Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1894-08-18

from Africa. but there are some pink ones
native to the United States. OF hardy
lilies there are now under cultivation six
white varieties. four pink. four yellow and
one dark crimson. OF tropical varieties
there are five blue. in. shades from sky
blue to very dark, three white. three red
and one pink. Five kinds of water lilies
open their flowers at night They spread
their petals at : o'clock in the evening and
shut them at 10 in the morning. Each one
opens for three nights.
The amateur water gardener at starting
should build a tank OF brick or stone. say
twenty by thirty feet and two feet deep.
The bottom ought to be of broken stone or
old brickbats overlaid with cement. II the
Put into the tank boxes Of mold covered
with an inch OF two of clean sand. The
earth used must be very rich In a state
Of nature lilies grow In shadows. where
the richest alluvium is deposited. their
rC DTS. often es thick as a mans arm. FORM
ing network over the bottom. The tank
must be in warm and sunny place. The
water must be freshened often enough 10
prevent stagnation. and to compensate for
what Is lost by evaporation. Though lilies
are of chief Importance in water gardening,
there are many other plants which receive
attention from the aquatic horticuiturist.
OF these latter a number of species are
propagated in the green houses of the
White House for the fountain basins. One
of them is the water poppy. which has
flowers of a bright lemon color. Not to
be forgotten is the beautiful blue water
hyacinth nor yet the water snowflake. the
blossoms OF which look like star-shaped
snow crystals. Another is the lattice-ieaf
plant, which Is one of the most singular
plants in existence. II Is a veritable liv-
ing skeleton of the vegetable world. Its
leaves. eighteen inches in length, consist
irg of merely midrtb and the primary
nerves. The parrots feather plant must
be remembered for its exquisite foliage.
Adjoining % Water Surface.
All of tbesa and mary more the water
gardener may include in his collection. He
ought to have the Egyptian papyrus-the
plant from which the first paper was made.
Dealers sell seeds of all the species men
toned here. A most ornamental aquatic
grass is the wild rice. which bears panicles
of bloom stalks four To ten feet high.
There are several kinds OF floating plants
which are extremely Interesting. having no
roots in the soil, but supporting themselves
on the surface by means OF bulbs flied with
air. The aquatic horticulturist may con-
struct In his pond a miniature island a few
inches above the water level. and on this
moist patch he may cultivate such curious
plants as the pitcher plants. which decoy
insects into small vessels containing an
intoxicating hIuid. Another s-plant suit
able for the purpose Is the vegetable fly
trap. which grasps files and other bugs that
venture upon Its leaves. devourlng them at
leisure.
The amateur water gardener should re-
member that ne need not go to the trouble
or building tank. Any pond, or even a
mud-hole in a meadow, may be transformed
into beauty spot. Yet IL is not uncommon
to md artificial lakes in parks and pleas
nre grounds wholly destitute of vegetation
This seems pity. inasmuch as any water
surface In a landscape is rendered so much
more interesting by green and Towering
growths, and TO leave such an aqueous area
bare. Is like permitting field to go untitled
mat might easily be made to bloom with
lovelness ~