Evening star., 1934-04-07

ture's ideas of such things are really
much better than mans ideas. There
are many human beings who profess
to be horribly put out over Q smell
which does not please them. Fish
foods, for instance, As prepared for
our aquarium denizens. sometimes
have q pungent odor. 1t Is pleasing
to the fishes, and not at all bad. but
put q pinch Of 1t under the nose Of
an average citizen. and by no means
o flnicky person, and he will shrink
away protesting great repugnance. in
all likelihood. That Is because he Is
posing. He makes no attempt to
look with his nose) the way q fish
would when it is seeking It's dinner.
If he did he would say to himself,
"Ah, delicious!"
This. warning. not TO be obsessed
because the garden pool becomes
green, is q valuable one. Many other
wise sane persons permit 1t to spoil
their pleasure in their miniature fish
pond.
No doubt every one has heard an
other warning, but 1t is always worth
repeating. being one Of those bits OF
information which cannot be re-
peated too much. 1t simply Is that
one should never put fish into Q
brand-new pool. No matter what
material 1t Is made Of. 1t must be
seasoned. The easiest way to do this
Is to fill the new pool with water
and let it stand for q week then drain
it and repeat this performance Twice
Is held to be. enough. but perhaps
three times. over a period Of as many
weeks, is a better minimum. The
oftener the water is completely
changed. within reason, the better.
This applies to wooden tubs as we'll
as to concrete pools. The wooden
tub should be seasoned as well as
concrete. Galvanized tubs do not
need as much of this seasoning, al
though some persons claim they do
From experience we have had fishes
do perfectly in such tubs when new
Water lilies. however. do not like q
galvanized vessel They will grow
but not very well, and may not bloom
Vic VI tliC NatdiOBuC uCO tiilo yCdi lldo
warned, and we believe justly. against
the use of manure in the boxes which
hold the lily roots. 1t is asserted
that most persons would do better to
have slightly smaller flowers than run
the risk Of polluting the water. While
this pollution may not seem to be
large, il q good layer Of sand is used
at the top, there always is the likeli-
hood Of some vigorous goldfish roofing
in the sand, as they love to do, and
permitting the manure to come in
direct contact with the body of the
water. In such an event the afore-
mentioned natural chemistry takes
place vigorously Well-rotted manure
is used to feed daphnia and other
small crustaceans in breeding them
for fish food. 1t will be realized. then.
that he who used manure in his lily
boxes Is running some risk along this
line.
No doubt for the average amateur
the water condition is far more i'm
portant than a large lily. The water
lily is so beautiful. in any one Of
its many varieties. that a few blooms
are enough. Positively one should
not desire to have the top OF a pool
crowded with them. One or two In
bloom every day is sufficient. The
lily pads are, IN q sense, the real
pool ornament. There is something
vastly satisfying to the eye in the
appearance Of pool with half Of the
surface, more or less, covered with
| these leaves They furnish fine shell
ter from the sun for the fishes, and
by cutting off some portion Of light
help keep the water clear. One must
have the pool in the sunshine to get
good lilies but sometimes 1t does play
havoc with the clarity Of the water.
II the pool should go green, however,
do not forget that such water is ex-
cellent for the fish life. and is not a
matter to worry very much about.
after all.