New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1895-08-11
ENJOYMENT FOE THE ST4Y-ATHOMES
AMUSING AND INTERESTING OBJECTS TO BE SEEN
IN THE PUBLIC PARKs-woRK OF
TIE AQUATIC ROTANIST

THE AQUATIC BOTANIST
The man whose business or means prevents him
from leaving the city find much enjoyment
Manhattan Island He will find more to interest
him right here than in all his wanderings at
called fashionable resorts. Let the person who
has 10 stay in the city visit Central Park go up
TO the Bronx Van Cortlandt parks and he can
spend a most enjoyable day at the least possible
expense and get back TO his own comfortable bed
more contented than in having gone off to
socalled seaside resting place Just now the pest
OF insects has abaied and the perfect weather has
made wandering IN the parks a pleasure. The
bicyclist has enjoyed his utmost bent the beau
tiful weather.
The pedestrian. however though he does not
travel quite so far In his quiet saunter sees a
great deal more. What bicyclist stopped to
the funny manoevures OF tumble bug The
little fellow is excellent scavenger on our public
roads and works like Trojan. Nothing deters
this dingy homely beetle His use In life is to
clean pathways and to find home for the
coming generation OF tumble bugs. II Colonel War
ing had such energetic workers as these beetles
are he would cease from troubling the city author
partment The pedestrian. too, has time 10 look
at many things that the more rapidly travelling
our lakes and ponds are blooming with a wealth
OF aquatic flowers. They are all well worm mo-
Tribune reporter yesterday paid a visit to Mr.
Fisher. who looks after this department OF lake
the whole concern. He had only samples Of all
the beautiful lilies he had planted throughout the
park. There was the tiny water snowfakes. with
their fine hairy petals OF white, ending IL golden
circle round the stamen. The common lotos is now
in splendid bloom at One-hundredth-st. and Eighth
ave. and Is well worth visit. This is the old
papyrus OF the Egyptians and was their sacred
flower The Obelisk that was built up centuries
ago at Thebes looks down more on a plant
that probably IL never expected 20 look on again.
All through the parks the aquatic botanist has
now a splendid opportunity OF studying the lilies
"a they grow and blossom. Central Park Union
Square Madison Square and City Hall Park foun-
tans all team with vegetation that Is almost
foreign Yesterday the reporter in mis-
wanderings around the Park found the following
lilies In bloom: Azurea. with her purple and yell
low petals. and the various-coored nymphia then
there was sagittaria longfoa puntara a floating
orchid with light-blue flowers just tinged with
yellow. can be seen floating about the little hooks
and back stretches OF the lake, and here also can
be found the three-petalled yellow lotos found by
Humboldt in Central America.
Mr.. Fisher has all these In his conservatory, Il
water conservatory. In each tank is a colony OF
gold and silver FISH to eat the water beetles and
bugs that would play havoc with the plants. Be
sides this precautiOn the long eafstems have to
be washed clean OF slime nearly every day. The
lilies In their natural state. living In running
water. forever rubbing their long leafstens one
against the other. keeping them clean. The
botanfst in setting these plants out In still water
nnds that his greatest difneulty 10 TO keep his
plants clean.