Evening star., 1939-06-17

pSOlo 10 pIOpCl dIlu COIls
f1t into almost any situation. They
or small, intricate or simple. The
aracter of the individual garden in
The location of the pool should
follow one or two rather definite
considerations. For water lilies the
pool must have sun for consider
able part of the day Also, a pool
should be in what appears to be the
lowest point in the yard. In nature
pools are not found on top of hill,
but in depression. A background
is necessary to give an informal pool
setting. This may be provided
through the use of shrubs, a rock
garden or even by the judicious use
of vines and ANIMALS.
After selecting the site it is a rela-
lively simple matter to lay out the
pool. The garden hose may be laid
on the ground to mark the outline
and to aid in visualizing the COM
pleted pool. Avoid sharp angles
they add to the work in construc-
ton. Allow for construction-the
walls should not be less than 4
inches thick and inches of con-
crete.is usually recommended. For
the small pool in this area, how
ever, 4-inch walls properly rein
forced will be found satisfactory.
For larger pools thicker walls will
be necessary. Even though allow
ance is made in sloping the walls
outward to take care of ice pres
sure, it is not safe to build a pool
without the use of reinforcement.
my first pool was perfectly water
tight and successful the first sum-
mer. The second summer it was a
source of trouble because the win
ter freezes cracked it badly) Pools
lined with lead, however, are free
from such troubles and it may be
that we should use this material
more widely. Lined with lead the
cost of the materials is somewhat
higher, but labor costs are less and
the risk of cracking is practically
eliminated. Lead is not poisonous
to fish or plants.
In building pool allow about 10
square feet for each lily (hardy or
tropicaD and somewhat more for a
lotus. Two feet is the usual depth,
whether the lilies are to be planted
in boxes or in soil spread on the
bottom of the pool. Hardy and trop-
ical lilies should have to IL inches
OF water over their crowns, while 5
to 6 inches is ample for the lotus.
Thus for the lilies foot of soil and
foot of water is essential.
Variety Of Aquatic
Plants Used.
In planning the pool it is desir-
able to include some of the other
aquatics and semi aquatics. Some
of these require only an inch or two
of water, while others want their
crowns above the waters surface.
Arrowhead, cattails, water poppy,
ETC., are all interesting and easily
included in the plan. Small Lodges
at the edge of the pool to hold the
soil make their use simple. OF
course, they can be added to an es-
tablished pool in pots or boxes by
placing at the proper depth on piles
OF brick or in boxes with legs.
In the plan shown below the use
OF ledges is indicated. Also, it indi-
Gates one method of treating the
edge of the pool Conspicuous
copings or edgings are not consid-
cred good design except in the
formal pool
Note the combination of overflow
and drain pipe. Be sure to use a
large pipe 2 inches or more for
draining. If the coupling is brass
there will be less difficulty with
rust. A small pool may be easily
drained by syphoning with the gar
den hose. For large pools, however,
a permanent drainage system is
advised. No provision for adding
water is shown since once filled only
the moisture lost through evapora-
ton needs replacing. In most yards
this chore can be taken care of with
the garden hose.
Directions for
Building Pools.
For the concrete pool use clean
materials (sand and graveD to in
sure strength and success. Use
mixture of one part cement, two
parts sharp sand, and three parts
of half-inch gravel. After the con-
crete has set-12 to "a hours-the
inside surface should be smoothed
with trowel or float and painted
with neat" cement (mixture of
cement and water). Two or three
paintings will make the pool water
proof
If lead is used as lining material
buy sheet lead of the 4-pound grade.
The joints should be Tapped and
soldered. In excavating for a lead
lined pool no additional allowance
need be made for construction,
whereas, for concrete pools 4 to 6
inches are allowed. Also, concrete
pools are usually built on a layer of
cinders or gravel and in such cases
still more excavation is required.
Some people advise filling and
draining the new pool to eliminate
the lime. believing it to be harmful
to the lilies and fish. Others wash
the concrete with vinegar to neu-
traliZe the lime. There are several
cases on record, however, where the
plants and fish were placed in a
pool without taking these precau-
tions and apparently were uninjured.
Next week-"Planting the Pool"