Evening star., 1934-05-18
ere is letter typical of many re-

ere is letter typical of many re-
ceived lately:
Dear Sir: read with much interest
your This and That, in The Star,
specially regarding fish.
Il have become interested to the
point where l would like to have a
pool, with few goldfish in it, and
possibly a lily growing in it.
Il have plenty of room for pool
6 by 10 feet long and to feet wide.
Il cannot afford to have this built,
but have time to do the work myself
What Is holding me up is the lack
Of knowledge Of how the work should
be done. would greatly appreciate
any advice and information you can
give me, or where I can secure such.
I believe many of your readers would
be interested in an article, When,
Where and How to Build an Outdoor
Fish and Lily Pool How's that for
the title? Thanks for whatever help
you can give me. I am. yours truly.
j. A. G. s."
+ y X X
There is no better time than now
to build a pool.
So much for when"
The time really Is ideal. The first
week in June is a choice time to stock
and plant a home pool. 1t must be
kept in mind, first and foremost, that
after the pool is finished it must be
properly seasoned" for the fishes, and
this takes several weeks.
Now for the where"
This is most important, and there
is but one answer:
Fight squarely in the sun!
That is rule one cannot break and
get away with. Many try it, but their
fish all die in their first Winter. Even
if a pool gets sun a part of the day.
the same result often happens. because
the water was not able to build up the
multitude of microscopic animals and
reactions which would help the in
mates to go through the cold. And
then the matter of leaves getting into
the pool plays its part. If leaves fall
into a pool in continuous full SUM-
shine. the chemistry of the water is
such that they will do little harm TO
the fishes. II the leaves drop into a
pool on which sunbeams play but half
a day. the chances are that the chemi-
cal reactions in the water will not take
care Of them, and that they will give
forth products inimical TO life.
Now we have the when" and the
where" let us go on to the real job.
the building of the pool. the how"
of it
First of all, no man ought to at
tempt it who is not of a so-called
mechanical turn of mind
One must be handy man of sorts
before attempting concrete pool, in
particular.
Ready-mixed concrete can be OBJ
tanned, and no doubt this is the best
way to get it, and all such firms will
be able to tell the builder just the
right mix to use
A good mixture is l part cement. 2
parts sand. and 4 parts coarse gravel
or small broken stones.
If a sloping side is adopted. no
forms will be necessary. Slightly slop-
ing sides are best, because they per-
nit the ice to expand when the water
freezes in Winter. Yet If a straight
sided pool is properly built, there is
little danger Of it cracking.
If one is going to build a pool, a
good sized one is best and costs little
more than a small one. A pool 10 feet
by feet, or by 4, makes nice lay
out, especially when finished of at the
top with nice looking stones.
Y X y
In any event, use some sort Of re-
inforcing. either wire fencing or
chicken wire. The bottom should be
at least inches thick and the walls
at least inches. A good way to in