamens. This is very rare and therefore brings a high price.

Of the day-blooming varieties, we find the Capensis with flowers of rich sky blue. This planted in contrast with the Ovalifolia, a new variety from East Africa, produces flowers eight to ten inches across of deep creamy white, faintly tinged with blue that deepen until the tips are a light corn flower blue with sulphur yellow stamens. The charm of this flower is its petals which are long and narrow, giving it a pretty star shape.

For the night blooming NymphÆas, why not use the Dedoniensis, which throws out large, pure red flowers often showing from twelve to eighteen blooms at a single time, also the Dentata whose white flowers measure from eight to twelve inches in diameter and open out horizontally.

Do not forget in your collection to include the Royal Water Lily. Of these, the Victoria Regia is a well-known species. While the plants are expensive, the seeds can be bought for a much more reasonable price and are more interesting as one can watch them from their start until blossoming. The Victoria Trickeri is also desirable. In good condition its leaves are from four and a half to five and a half feet across, a single plant having from twelve to fifteen leaves and producing three or four flowers in a single week. These flowers are picturesque, being white at the time of opening and changing to deep rose pink, admitting a strong fragrance not unlike that of a ripe pineapple.

In addition to water lilies one should plant different aquatics, to make a variety. There is the Sagittaria Montevidensis, which attains gigantic proportions, growing four or five feet high with leaves fifteen inches long, the flower towering above, the foliage white with dark blotches at the base of each petal. Then there is the Butterfly Lily, a tender sub-aquatic plant that forms a dense clump three to six feet high bearing masses of pure white fragrant flowers that look like large white butterflies borne in large terminal clusters.

The Water Poppy must not be forgotten. It is a very pretty aquatic plant with floating leaves and large yellow poppy-like flowers, and a continual bloomer.

The border of the lily pond is of almost as much importance as the flowers themselves. Iris makes a good setting. Of these, the Iris Hexagona, or Blue Flag, is interesting from the fact that it is a hardy Southern kind, showing rich purple and blue with yellow markings three to four inches across and resembling the costliest and rarest orchid flowers. The Dalmatica is one of the finest of the German type. It grows four feet high with exceptionally large flowers of fine lavender, the falls shaded blue. The Japanese Iris is the grandest of all the hardy ones and the best are the double varieties with six petals. Kokinoiro, a rich royal purple with white veining is very satisfactory in growth. Combine it with the Sano-Watashi, which is white with canary yellow center, and the Tokyo, a magnificent large, white flower, and you will find one of the best combinations possible.

Ornamental grasses are very effective for this use. Of these, there are so many varieties it would be impossible to name them all. One of the most ornamental kinds is the Zebra grass, which has long, narrow green leaves, striped white and feathery plumed. Mix it with the Pampas grass and you will note the artistic result. This grows very rapidly from seed planted in the spring and is useful for decorative purposes. The Feather grass, growing two feet in height, fits into this scheme as does the TricholÆna Rosea, which is rose tinted, making a color scheme when massed with the other ornamental grasses that is most fascinating.

The form and surroundings of the pool, carefully thought out, make it a most desirable feature for both small and large gardens, and everyone, no matter how limited their means, can indulge in one if they wish.