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BOTANICAI-

THE BOOK

THE AQUA^^^y.M

NEW YORK
^'^^^ BOTANICAL

GARDEN

WATER CABINET;

:f rnttol Sttjitrttrtintta

ON THE FORMATION, STOCKING, AND MANAGEMENT, IN ALL

SEASONS, OF COLLECTIONS OF FKESH WATER AND

MARINE LIFE :

BY SHIELEY EIBBEED,

AUTHOR OF "RUSTIC ADORNMENTS FOR HOMES OF TASTE," &C., &C.

LONDON :

1856.

CONTENTS. LIBRARY

NEW YORK

LSOTANICAL

HARDEN

THE FRESH-WATER TANK.

PAGE

Chapter I. — "What is an Aquarium ? 6

The Name and the Object — Philosophy of the Aquarium.

Chapter II. — Proper Kinds of Vessels 10

Eectangular Tanks — Construction of Tanks — ^Warington's
Stope-back Tank — BeU Glasses and Vases — Stands for
Vases.

Chapter III. — Fitting -up — Rock work 17

The Bottom — Mould — Planting — The "Water — Aspect.

Chapter TV. — ^Plants for the AauARiuM .... 21

How to stock a Tank quickly — Selection of Plants —

Water Soldier — Starwort — VaUisneria — Anacharis —

^ sj Myriophyllum — Potamogeton — Nuphar Lutea — Pipe-

c. wort — Utricularia — Isopelis — SubTilaria—Ranunculus —

-^ - Hydrocaris — Alisma — Lemna, &c.

TJSapter v.— Fishes for the Aquarium 32

" *Cyprinus Carpio, Gibelio, Carassius, Auratus, Brama,
Q~ Leucisus, Rutilus, Alburnus, Phoxinus, Gobio, Tinea,
(Yj Barbus, Barbatula, Cephalus — Percidae — Gasterosteus..

"Chapter VI. — Reptiles, Mollusks, and Insects 44

Chapter VII.— Selection of Stock 46

Chapter VIII. — General Management 48

Feeding — Confervae — Uses of Mollusks — Objections to
Mollusks — Use of Confervoid Growths — Periodical
Cleansing — Exhaustion of Oxygen — Temperature —
Dead Specimens — Disease of Fishes.

CONTENTS.

THE MARINE TANK.

PAGE

Chapter I. — The Vessel 53

Points in which the Marine differs from the River Tank —
Stained Glass.

Chapter II. — Fitting-up 56

The Bottom — Rocks, Arches, and Caves — The Water —
Artificial Sea "Water — Marine Salts — Management of
Artificial Water — Caution to the Uninitiated — Filtering.

Chapter III. — Collecting Specimens 66

Chapter IV.— The Plants 69

Chapter V. — The Animals 71

Fishes — Mollusks — Annelides — Zoophytes — Actinia Me-
semhryanthemum — Anguicoma, Bellis, Gemmacea, Cras-
sicornis, Parasitica, Dianthus, &c.

Chapter VI. — What is an Anemone ? 84

Chapter VIL — General Management 91

Grouping of Objects — Sulphuretted Hydrogen— Preserva-
tion of the Water — Aeration— Filter — Decay of Plants —
Death of Anemones — Removal of Objects — Density
of the Water — Green Stain — Feeding — The Syphon —
Purchase of Specimens.

THE WATER CABINET.

Chapter I. — Construction of Cabinets 101

Distinctions between the Cabinet and the Aquarium —
Construction of a Cabinet — Glasses.

Chapter II. — Collecting and Arranging Specimens . . 106
Implements for Collecting — Nets, Jars, and Phials — Pond
Fishing.

Chapter III.— The Stock 110

Chapter IV. — Larva 114

The Dragon Fly— The Gnat— The Case Fly.

CONTENTS.

PAGE

Chapter V. — Coleoptera 130

Dytiscus Marginalis — Hydrous Piceous — Colymbetes —
Gyrinus Xatator.

Chapter YI. — Heteroptera 139

Hydrometra — Notanecta, Nepa, &c.

Chapter VIL — The Frog — Notes on Management.... 140

LIST OF ENGRAVINGS.

Cabinet Aquarium Frontispiece.

Tank containing Yallisneria Spiralis, Anacharis, Gold Carp,

Eoach, and Minnow Fage 11

Vase Aquarium 15

Callitriche 22

Stratoides Aloides 24

Vallisneria Spiralis 25

Myriophyllum Spicatum 27

Potamogeton Densus 28

Eanunculus Aquatalis , 30

Hydrocaris Morsus Eanse 31

Tank containing Gudgeon, Prussian Carp, Loach, and Bream 33

Tank containing Minnow, Tench, and Perih 41

Tank containing Planorbis Comeus, Paludina Yivipara,

Lymnea Stagnalis, TJnio Pictorum, Tumidus, and Anodon

Cygneus 45

Cleansing Sponge 50

Actinia Mesembryanthemum, Dictyota Dychotoma 64

Porcellana Platycheles, and Cancer Pagurus 72

Carcinas Maenas 73

Actinia Anguicoma, Trochus Ziziphinus, IJIva Latissima,

Bryopsis Plumosa, Acorn Barnacle 75

CONTENTS.

PAGE

Actinia Bellis and Gemmacea, Delesseria Alata, Polysiphonia

Urceolata 76

Actinia Dianthus, Delesseria Sanguinea, CaHithamnium

Eoseum, Griffithsia Setacea 82

Edwardsia Vestita, jEsop Prawn, Enteromorpha Compressa,

Ulva Latissima 86

Dipping Tube 96

Syphon 99

Hand Net 107

Diving Spiders and Nests 112

Transformation of the Dragon Fly 120

Virgin and Green Dragon Flies 122

Larva of the Gnat : 124

Larva of Stratiomys 125

Larvae and Imago of Case Fly 128

Grating of Case "Worm, Magnified 129

Dytiscus and Larva, Reduced 132

Hydrous Piceus 134

Colymbetes ; 135

Gyrinus Natator 137

Gyrinus, Magnified 138

"Water Scorpion , 142

Transformations of the Tadpole 144, 145

Pocket Lens 147

PKEFAOE.

Every day adds to the popularity of the Aquarium, but
every day does not add to the accuracy of the published
descriptions of it, or the perspicuity of the directions
everywhere given for its formation and maintenance.
Lately the periodical press has teemed with essays on the
subject ; but it does not require a very close scrutiny for
the practical man to discern that a majority of such
papers express the enthusiasm rather than the knowledge
of their authors — a few weeks' management of a tank
seeming to be considered a sufficient qualification for the
expounding of its philosophy, though it demands an ac-
quaintance with the minutest details of the most refined
departments of botany and zoology to do anything like
justice to it.

I have done my best to explain and illustrate the whole
rationale of marine and fresh- water tanks in my lately
published work. Rustic Adornments for Homes of Taste;
but since that work, owing to the expense incurred in its

PKEFACE.

production, is published at a price wMch every lover of
the Aquarium cannot command, I have thought it no less
a duty than a pleasure to treat the subject more briefly,
but still practically, and I hope profitably, in a volume of
less dimensions and less cost, written for another class of
readers.

The object of this little work is to teach the beginner
how to proceed safely and pleasurably in setting up
aquaria, whether for mere ornament or for the study of
the novel forms of animal and vegetable life which these
collections enable us to observe closely, no less for the
increase of our knowledge of the world, than for the
exaltation of our sense of the omnipotence and benignity
of Him who created it.

The Nursery, Tottenham.

THE BOOK OF THE AQUAEimi.

THE FRESH WATER TANK.

CHAPTER I.

WHAT IS AN AQUAHIUM?

The Name. — The term vivarium was first applied to
the vessel containmg a collection of specimens of aquatic
life, and the first vivarium of such a kind, on anything
like an extensive scale, was that opened to public exhi-
bition in the Regent's Park Zoological Gardens. Many-
naturalists had previously made experiments to ascertain
some certain method of preserving aquatic animals in a
living and healthy state ; and the vivarium, which is the
result of those experiments, may be considered as an
imitation of the means employed by nature herself in the
preservation and perpetuation of the various forms of
animal and vegetable life which people the oceans and the
streams. ^

The vivarium is, therefore, no recent or sudden dis-
covery, but a growth of years ; and its present perfection
is the fruit of many patient investigations, trials, disap-
pointments, and determinations to achieve success.

The term vivarium applies to any collection of animals,
to a park of deer, a rabbit warren, a menagerie, or even

THE FRESH-WATER AQUAEIUM.

a travelling show containing an asthmatic lion, a seedy
cockatoo, and a pair of snakes that are hourly stirred up
with a long pole. Hence such a term could never convey
the very special idea of a vessel containing such specimens
as form the stock of the aquarium. When this was felt, the
affix aqua was added, to convey the idea of the watery
medium in which the specimens are immersed, and hence
we had aqua-vivarium^ a compound of too clumsy a
character to remain long in use. It is the water that
gives the collection its special character ; and water always
reminds us of old Aquarius, who treats us to an annual
drenching from his celestial watering-pot. Aquarius
triumphed, and the pretty prison in which his cool com-
panions of the sign Pisces were doomed to be confined
acquired his name ; and, since it is better to follow than
to oppose usage, we leave the philological part of the
question to the learned, and adopt Aquarium as the name
of our collection.

The Object of the Aquarium is to enable us to study the
economy and derive pleasure from the contemplation of
various forms of aquatic life, contributed by the lakes, the
mountain rills, and the " resounding sea." Collections
of objects that inhabit rivers and lakes are of course called
Fresh- water aquaria ; those ^hat owe their origin to the
sea are called Marine aquaria. A more simple name for
the first would be River aquarium^ which I humbly
suggest it shall in future be called. But an aquarium is
not a mere cabinet of specimens ; it is a water garden in
which we cultivate choice plants, and it is also in some
sort a menagerie, in which we see living creatures of

THE FRESH-WATEE AQUAEIUM. 7

kinds hitherto the least studied hy naturalists, displaying
to our close gaze their natural forms, and colours, and in-
stincts, and economy, as freely and as happily as if they
were still hidden from us in their native depths. In this
sense, the aquarium remunerates for any trouble it may
cost, in the lessons it affords of the workings of Almighty
Wisdom, in those regions of life and wonder to which it
introduces us.

The Philosophy of the Aquarium must be clearly
understood by those who purpose to cultivate it. It is a
self-supporting, self-renovating collection, in which the
various influences of animal and vegetable life balance
each other, and maintain withui the vessel a correspond-
ence of action which preserves the whole. A mere globe
of fish is not an aquarium in the sense here indicated ;
because, to preserv^e the fish for any length of time, the
water must be frequently changed ; and even then the
excess of light to which they are exposed, and the con-
finement in a small space, in which they quickly exhaust
the vital properties of the water, are circumstances at
variance with their nature, and sooner or later prove fatal
to their lives.

In an aquarium, the water is not changed at all, or at
least only at long intervals, as we shall explain hereafter;
and besides the enclosure 6f fishes in a vessel of water,
growing plants of a suitable kind, always form a feature of
the collection. Formed on this plan, an aquarium is an
imitation of Nature on a small scale. The tank is a lake
containing aquatic plants and animals, and these maintain
each other in the water in the same way as terrestrial

8 THE FRESH-WATER AQUARIUM.

plants and animals contribute mutually to each other's
support in the preservation of the purity of the air.

What happens when we put half-a-dozen gold fish into a
globe ? The fishes gulp in water and expel it at the gills.
As it passes through the gills, whatever free oxygen the
water contains is absorbed, and carbonic acid given in its
place ; and in course of time the free oxygen of the water
is exhausted, the water becomes stale, and at last poison-
ous, from excess of carbonic acid. If the water is not
changed the fishes come to the surface and gulp atmos-
pheric air. But, though they naturally breathe air as we
do, yet they are formed to extract it from the water ; and
when compelled to take au* from the surface, the gills, or
lungs, soon get inflamed, and death at last puts an end to
their sufferings.

Now if a gold-fish globe be not over-crowded with fishes
we have only to throw in a goodly handful of some water
weed — such as the Callitriche, for instance — and a new
set of chemical operations commences at once, and it
becomes unnecessary to change the water. The reason of
this is easily explained. Plants absorb oxygen as animals
do ; but they also absorb carbonic acid, and from the car-
bonic acid thus absorbed, they remove the pure carbon,
and convert it into vegetable tissue, giving out the free
oxygen either to the water or the air, as the case may
be. Hence, in a vessel containing water plants in a state
of healthy growth, the plants exhale more oxygen than
they absorb, and thus replace that which the fishes require
for maintaining healthy respiration. Any one who will
observe the healthy plants in an aquarium, when the sun

THE FEESH-WATER AQUAEIUM.

shines through the tank, will see the leaves studded with
bright beads, some of them sending up contmuous streams
of minute bubbles. These beads and bubbles are pure
oxygen, which the plants distil from the water itself, in
order to obtain its hydrogen, and from carbonic acid, in
order to obtain its carbon.

There is one more feature, which no writer on the
aquarium has yet noticed, namely — when a tank is pro-
perly stocked, the water soon gets crowded with infusorial
animalculge, which swarm among the plants, and on the
sides of the glass in countless thousands, visible only by
the aid of the microscope. These are in accordance with
a natural law ; the presence of vegetable matter in water
always induces them. But observe their value : they con-
tribute to the sustenance of the smaller fishes, by supply,
ing them with food ; and, strangely enough, the researches
of modem chemists have proved that these minute
creatures respire in much the same way as plants. While
all other animals absorb oxygen, and perish if the supply
of that gas is withdrawn, these minute organisms absorb
carbonic acid, and give out oxygen in abundance. This
has been proved by Professor Liebig, who collected several
jars of oxygen from tanks containing infusoria only. Every
one who has had experience in the management of tanks
must have noticed that the water in a tank which has
been established some months will sustain a much greater
amount of animal life than one of the same dimensions,
but recently stocked. The presence of infusoria in im-
mense numbers is one of the reasons for this.

So far I have endeavoured to explain the theory of the

10 THE FRESH-WATEK AQUAEIUM.

aquarium, in the merest outline. Still, brief as this
chapter must be, I must here impress upon the mind of
the beginner, that unless the leading features of the theory
are borne in mind, success can never be achieved in the
establishment of water collections of any kind.

If a tank requires frequent cleansing, or frequent
changing of water, if the fishes come to the surface for air,
or perish through the presence in the water of offensive
matter — in fact, if the whole affair has not a distinctly
self-supporting character, such as will preserve its purity,
and strength, and beauty, without alteration of any kind —
it must be concluded that it has been either unskilfully
stocked or injudiciously managed.

It is my object to explain briefly, but clearly, the whole
rationale of aquarium management, whether the tank be
adopted as a mere ornament — than which there is nothing
more beautiful — or as a museum of instruction and a school
of study — than which there is nothing more suggestive,
nothing that can afford finer lessons of the subtlety of the
forces, or the refinement of the instincts, that give life
and loveliness to the " world of waters."

CHAPTER II.

PROPER KINDS OF VESSELS.

Rectangular Tanks. — Any vessel that will hold water
may be quickly converted into an aquarium ; but as we
desire to have at all times a clear view of the contents of
the vessel, glass takes pre-eminence among the materials

THE FEESH-WATEE AQUAEIUM.

11

for tanks. For elegance and general utility, a properly
built vessel of rectangular outline, paving at least two sides
of glass, is found by most aquarians to be the best. Of
course, no rule can be laid down as to the dimensions or

VALLISNERIA SPIRALIS, ANACHARIS ALSINASTRUM— GOLD
CARP, ROACH, AND MINNOW.

forms of tanks — those details will best be determined by
the means and tastes of the persons requiring them — ^but
a few general remarks may prove useful.

The tanks in use at the Regent's Park Grardens were

12 THR FEESH-WATER AQUARIUM.

constructed by Messrs. Saunders and Woolcot, of 54,
Doughty Street, London, and that firm has since set
apart a portion of the premises in Doughty Street, to
meet the new and increasing demand for vessels for
domestic aquaria, and have brought the manufacture to a
perfection which leaves little to desire.

For the adornment of a dwelhng room or a conserva-
tory, an oblong tank, measuring three feet by one foot
four inches, and one foot six inches deep, would be very
suitable, and would be supplied by Messrs. Saunders and
Woolcot for £6, though vessels of smaller dimensions are
sent out by them at from M2to MS. In my work on
" Kustic Adornments," I have given several designs for
rectangular tanks, but must here beg my reader to
remain content with a simple explanatory outhne.
Messrs. Treggon and Co., of 57, Gracechurch Street, and
22, Jewin Street, London, are also manufacturers of
tanks for aquaria. I can recommend either of these
houses with the greatest confidence.

Construction of TanJcs. — As this work may reach
many remote districts, where an aquarian would find it
difficult to get a tank properly made, a few hints on the
proper mode of construction may be acceptable.

It must be borne in mind, then, that when a tank is
filled, its weight is enormous, and hence it is difficult,
sometimes impossible, to move it without first removing
the whole or greater portion of its contents. Strength in
the jouits to resist pressure from within, and strength in
the table or other support on which the tank is placed, is
of the first importance. The bottom of such a tank as we

THE FRESH- WATER AQUARIOI. 13

have figured (p. 11), is best formed of a slab of slate, and
the two ends may be of slate also ; the front and back of
plate or very stout crown glass. The most elegant form
for such a body is that of the double cube, the length of
the tank being just double its width and depth, so that if
it were cut into two equal parts two cubes would be
formed. The glass must be set in grooves in the slate,
and bound outside with zinc or turned pillars of birch
wood. The best cement is white-lead putty, or what is
known as Scott's cement ; the composition of which it is
not in my power to inform the reader. If a coating of
shell-lac, dissolved in naptha, and made into a paste with
whiting, were laid over the white-lead cement, as sug-
gested by Mr. W. Dodgson, of Wigton, the water would
be kept from contact with the lead, and the tank would
require less seasoning.

The use of slate at the ends is to enable us to a£&x
rockwork or carry across a rude arch ; the cement used
in constructing rockwork does not adhere to glass. But
if rockwork is not thought desirable the slate ends may be
dispensed with, and the vessel may be composed whoUy
of glass, except the bottom, which may be of slate or
wood.

In some districts slate is not to be easily obtained, and
wood or stone are then the best substitutes, wood being
preferable of the two. I have seen some handsome tanks
composed wholly of wood and glass ; it is only necessary
to choose well-seasoned material, and unite the joints very
perfectly.

The yellow clay used by potters would be found suit*

r

14 THE FEESH-WATER AQUARIUM.

able in some districts ; and if the two ends and bottom
were formed of such a material, and buttressed together
by means of a rude arch, the fire would unite the whole,
and render it as hard as stone. Mr. Dodgson, of Wigton,
states, through Mr. Gosse's pages, that he has formed two
tanks of this kind of clay : they measure three feet long
by thirty inches broad and high, holding thirty gallons
each. The weight being very enormous, the cost of car-
riage is so serious a matter that such tanks can only be
had in the neighbourhood of a pottery. In London, the
substitute for the clay would be terra cotta.

Mr. Warington's Tank is of a peculiar construction,
and is intended to admit the light from above only, and
also to enable the water to absorb atmospheric air freely.
Mr. Warington says : — " After five years' and upwards
experience, I have now adopted an aquarium, the form of
which consists in a four-sided vessel, having the back
gradually sloping upwards from the bottom at an angle of
fifty degrees. The chief peculiarity of this tank is, that
it admits light at the top only ; the back and sides are
usually composed of slate."

Bell Glasses, or vases, are now largely used for aquaria.
Mr. Hall, of the City Road, was the first who thought of
turning a propagating glass upside down to extemporise an
aquarium; but he surely never thought that in a few
months the aquarium would gain thousands of new fol-
lowers through that simple trick of his in creating a cheap
and elegant tank. Bell glasses for aquaria are to be
obtained of any of the dealers in aquarian stock, and at
most horticultural glass warehouses. The sizes range

THE FRESH- WATEE AQUAEIUM. 15

from ten inches to twenty inches in diameter, and the
prices from one to fifteen shillings. For general pur-
poses of use and ornament, I should recommend vessels
of from twelve to eighteen inches. Those below twelve
inches are too small to be of much service, and those
above eighteen are liable to fracture on the occasion
of any sudden change of temperature, especially in
winter. Messrs. Phillips have lately, at my suggestion,

produced a bell-glass expressly for aquarian purposes;
those in use hitherto were made for gardening purposes,
and were carelessly blown. The shape I have suggested
is one nearly approaching to that of the blossom of the
great bearbind, the sides of the vessel describmg straight

16 THE FEESH- WATER AQUARIUM.

lines, and the edges lipping over in an elegant vase-like
form. These are made of whiter and stouter glass than
the common propagators, and are, of course, charged at a
slightly advanced rate.

Stands for Vases are to be had of various forms and
materials. Those formed of turned wood have the pre-
ference for elegance and safety ; and, as the knob of the
vase fits loosely in the depressed top of the stand, the vase
can be turned round for inspection.

Messrs. Claudet and Houghton, of 89, High Holborn,
have recently brought out improved forms of stands for
vases. They are made of terra cotta, elegantly fluted, or
ornamented with architectural scrolls, and are either
bronzed or coloured to imitate stone. They have also
improved the Vase Aquarium, by binding the upper edge
with perforated zinc, in which there is a ring to receive
the glass cover. Thus, while the lid shuts out dust, the
perforated zinc rim admits air, and allows the escape of
sulphuretted hydrogen. These vases are strongly recom-
mended to those who cannot afford a well-built tank.

Where extreme cheapness is an object, a deal box with
a hole cut in the centre to receive the base of the vase,
will make a suitable stand, or a common seed-pan filled
in with sand and the vase pressed down into it may
answer, at a cost of only fivepence. A stone vase, or any
ornamental object, with a suitable depression in the top,
can also be turned to account for the purpose.

Glass jars, confectioner's show-glasses, a foot-bath of
earthenware, or a few glass milk -pans, may be used for
the preservation of aquatic objects, when a properly con-

THE FEESH-WATER AQUAEIUM. 17

structed vessel is not at hand ; and even as adjuncts to
high-class tanks, such vessels are frequently necessary
and have special uses of their own. Still the tank,
whether rectangular or vase-shaped, is a distinct thing in
itself. The beauty is to be found it its completeness and
the extent afforded for a variety of objects ; and when we
speak of an aquarium, we mean a vessel holding at least
eight to thirty or more gallons of water, formed partially
or wholly of glass, and stocked with plants and fishes in a
living and healthy state. A glass lid is essential to pre-
vent the entrance of dust and escape of any of the inha-
bitants. Fishes will sometimes leap out, and reptiles crawl
out ; and without a lid, some pretty objects may be lost.

CHAPTER III.

FITTINGr UP.

Rockworh claims the first consideration when we pro-
ceed to fit up and furnish a tank. For a fresh-water
aquarium, I do not recommend rockwork of any kind;
and in the case of a vase, rockwork is positively dangerous,
from its weight, and, unless very skilfully managed, will
be ugly rather than ornamental. In the marine tank
a few pieces of rock add to the beauty of the scene and
the comfort of the creatures.

In fitting rockwork, some amount of taste and judgment
must be brought into exercise. Shells and filagree work
are largely used by some folks ; but they belong properly
to the child's aquarium — they suggest dolls and battle-
dores. Some rough fragments of any kind of non-metaUic

18 THE FEE SH- WATER AQUAEIUM.

Stone may be built up into a dark arch, or piled up after
the fashion of a cromlech — one flat piece resting on two
or three vertical pieces, so as to form a rude table-like
structure. These may be fixed firmly in the places they
are intended to occupy by means of Roman or Portland
cement, which can be purchased at any building yard.
The cement should be made into a stiff paste, and worked
into the form required. Indeed, the rockwork may be
wholly composed of such cement, especially if it is to have
the form of an arch. The most important matter in the
construction of rockwork is to give it a natural, rugged
appearance, and to avoid loading the tank with superfluous
weight. I have seen large shells and branches of coral
in fresh-water tanks, and always thought the spectacle
disgraceful to the owner. In a marine tank, such things
are proper enough. Whatever is done should be made
secure, the pieces of stone well embedded in cement, and
the whole firmly united. The tank must be well seasoned,
be frequently filled and emptied, to dissolve out any free
salts before being put to use.

The Bottom must be composed of coarse river sand
and small pebbles, the whole well washed before being
introduced to the tank. Mr. Gosse condemns red sand
and silver sand, as certain to stain the water. But I have
two tanks now at work, both bottomed with such material,
and the water preserves a crystalline brightness. I have
also a marine tank, in wliich the bed is formed of common
silver sand and garden pebbles : it has been in use nine
months, and with no unfavourable results. In each case
the sand was washed till the water could be poured away

THE FRESH- WATER AQUARIUM. 19

quite clear, and no matter what kind be used, the washing
must be attended to. The coarser the grit the better its
appearance, and, therefore, I do not recommend common
sand, I merely show that it may be used when better is
not attainable.

Mould has been extensively recommended as a bottom
for tanks. I used it myself till I became convinced that it
could be dispensed with altogether. It necessitates fre-
quent changing of the water for at least a fortnight after
the first stocking of the tank, in order to get rid of the
soluble vegetable matter, which the water dissolves out of
it, and its presence promotes the growth of confervse, and
other low forms of aquatic vegetation, that become obnox-
ious to the sight, and even hurtful to the health of the
collection. I now use sand and pebbles only, and I find
that aquatic plants of all kinds root freely and flourish in
it, and, indeed, if pebbles only be used, they flourish just
as well if their roots are covered.

Planting is next to be performed. The arrangement
of plants will depend on the shape and size of the vessel.
Generally speaking, massive plants look best if set back
with lighter plants before them, just the same as a painter
sets his chestnuts and elms in mid-distance, and his lady
birches in the fore-ground. Stratoides, Potamoffeton, and
other plants of a massive and decided character, are well
seen through the interstices of Myriophyllums, Calli-
triche, and such like fragile and dehcate stmctures. The
flowering rush makes a fine centre piece for a vase, and
appears to good advantage when seen thi'ough an archway,
in a tank containing rockwork.

20 THE FBESH-WATER AQUARIUM.

If there is a bed of two or three inches of sand, the
roots may be gently pressed down into it, and a few clean
pebbles laid over the spot to keep the plant in its position.
Some plants will require a stone to be attached to them by
means of a thread to fix them properly. Crowns of
Stratoides that have not formed roots, may be planted in
this way. First cut away any black or decaying matter
from the stem, and pull off any discoloured leaves, taking
care not to injure the centre, then pass a piece of bass
round the base, and attach a small stone. The plant will
remain firmly where placed, and will throw out roots, and
fix itself before the rotting of the bass takes place. It will
then throw up new crowns and become a very ornamental
object. Loose stems of Chara, Anacharis alsinastrum, or
Callitriche, may be gathered together, fixed by means of
a stone in the same way, a strip of bass being better than
string for attaching them. They will generally get well
rooted in a fortnight, and remain firmly where planted.

The Water should be pure and bright when introduced
to the tank, and if the supply is at all faulty, it will be
best to pass it through a filter before using it. Spring
water will do very well, but must stand a day or two to
allow the plants to soften it, before the fishes are put in.
My tanks are all filled with spring water, which I find
altogether unobjectionable; but for the marine tank I
think it preferable to any other in the manufacture of
artificial sea-water. Writers on the aquarium usually
insist on the use of river water, but in many places this is
not attainable, and it is satisfactory to know that artesian,
or well water, will serve the purpose admirably.

THE FEESH-WATER AQUARIUM. 21

In filling the tank, hold a plate in the left hand, as low
down as possible, to receive the dash of water from the
vessel in the right, so as to wash up the sand as little as
possible. A syphon may be used if a source of supply is
near the position of the tank.

Aspect. — Sunshine is good for the tank at all seasons
of the year. But in high summer it should have only an
hour's sun, morning and evening ; the fierce solar heat of
mid- day will give the water so high a temperature as to be
fatal to its animal inhabitants. Comparing tanks one with
another, I must give a preference to a south or east aspect.
A north aspect will do very well, from May to October,
but, during the winter months, a tank in such a position,
would be feeble, and want watching. Good exposure to
daylight is, of course, essential ; but it should be borne in
mind that the fresh-water tank needs more light than a
marine one. My fresh- water tanks I find to prosper best
when placed close to the windows, but marine tanks may
be kept back two or thi-ee feet, in a south aspect. In fact,
if you have a cabinet of water-insects in a series of jars,
the marine tank may very well stand behind them, and
get sufficient hght there, but the light should fall uninter-
ruptedly on the fresh water vessels.

CHAPTER IV.

WATER PLANTS FOR THE AQUARIUM.

How to stock a Tank quickly.— li is usual to fix the
plants and fill up the tank to within a few inches of the
top, and then leave the whole for a week before com-

22 THE FRESH-WATER AQUARIUM.

pleting the collection by the introduction of fishes.
Where a beginner has sufficient patience to wait, this is
very advisable, because the whole gets well settled, the
plants start into growth, and the water gets softened and
charged with oxygen. But this plan is not the only one
that may be followed, and if well-washed pebbles be used
instead of mould, as I have advised, the fishes may be
introduced the same day as the plants are inserted, by

CALLITRICHE.

first taking care that you insert plenty of large healthy
plants, and then throw on the top as much of the brook
starwort — Callitriche autumnalis — as will cover the
whole. I lately stocked two tanks in this way, and per-
formed the whole in less than two hours, forming the
bottom, planting the vegetation, and adding the fish —
perch, tench, Prussian and British carp, roach, minnows,

THE FRESH-WATER AQUARIUM. 23

gudgeon, and chub — and all went on as well as if the
tank had stood a month to strengthen, the water being
from the first moment as brilliant as any of the Castalian
springs that flow through classic verses. The lovely green
of the starwort, spread over the whole of the surface of the
water, has a faky-like effect. It is necessary to get a
good supply of starwort from a brook, throw it into a large
vessel of clear water, pick off the green heads, with four
or six inches of stem only to each, then wash all these
picked portions till they are bright and clean, and throw
the whole into the tank to take its chance. You must be
lavish as to quantity. It soon spreads over the surface,
and arranges itself most beautifully, forming a rich green
ceiling, giving the verdant shadow which a new tank wants;
it grows freely, lasts for months, continually throwing out
new roots and shoots from the joints, and creates abund-
ance of oxygen, from the first hour of its being thrown in.
Whenever it seems desirable it can be got rid of by simply
lifting it out. My own are the only tanks I have seen
stocked in this way.

Selection of Plants. — There is scarcely any aquatic
plant but may be grown in an aquarium, and unless some
attention is given to the botanical department, only half
the pleasure and instruction it is capable of affording is
attained. I cannot agree with Mr. Gosse, that the vege-
tation of a tank has so strictly a secondary place — " pre-
served because they cannot be dispensed with," — for in
either a marine or fresh-water vessel the vegetation is a
special source of beauty and interest, and fairly divides
attention with the animals. Supposing it were impossible

24 THE FEESH-WATER AQUAEIUM.

to keep animals in such vessels, they would still be accept-
able for the formation of aquatic gardens.

Beauty of form and adaptability to confinement are the
requisites for this purpose, and the more lakes and rivers
are explored, the more the botanical department of the aqua-
rium will be extended, both as to ornament and usefulness.

STRATOIDES ALOIDES.

Water Soldier. — Among the plants easUy attainable,
and which combine grace of outline with cleanliness of
growth, and tendency to create oxygen, I can recommend,
first of all, the famous water soldier — Stratoides aloides —
a lovely cactus-like plant, which grows equally well with
or without a root, as indeed most water-plants do. In
form it closely resembles the tuft of herbage on the crown
of a pine apple, and its leaves have similar serrated edges.
If thrown in, it floats on the surface, and puts forth new

THE FEESH-WATEE AQUAEIUIVI.

25

heads in plenty, each new head springing from the base of
a leaf on a long stalk. By separating these when pretty
well grown, and removing the stem from the base, any
number of new plants may be formed. If it be wanted to
root at the bottom (as indeed is best) cut away the decayed
portion of the base, and trim off every dark-coloured leaf
and throw the plant in again. In a few weeks it will
throw out roots, and it may then be attached to a stone

VALLISNERIA SPIRALIS.

by a piece of bass, and dropped in to fix itself where
wanted, without in any way disturbing the tank.

Starwort I have abeady spoken of, as a good purveyor
of oxygen. It is a pretty plant of a delicate green hue,
which appears on the surface of brooks and ditches every-
where, both in this country and all over the continent.
At a httle distance it has so much the appearance of duck-

26 THE FRESH-WATER AQUARIUM.

weed as to be recognised with difficulty. Its old botanical
name is Callitriche aquatalis, but owing to its liability to
vary its appearance, botanists have lately divided it into
several species, the two most common of which are C.
autumnalis, and C Vernalis.

Vallisneria spiralis is essential to every jfresh-water
tank. It is a native of Italy, and is named in honour of
the Italian naturalist, Vallisneria. The blooming of this
plant is very curious and worthy of close scrutiny. It
likes abundance of light, and must be grown as a bottom
plant, flourishing only when well rooted.

AnacJiaris alsinastrum, or the New Water-weed, is an
interesting plant that grows freely, whether rooted or not ;
but it can only be considered ornamental when springing
from the bottom. It thrives just as well without a root
as with one, but, if firmly fixed, usually sends down a num-
ber of white rootlets from joints on the stem. I have seen
roots of this kmd sent down six inches to reach the bottom,
while the lower part of the stem was decaying rapidly.

Myriophyllum contributes some lovely members to the
aquarium. AU the plants of this genera are of elegant
structure, the leaves finely divided and of a delicate
emerald green. M. Spicatum is perhaps the best, but
there are other species to be had of the dealers that are
worthy of attention.

Potamogeton is an extensive genera of water-plants,
numbering not less than fifteen species in the brooks and
rivers of this country alone. P. jluitanSy crispus, and
densus, are most easily obtained, and they flourish in the
tank, and make rich branching masses for the centre, or to

THE FRESH-WATER AQUARIUM.

27

climb over rockwork. They are all rather coarse and apt
to shed their lower leaves, but, if well placed, produce a
striking effect. They blossom freely in the aquarium, and
that is a great recommendation.

MYRIOPHYLLUM SPICATUM.

Nuphar lutea is the best of the water-lilies for the pur-
pose : it grows freely and produces graceful outlines below
and above. It should be planted early in spring to secure
blossom ; but if it does not throw up blossoms in summer
it may be removed, and its place supphed by a plant in
full bloom. Nympihcea macrantha and Nodorata minor
are also highly suitable.

Ericaulon, or the pipewort, sends its only English
species — E. septangulare — to the tank. It is a bog
plant, rises six inches high, and does not succeed if im-
mersed more than three inches ; hence it is suitable for

28

THE FEESH-WATEE AQUARIUM.

the top of an arch, but not for the deep water of the tank.
The plant is perennial and produces a white blossom, with
one petal and four stamens. The flower-stem is velvety,
and the leaves spread in a tuft from the root.

POTAMOGETON DENSUS.

Utricularia Vulgaris, or the hooded milfoil, may be re-
commended as a botanical curiosity, but is met with only
(as far I know) in the brooks of the southern counties —
Hants and Surrey especially. It produces a yellow
blossom in June and July. The root has a curious in-
flated appendage. There are two other species, U, minor
and U. intermedia, differing but little in general aspect
from the common sort.

THE FRESH-WATEE AQUAEIOI. 29

Isopelis fluitans, or the floating Isopelis, is another of
the curiosities of water botany. It is somewhat common
in English ponds and slow streams. The blossom is in-
conspicuous, ha\Tng no petals ; the stamens are three in
number, and there is but one petal.

Suhularia aquatica is one of the few aquatic plants
furnished by the great family of crossworts, or plants of
the cabbage and wall-flower kind. Its common name is
awl-wort, and suggested by the awl-hke foliage which it
produces under water. It is to be found only in clear
mountain lakes, for it is a true aquatic alpine, frequent
only in the North of England, and in Scotland and Ireland.
The aquarian who resides near any mountain lake or
pool, should seek for it, and treasure it as the choicest
gem in his collection. The lower leaves are curve-
pointed like a cobbler's awl, and in July it sends up a
short stalk, bearing a head of snow-white four-petaled
blossoms, and presents a somewhat unique example of a
flower in full bloom under the water. My attention was
first called to this plant by Mr. Dowden's charming work
on ^vild plants, called " Botany of the Bohereens."

Ranunculus aquatalis, or the water crowfoot, must be
known to everyone who has been in the habit of rambhng
in the country quite sober and with eyes open. It is to
be found in almost every pond, and by the middle of May
is in full bloom, continuing gay till far into autumn. It is
a member of the buttercup family, and may be recognised
as a buttercup of a snow white, with a bright yellow
centre. If you step carefully to the edge of a pond or
river, where this crow-foot covers the shore-water with its

30

THE FRESH-WATER AQUARIUM.

floating foliage and thousands of snow-flakes, you will
not be in a hurry to disturb it, it is so truly beautiful.
But reach forth your hand, and tenderly take up a head ;
and, as you draw it from its plashy bed, you will find
that it is truly amphibious in structure, no part of the
undergrowth being at all like that which floats above in
the air and sunshine. The floating leaves are fleshy and

RANUNCULUS AQUATALiS.

neatly lobed, the lower ones are as finely cut as fennel,
and from every joint numerous white rootlets will be seen
protruding, on their way to find root at the bottom. This
plant requires good washing in clear water before it is
fixed in the tank, or it may be the means of introducing
many objectionable growths. It will be best to cut away
the lower portions, and root it from a good joint, allowing
it just length enough to float its ark of green and white

THE FRESH-WATER AQUARIUM.

31

upon the surface. "When you have secured as many com-
plete plants as you require — and two strong stems will be
enough for any tank — pick off a dozen or more blossom-
heads, taking each at a clear joint. When the roots are
planted, sprinkle the short flowering tops over the surface,
and you vnYL have at once a wide spread of snow-white
flowers that will continue gay till the end of the summer,
while the fixed roots will give a graceful effect to the
vegetation of the mid-water.

Hydrocaris morsus ranee ^ or the
common frog-bit, may be obtained of
the dealers, and is common in brooks
and rivers. It is a perennial, inter-
esting in its growth, very curious
when in flower, and a good maker of
oxygen.

Jlisma, of several species, may be
obtained from brooks and rivers in
plenty. It is the Water Plaintain of
the old botanists, and has an ancient
renown, which cannot be dealt with
here. The long stems and lanceolate
leaves of this genera give a pleasing
variety to the vegetation of the tank.

Lemna. — The four Enghsh species may be used to
advantage. If the whole of the surface be covered with
the pretty grass-green fronds of this very common plant,
the effect is good, and it gives a salutary shade to
the finny creatures. A single frond thrown in will soon
spread and cover the tank in time, and its growth cannot

HYDROCARIS
MORSUS RAN>t.

32 THE FRESH-WATER AQUARIUM.

be contemplated without pleasure. L. triscula is a very-
pretty kind, common in the neighbourhood of London.

The sweet-scented Rush, members of the Alisma tribe,
the noble Sagittaria of six species, the Hornwort (Cerato-
phyllum) of two species, and for more delicate purposes,
Chara and Xitella may be recommended as suitable addi-
tions to the botanical department of the Aquarium.

CHAPTER V.

FISHES FOR THE AQUARIUM.

I SHALL here give the names and a few particulars of the
history of the fishes that are most suitable for the aquarium,
resening my notes on the grouping and general stocking
for a subsequent chapter. It is to the interesting family
of Cyprinidce we are to look for our chief supplies. This
tribe of fishes belongs to the great division of Malacop-
terygii, or those having their fin-membranes supported by
flexible rays, wliich are either pointed or branched, or
both.

Ct/prinus carpio, the British carp, is a handsome fish,
difi'ering shghtly in structui^e from the Prussian and gold
carp; yet, in general outline, preserving the true carp
type — plumpness of body, iridescence of colour, and ease
of movement in the water. This carp has a moderately-
developed pair of moustachios, in the form of a barbule, at
the upper part of each comer of the mouth, and a second
one above it, on each side. Like the rest of its kindred,
it is very tenacious of life, and does not quickly suffer
from exhaustion of oxygen. It is an old fish, so to speak,

THE FRESH-WATER AQUARIUM.

33

for it was a favourite with the ancients. Pliny and
Aristotle both speak of it in high terms of praise, and
record that it lives to a hundred years of age, becoming,
in that time, as white and hoary as an " ancient mariner"
should. It is not indigenous to our rivers, though, as

GUDGEON, PRUSSIAN CARP, LOACH, & BREAM.

far back as 1496, mention is made of it in the " Boke of
St. Albans," quoted by Mr. Yarrell. It has been known
to attain to a weight of twenty pounds, and in Holland is
frequently kept ahve in wet moss, and fattened on boiled
potatoes. In this way it is said to live three weeks.
C gibelio is the noble Prussian carp, unquestionably

34 THE FRESH -WATEK AQUARIUM.

the best of all fishes for aquarian purposes. It will survive
the wreck of a whole establishment, even if the water gets
putrid and almost exhausted of oxygen. The easy,
graceful motions, the beauty of the colouring, and the
docihty, of this fish, must make it a favourite and a pet
wherever it is kept. I have always had a large number
of them, some of considerable size ; they group themselves
like friends on good terms of acquaintance, take an
interest m whatever goes on in the room where the tank
stands, and elegantly poised in mid- water, "will watch their
proprietor for hours. Small, red earth-worms, young
water snails, and home-made bread, are the best of foods
for them. They will seldom eat bread at first, but soon
get to hke it, eat it greedily^, " and ask for more." The
Prussian carp may be taught to feed from the hand, even
more boldly than the minnow, and readily assemble them-
selves for inspection when the side of the glass is gently
tapped with the finger-nail. None of the carp family are
carnivorous in any great degree. IVIr. Yarrell says the
Prussian carp will recover after having been thirty hours
removed from water.

C. carassius. — The crucian, or German carp, is easily
distinguished from its compeers by its bream-shaped back,
which rises from the nape into a high arch along the line
of the dorsal fin. It is to be found in the Thames,
between Hammersmith and Windsor, whether for the
angler to kill or the aquarian to preserve. It is less
hardy than the Prussian carp, and a little subject to fun-
goid growths.

C. auratus of Linnaeus, the lovely gold carp, wiU hold
pre-eminence among domestic fishes for its splendour of

THE FRESH-WATER AQUARIUM. 35

colouring, though among true naturalists I think the
Prussian carp will always compete with it to advantage,
for the gold fish is certainly the dullest-minded of the
family, and, like most fops, lazy and unteachable. Pen-
nant says, " In China every person of fashion keeps them
for amusement, either in porcelain vessels, or in the small
basins that decorate the courts of the Chinese houses.
The beauty of their colours and their lively motions give
great entertainment, especially to the ladies, whose
pleasures, from the policy of the country, are extremely
Kmited." This carjo appears to have been introduced
into Britain about 1611, though the precise date is now
difficult to determine. Mr. Yan-ell leaves it an open
question.

A large number of those reared for sale are the produce
of waters which receive the waste steam from factories,
and which are thus kept to a temperature frequently as
high as 80 degrees. In fact this carp is most prolific in
tepid water, though those that are bred at a lower temper-
ature are more beautiful. The gold carp is not the only
fish that can bear such high degrees of heat, perch and
mullet have been foimd in waters at 86 degrees ; live eels
were found by De Saussure in water heated to 113 degrees,
and other instances, mentioned in Bushnan's "Study of
Nature," show the adaptability to temperature in fish of
many other species. I had minnows frozen into a solid
mass last winter, and the same day they were thrown into
a tank, in a room where a fire was burning, and in a few
hours were sporting about in a genial warmth of 60
degrees, a change of more than thirty degrees in a few
hours.

36 THE FRESH-WATER AQUARIUM.

The trade has been so long established that a modem
gold fish is truly a manufactured article, and the patterns
vary from high class beauty to very decided deformity.
Domesticated creatures are aU liable to vary from their
original type, but in the gold carp this variation pro-
ceeds to an extent not observed in any other animal which
man has taken under his care. Their colours are as
various as their forms ; some have stumps instead of
dorsal fins, with perhaps tails as large as their bodies ;
some have triple-forked tails, and perhaps no trace of a
dorsal fin at aU, and in purchasing, it is as necessaiy to
look to the stmcture and outline of the fish as to its
colours, or, on after inspection, the purchaser may find
himself in possession of creatures as bright as morning
sunshine, but in form as ugly as toads. There is no
better food for gold fish than the crumb of bread. Many
^mters condemn this ; I can only say that they thrive for
years upon it, but if more be given at a time than the
fish can eat, it soon renders the water impure and does
mischief.

Cyprinns Brama, the common bream, is a fish of bold
outKne and pleasing habit. The depth from the dorsal to
the ventral fin is nearly equal to the length of the body,
and justifies the comparison applied to a high-shouldered
biped, " backed like a bream." There is a prettier species
called the Cyprinus Buggenhagi, Pomeranian Bream, a
specimen of which was lately supplied me, with a parcel
of other fish, by Mr. Hall, the intelligent naturalist, of
the City Road.

C Leucisus, the dace, C. rutilus, the roach, and C.
alburnus, the bleak, may be classed together, as fishes

THE FRESH-WATER AQUARIUM. 37

well known to all who were ever seduced into playing
tmant, to try their boyish luck with a blood-worm and a
bent pin, or who have since sunned themselves in the
holiday pages of Izaak Walton, to fall in love with milk-
maids, and dream all night of reedy rivers that sing and
sparkle, and fishes fried in meadow cowslips. These are
delicate fish, whether for the table or the tank. As the
latter concerns me most here, let me warn the reader to
proceed cautiously, for these lovely creatures have a sad
habit of perishing quickly in confinement. In winter
time they may be kept with eate, but as spring ap-
proaches, the best care for them will only be rewarded by
the spectacle every morning of one or two floating on the
surface, never to swim again ; whde they do live, there are
no more interesting creatures to be found for the gratifi-
cation of the domestic circle. Bleak are even more
sportive than minnows, and will chase a fly or small
spider thrown in to them, till they tear it into shreds, and
then will fight like Irish lads for the pieces. An aquarium,
stocked with bleak and minnows, is a perpetual Donny-
brook Fair, and will provoke the laughter of the dullest
melancholic that ever looked at water as a medium wherein
to end his imaginary woes. They soon feed from the
hand, and eat bread greedily, darting after the ci-umbs
with even more eagerness and vivacity than a party of
school boys scrambling for halfpence. Their dazzKng
silvery scales, marked with the bright lateral line of
spectral green, their taper forms, and large bright eyes,
enlist all our sympathies, and compel us to doat upon
them. If they are the best of fishes in this respect, they
realise Wordsworth's famous passage —

38 THE FRESH-WATER AQUARIUM.

" The best die first,
But they whose hearts are dry as summer's dust,
Burn to the socket:"

and hence as to longevity they prove themselves the worst.
Dace are very tameable, and soon grow bold and familiar
in captivity, comporting themselves in their attitudes and
motions much like Prussian carp. Of the three, dace are
the most hardy ; I have some which have survived eighteen
months' confinement, and are now enjoying the sunshine
in the garden.

The aquarian, contemplating the silvery spangles of his
white fish, may like to be reminded that the scales of dace,
roach, and bleak, were formerly used in the manufacture
of Oriental pearls, and are still used to some extent in
making the imitations of pearl that occasionally gleam
under the chandelier upon the brows of laughing belles.

C. phoxinus, the minnow. An aquarium vnthout
minnows is no aquarium at all — it is a makeshift. With
a shoal of minnows and a few Prussian Carp an aquarium
may be considered fairly stocked, because there is really
something to look at, something to amuse, and something
to instruct. The minnow is a bold and impudent fish ; he
is at his ease in less than an hour, and in a week will show
a sign of attachment and familiarity. They do not live
beyond three years, but will reach that age in the confine-
ment of a tank. Like carp and tench (and asses), min-
nows may be said never to die, for they survive the severest
trials of heat and cold, neglect and bad treatment. The
colours are pleasing, and bear some close resemblance to
the mackerel j but fright will make them assume a pale
fawn colour in an instant. Disease seldom attacks them,

THE FKESH-WATER AQUARIUM. 39

and when it does, they speedily recover if thrown into a
large pan under a jet of water. !Minnows spawn in June,
and just before that time acquire their gayest mottlings
of green, and bronze, and silver, losing colour considerably
after spawning.

C. gohio — ^The gudgeon is an every-day sort of fish,
proper enough in a general collection, but where room is
scarce it may very well be spared. In its markings the
gudgeon has a striking appearance. It is a hardy fish,
and rarely shows signs of exhaustion,

C, Tinea. — The tench is a quiet, shy fish, distinct in
outline, and easily recognised ; but, like the gudgeon,
destitute of any highly attractive features. The tench is
the most tenacious of life of any fish in the collection,
and never shows signs of exhaustion by gulping air from
the suiface. Tench are easily tamed, and take great
pleasure in nibbling their proprietor's fingers. Mine eat
bread and cheese with me, and nibble my fingers fiercely
whenever I permit them.

C. Barhus. — The barbel takes the lead in the aquatic
moustache movement. His barbs are reaUy ornamental,
and altogether he is a handsome but shy fish. The dorsal
and caudal fins are very symmetrically shaped, and the
lateral line arrests the eye when we contemplate his
pleasing colours. If small newts, smaU carp, and min-
nows are kept in the same tank with barbel, they are
likely to disappear one by one ; for when all is quiet he
makes his meal without seeking aid from the culinary
art.

C. harhatula is perhaps the most interesting fish in the
tank, considered as an individual. With no attractive

40 THE FRESH-WATER AQUARIUM.

colours, and with an outline as straight and rigid as a
piece of bark, he surprises you with his graceful motions
as he hawks along the surface of the glass, propelled by
the easy undulatory action of the caudal end of the
spine. Towards dusk he wakes up from his day-light
stupor, and commences his queer, but pretty gyrations ;
and, after ghding ghost-like all round the tank, suddenly
drops down as if dead, and rests on any leaf or stone that
may receive him, remaining motionless, and in any attitude
—on his head, his tail, or his side — that the power of
gravity may give him. Then, with an uneasy fidgetting,
he flounders up again, and off he goes, as graceful as before,
his pectoral fins spread out like samples of lace, looking
as much like an eel with fiills as it it possible to conceive.
When ascending, his motion is so undulatory that he may
easily be mistaken fog: a smooth newt, going up for a
bubble, ^or is our interest in him lessened by his dis-
plays of individuality of character. He is a savage on a
small scale. When he is quietly dozing, half hidden
among the sand and pebbles, throw in a small red worm,
and, as soon as the water is tainted with the odour of
this favourite food, he is awake and on the search. A
triton seizes the worm, and shakes it as a cat would a
mouse. The loach hunts him down, snaps at him fiercely,
and tears the worm from his mouth, and woe to any minor
fish that attempts to remove it from those bearded jaws.
He flounders from place to place, shaking the prey as he
goes, and stirs up such a cloud from the bottom, that the
beauty of the scene is spoiled for an hour ; at the end
I of which time you will probably find him gorging the
prog, half of which still protrudes from his mouth, while

THE FRESH-WATER AQUARIUM.

41

two or three hungry minnows loiter about, looking wist-
fully at what they dare not hope to obtain.

It is a pity the loach is so delicate ; it shows signs of
exhaustion sooner than any fish in the collection. If
oxygen fails, it comes to the suiface to gulp air, and at
last rolls over on its back, and pants in a way that is very

W

MINNOW, TENCH, & PERCH.

pamful to witness. Removed to a pan, under a jet of
water, it soon recovers ; but if long confined in a vessel
the least overstocked, especially in warm weather, finishes
his career by convulsive gaspings at the surface.

A curious species of loach, known as the spine loach,

42 THE FRESH-WATEK AQUARIUM.

is met with occasionally in Wiltshire, in the Trent, near
Nottingham, and in some of the tributaries of the Cam,
^Ir. Yan-ell describes it ; but as I have not yet had the
good fortune to possess a living specimen, I can only refer
to it casually.

C. cephalus. — The chub is a good aquarium fish. It
is shy, but grows familiar under good treatment. Insects
sooner attract it than any other food. Mr. Jesse says,
that those in his vivarium throw off all reserve at the
sight of a cockchafer, which they devour with eagerness.

Among the Acanthopterygii, or the spiny-finned fishes
of Cuvier's arrangement, the only one suited to the fresh-
water tank, is the noble perch, Percidce. These are bold
and dignified, and their decisive markings make them
attractive in a general collection. They require plenty of
room, or they soon show signs of exhaustion ; and, under
the best of circumstances, cannot be pronounced a hardy
fish in confinement. They are capricious. I have had
healthy specimens, taken by net, die off in a week ; and
weakly ones, taken by the hook, with portions of the
lower jaw torn away, recover, and live for a year, after
the ragged portions had been removed by scissors.

Gasterosteus needs a word or two. The sticklebacks
are all pretty and interesting fish, plentiftdly found on the
sea-coast, and in brooks and ponds all over the country.
The species most frequently met with are G. semiarmatus,
the half-armed stickleback, and G. pungitius, the ten-
spined, but G. hrachycentrus (short-spined), and G. spi-
nulosus (four-spined), are rare.

Aquarian amateurs seem a little divided about the
policy of keeping these in tanks. I can only advise the

THE FRESH-WATEK AQUAEIUM. 43

beginner to be careful, or he may regret having made
their acquaintance. They are all savages, untameable
savages, that delight in destruction, even if they cannot
eat what they destroy. They will attack anything, and,
with their spiny armour, dare the stoutest to retaliate
upon their mischief-making pertinacity. In fact, they
pass all their time in worrjdng the more peaceful members
of the aquarium ; and any one who has a few months'
experience of them, will consider them the savagest of
imps.

I have tried them on several occasions, and found them
at spawning time more savage than usual; but at all
other times savage enough. My favourite Prussian carp,
that love me as I love them, that come when I call them,
that hurry to the side when I fillip the glass with my
finger-nail, that watch me with all their eyes when I sit
in the room with them, and that feed from my hand as a
dog would, show at the tips of their pretty tails the
sanguinary signs of gasterostean vengeance. Their
transparent tails are ragged through the attacks of those
sharp-toothed savages, and more than one has succumbed
to their persevering spite since my recent trial of them
under the persuasion of a little friend who begged me to
put in some "robins" he had caught at the brook.
'* Eobins," indeed, the red jaws of G. aculeatus are
suggestive of his blood-thirsty propensities, and he now
does penance with a dozen of his kindi-ed in a glass jar of
Callitriche autumnalis. With tench, gudgeons, and
minnows they do better, but they are very annoying to
carp of all kinds.

44 THE FEESH-WATER AQUARIUM.

CHAPTER VI.

REPTILES, MOLLUSKS, AND INSECTS.

The lower orders of creation supply many interesting
specimens for the aquarium. Among the reptiles — newts,
or water lizards, and the common frog, may be recom-
mended as offering some forms of positive elegance, and
some habits worthy of observation. The smooth newt,
the warty newt, and the noble triton, are almost essential
to the completion of the collection, and as they respire air
at the surface, they do not exhaust the water of oxygen.
The beautiful markings on the belly, and the graceful mo-
tions of these strange creatures, are sure to afford enter-
tainment to those who can overcome the very common
repugnance felt towards such creatures.

Some of the mollusks commend themselves for their
beauty, and will be prized by the aquarian enthusiast.
Among the univalves, lymnea, physoe, planorbis, and
paludina, are the most useful and ornamental. I must
caution the amateur against the too ready adoption of
any species of lymnea ; they are destructive, and particu-
larly fond of Vallisneriay Stratoides, and Callitriche, and
while they are the best of cleaners, they are also the most
indiscriminate of gluttons.

Paludina Fivipara is a handsome snail, with a bronze
tinted, globular shell ; but Planorbis Corneus and carrina-
tus are still handsomer, having a spiral form, resembling the
horn of a ram. These latter are to be trusted anywhere •
they are good cleaners, and seldom attack the plants. Water

THE FRESH-WATER AQUARIUM.

45

snails breed rapidly in tanks, but the carp devour the
young as fast as they appear ; hence it is advisable to
remove the spawn into jars containing healthy plants, such
as Callitriche, in which they may remain for observation
of growth, till stout enough to be committed to the tank.

PLAN0RBI3 CORNEUS, PALUDINA VIVIPARA, LYMNEA STAGNALIS,
UNIO PICTORUM, TUMIDUS, & ANODON CYGNEUS.

Among the bivalves, the fresh-water swan mussel,
Anodon cygneus, and the Duck mussel, Unio pictorum,
are interesting burrowers, and perform a great service in
the tank. They act as scavengers, not by the process of
eating off objectionable growths, as in the case of uni-
valves, but by the straining off of matters held in suspen-

46 THE FRESH-WATER AQUARIUM.

sioii in the water, and filtering it in a pure state, by the
mechanism of their sjrphons, and ciliated gills. It is very-
interesting to watch them thus engaged, and to note
the force of the stream which they project from time to
time.

The only creature of the insect kind that I can recom-
mend for general adoption is the caddis worm, a comical
and interesting creature, that can never mar the beauty
of the tank. Half-a-dozen may be thrown in, and
searched for occasionally — ^the search will always be well
rewarded. When the cad closes his hybemacle, it will be
desirable to remove it to a jar, to obtain a better oppor-
tunity of witnessing the transformation of the dormant
worm into a foui'-winged fly of Stephens's family of
Phrygauea.

CHAPTER VII.

SELECTION OF STOCK.

The first thing to guard against is over-stocking, the
common error of all beginners ; taking large fish with
small, I think about two or three to every gallon of water
is the utmost that should be attempted. For a vessel of
twelve gallons, I should recommend the following, as
giving great variety, with considerable safety : — Six Prus-
sian carp, of various sizes, one at least of five inches in
length ; two smaU Crucian carp ; two small perch ; two
small loach ; two tench, of five or six inches ; six or eight
minnows ; one small eel ; a dozen Planorhis corneus ;
half-a-dozen Paludina vivipara ; three or four fresh-water
mussels and a dozen of different sorts of newts.

THE FRESH-WATER AQUARIUM. 47

A tank so stocked, will be well filled with life ; and if
tte plants be sufficiently strong, and in a good light, all
will go well.

Another, and to some perhaps, prettier selection, might
be made thus : — Three gold carp, of various sizes ; three
Prussian carp; two perch; four large loach; a dozen
minnows ; half-a-dozen bleak ; and two dozen planorbis.

If stocked with great care, with a bottom of pebbles
only, this would do very well ; and the sides would never
want cleansing. For a smaller vessel, the same selection
might be made, but with a proportionate reduction of the
numbers.

Those who make their own selection, may choose from
the following : —

Plants. — Vallisneria spiralis, Anacharis alsinastrum,
Callitriche vernalis and autumnalis, Nuphar lutea, Pota-
mogeton crispus, densus, and fluitans, Stratoides abides,
Eanunculus aquatalis (apt to foul the water in a north
aspect), Myriophyllum spicatum, Myosotis palustris,
(the real forget-me-not — it flowers above the surface)
Butomus umbellatus (for the centre — it flowers above the
surface), Lemna, Nitella, and Chara. For a list of suit-
able ferns and instructions on their culture I must refer
the reader to my work entitled, " Eustic Adornments
for Homes of Taste," where this department is amply
treated.

Fishes. — Gold carp, British, Prussian, and Crucian
carp, pike, perch, tench, minnows, chub, loach, gudgeon,
bream, and in winter, roach, dace, and bleak.

Reptiles. — The smooth and warty newt, tadpoles, frogs.

Mollusks. — Univalves t Planorbis comeus, and carrin-

48 THE FRESH-WATEE AQUAEIUM,

atus, Paludina vivipara, Lymnea stagnalis, putris, auricul-
ata, and glutinosa, Physa fontinalis, Bythinia tentacula.

Bivalves. — Anodon cygneus, Unio pictorum, tumidus
and margaritiferous, Dressinia poljmorplia, Cyclas corneus.

CHAPTER VIIL

GENERAL MANAGEMENT.

Feeding should be performed twice or thrice a week,
and will be as amusing to the observer as gratifying to
the fishes. Bread is not so objectionable as many have
stated. Carp, bleak, and minnows eat it greedily, and
soon grow tame if reg-ularly fed with it. Most small
fishes take insects, such as flies, spiders, ants, and soft
larva, greedily ; but the large fish disdain such diet.
Small red worms, and white of ^gg, are good general
foods, and seem highly beneficial. When feeding, see
that the caqD get enough, for they are slow fish, and get
robbed wholesale by their more lively neighbours. Food
not eaten wiU decay, unless speedily removed, hence care
must be exercised on this head.

Confervce. — ^^Yhen the tank has been established a few
weeks, the inner sides of the glass will show signs of a
gi'een tinge, of a shmy nature. This is owing to the
growth upon it of minute forms of vegetation. If this
is allowed to go on unchecked, the glass will in time
become opaque, and the view of the interior wiU be lost.
Hence it must either be kept dow^n in growth or occa-
sionally removed.

Uses of Mollusks. — It is to prevent this rapid grow^th
that water-snails are registered among the tenants of

THE FRESH WATER AQUARIUM. 49

right, for these creatures subsist on vegetable matter
only, and if a goodly number be thrown in, they will be
found perpetually at work, eating the green growth
from the sides, and thus constantly preserving an open
prospect.

Objections to Mollushs. — In a highly ornamental tank,
water-snails may be thought objectionable, as interfering
somewhat with the beauty of the scene. I know the
ardent naturalist will cry out against this remark, and
ask me if I can find a prettier object than a Planorhis
corneus, coiled round like a horn of plenty; or a full-
grown Paludina with its globular hybemaculum richly
bronzed and mottled. I tell my friend that I love the
pretty creatures as much as he does, yet, as I write for
everybody v/ho wishes to keep an aquarium, I feel bound
to consider how it is to be managed without them, if their
absence is desired. I confess too, that I do object to
their appearance in some cases myself, as I do also to
beetles, and all other insects in a tank fitted up for the
adornment of a drawing-room, however necessary they
may be in the tank of a student.

In the first place, Paludince and Planorhis are the
only kinds to be trusted in a general collection of plants,
and the last is most trustworthy of any. Lymnea are all
fond of substantial dishes, and eat as much vaUisneria as
they do of the mucuous growth. A dozen of these
gentry will most effectually check the vegetation of the
tank, by eating holes in the handsomest leaves of the
Stratoides, and biting into the very heart of the VaUisneria.
Starwort, too, they are very fond of, and soon clear the
bottom of every fragment. Yet, the Lymnea are admir-

50 THE FRESH "WATER AQUARIUM.

able cleaners, the pity is, thai they will not see what is
required of them, and do that only.

Again, the univalve mollusks do not keep the sides so
clean, but that an occasional cleansing of another kind is
sometimes necessary, and if the aquarian is not disposed
to keep an army of quite semi-efficient scavengers, the
remedy will be found in an occasional cleansing of the
sides, by means of a sponge attac^ied to a stick, which
must be pKed over the whole surface, and occasionally
taken out and washed in clean water, to remove the green
scum, that it soon gets covered with.

Use of Confervoid Growths. — ^But I should object to
any frenzy about cleaQsing tanks. As I said at starting,
they should be self-supporting, and if Planorbis or Palu-
dinae are used in the proportion of about four of each to
every gallon of water, a good view will always be pre-
served with the use, now and then, of the sponge alone.

Periodical Cleansing. — When a tank has stood twelve-
months or more, the water not having been changed at all
during the whole time, it may be necessaiy to turn out the
contents and re-stock it. This is not to be done unless the
bottom has become black, and the roots of the plants show
signs of decay, in fact, not unless it really wants it, and if
bottomed with mould it certainly will, and it must be
done accordingly. The live stock should be removed by
means of a hand-net, the water drawn off by means of a
syphon of glass, or gutta percha, and the plants taken out
carefully and put by themselves, and then after removing

THE FRESH WATER AQUARIUM. 51

the bottom the glass can be quickly cleaned with the aid
of water and fine sand, or rotten-stone.

Exhaustion of Oxygen is made manifest by the fishes
coming to the surface to gidp air, and it is also mani-
fested by theii' retiring to the bottom, and quietly extend-
ing themselves on their backs in " horizontal repose" —
the repose of death. If too many animals be crowded
into the vessel, this will soon happen, and either the
number must be reduced or the water must be fi'equently
changed, or we must have recourse to aeration. I con-
sider the two latter remedies a proof of the incompetency
of the aquarian — the necessity marks very bad manage-
ment indeed.

Temperature. — If the aquarium be too much exposed
to the heat of the sun in summer, or to the heat of a
fierce fire in winter, the water will get tepid, and signals
of distress will be shown by the protrusion of many
panting mouths at the surface. I find that if the tem-
perature rises above sixty degrees, things do not go on so
weU. The use of a blind or paper screen is, therefore,
essential in summer time.

On winter evenings, when the room is made cozy by
blazing blocks of coal, the collection will often show signs
of distress. By opening the lower window-sash one or
two inches when leaving the room for the night, things
may be restored to a normal state in a few hours, and
even if the weather is somewhat severe no harm wiU be
done. At the same time intense cold checks the growth
of the plants, and throws the fishes into a state of torpor,
and the freezing of the water may cause the bursting of
the tank.

52 THE FRESH WATER AQUARIUM.

In summer time, if tbe tank should get accidentally
heated, it may be quickly cooled by wrapping around it
a coarse cloth saturated in water, and keeping it wet from
time to time. These matters may be much simplified by
fixing a small thermometer within the tank below the
level of the water.

Dead specimens must be removed as quickly as pos-
sible. Bivalves are generally very hardy, but if death
happens to one, the production of sulphuretted hydrogen
is very rapid, and quickly fouls the tank.

Disease oj Fishes. — I have tried numerous remedies
for the diseases which beset fishes in winter, but with very
little success. When the caudal fin gets coated with a
fangoid growth, I have at once cut it off by means of a
pair of scissors, and it has usually grown again in a few
weeks. I have a couple of minnows now, that were so
operated on last winter, they are as hearty as ever, and
their tails are quite renewed. Diseased animals should
always be removed to a pan of fresh river water, and
placed in a quiet cool place, where they will probably
recover.

THE BOOK OF THE AQUAEIUM.

THE MARINE TANK.

CHAPTEU I.

THE VESSEL.

Points in which the Marine differs from the River
T'aw^.— Thougti vessels of precisely the same construction
are used for marine as well as fresh-water aquaria, yet, as
the peculiar necessities of marine life demand some con-
ditions of a special kind, I must here again briefly treat
of the vessels in which marine stock may best be kept.
Every variety of tank or vase referred to in the descrip-
tion of the fresh-water aquarium may be used in the
formation of marine collections; but while vases are
eminently suitable for river stock, they are not to be
strongly recommended for marine, and for this important
reason, that we do not generally have, as in the former
case, a variety of moving forms poising in midwater, or
chasing each other through every part of the tank ] but
in the present case ground stock constitutes the main
feature of attraction, and hence we require a vessel which
admits of examination in every part, which a tank does
and a vase does not. In a vessel containing actinia,
madrepores, serpula, &c., we require to have at all times

54 THE MARINE AQUARIUM.

a clear view of the bottom, and a vase does not admit of
this unless we look from above, the amount of refraction
being very gi-eat at the base of the vessel. Hence,
though marine stock may be well kept in vases, it must
be borne in mind that such vessels are far inferior as to
the means of inspection to rectangular tanks.

It is also important to bear in mind that marine stock
invites the use of the microscope in a greater degree than
river specimens, and a flat-sided vessel is the only one
which affords proper facilities for the application of a
magnifier to its contents.

Stained Glass. — But there is a still more important
matter requiring notice here. We are indebted to that
accui'ate observer, Mr. Warington, for valuable informa-
tion on the effects of light upon certain forms of sea
weeds, and his mode of overcoming this is by passing
light through variously coloured media. It can easily be
understood, that plants, whose natural habitat is at a con-
siderable depth beneath the surface of the ocean, bear ex-
posure to the full daylight very indifferently, and that
some special arrangements are necessary in order to cause
the solar rays to fall upon them as nearly as possible in
the same manner as in the twilight recesses from which
they have been removed. This is accomplished by fitting
that side of the tank, which is intended to be placed next
the window, with a sheet of glass stained of a soft sea
green, and the softened light, so admitted to the tanks,
promotes the healthy growth of the Algae, and very
materially increases the beauty of the vessel as seen from
the other side. Mr. Lloyd, whose ripe experience ever

THE MARINE AQUARIUM. 55

takes the most practical turn, has adopted this plan of
construction, and strongly recommends it for eveiy vessel
intended for the reception of marine stock. Where it is
desired to stock a vessel, in which the back plate is com-
posed of colourless glass, with marine products, a substi-
tute for coloured glass will be found in diaphanie ; but
the paper chosen for the purpose should be of the lightest
shade of sea green, because it is less transparent than
stained glass. In stocking vases, this plan of staining the
side, next the window, is to be strongly recommended, no
less for securing a healthy vegetation than of enlivening
the beauty of the collection. I have used for this pur-
pose, the paper and varnish prepared by Messrs. Faudel
and Phillips, of Newgate Street, and can commend it for
cheapness, and the ease with which it can be applied.

Another point deserving, of note is, that marine aquaria
need a less depth of water than river collections : — For
purposes of study, a number of glass dishes or milk-pans,
will be found preferable to any kind of tank, or vase,
especially for Zoophytes, though fishes and crustaceans re-
quire more room than mere bowls would afford them. In
fact, the lower forms of marine life may be kept for many
months without the help of sea weeds, if placed in shallow
vessels — the absorption of oxygen, at the surface, being
quite equal to their demand upon the water.

In all other respects, what has been already said on the
subject of vessels must be understood to apply to all
kinds of aquaria ; the rectangular tank, and the bell glass,
are the two leading forms, and to them I shaU always
refer when speaking of the tank in a general sense.

56 THE MARINE AQUARIUM.

CHAPTER II.

EITTING UP — MATERIALS FOR THE BOTTOM.

Coarse sea sand and pebbles, all well washed, make the
best bottom ; but if sea sand is not to be conveniently
obtained, common silver or gritty river sand will answer
every purpose, if washed until they cease to stain the water.
Most writers on aquaria — Mr. Gosse especially — condemn
silver sand, but I find it a most suitable material : its
appearance is cleanly, and it only requires frequent wash-
ing in fresh water to fit it for the purpose. In the water-
pipe which runs along the wall to supply the kitchen, I
have had a hole pierced to form a jet, and this I find of
great service in many aquarian operations, and especially
in washing sand and pebbles. Where this can be done
conveniently, or where the pan containing the materials
to be washed can be placed under a tap turned on so as
to drip rapidly, the washing can be accomplished with
very little trouble, and the materials can remain for a
week or two, being stirred up occasionally to hasten the
dissolution of solvent matters. The sand should have a
depth of two or three inches on the floor of the vessel,
and above it should be placed a layer of pebbles, also well
washed. The little white pebbles found among gravel
look bright and pretty, and if the aquarian is also a lover
of the garden, he will turn up plenty of them in digging,
so as to keep a supply at hand for use when wanted.
The pebbles are not essential, but the sand is, because
many of the creatures delight in burrowing, and must

THE MARINE AQUARIUM. 57

have opportunity afforded them of living their own life
in a state of confinement.

Rock work is generally considered an essential of a
marine tank, but experience has convinced me that the
less we have of it the better. I have, in describing the
fresh water tank, given instructions for its formation, and
here desire only to caution the beginner to repress, as
much as possible, any desire for mimic arches, caves, and
grottos. In the first place, it must be remembered, that
every cubic foot of rock work displaces a cubic foot of
water, and reduces the capabilities of the tank for sup-
porting a number of creatures. The more rock the less
water, and the less water the fewer animals. Beside this,
it is questionable if the use of cement of any kind is
advisable ; free lime may be expected to dissolve out of
it, however much seasoning it may have previous to the
introduction of the stock ; and as marine creatures are
more delicately constituted than fresh water ones, the
subsequent loss of many may fairly be attributed to the
presence of cement.

In the place of built-up arches, a few rough pieces of
stone tastefully disposed at the bottom may be made to
produce a good effect: a rough block of granite, or a stem
of branching coral in the centre wiU be far preferable,
except for vessels of large size, in which pyramids and
arches may be less objectionable. It must be borne in
mind, however, that rock work in some form or other is
useful, as affording shelter and shade to such animals as
love seclusion, and that, in a well managed tank, the rough
blocks often get coated with a vegetable growth that

58 THE MARINE AQUARIUM.

increases the strength of the collection, and adds very
much to its beauty. In this matter, the mischief arises
out of the desire of beginners to display more ornament
than is consistent with the nature of the case.

The water, of course, may be obtained direct from the
sea, and should, if possible, be dipped in mid-channel.
Shore water is not altogether objectionable, for where we
find the greater part of our specimens it is evident the
water must be suitable for them. In fact, I have found
water that I have brought from the sea-side in jars serve
just as well as that supplied by the steamer from the open
sea ; but near the mouth of a river it would be found
unsuitable, as it would, also, from any parts of the coast
where land springs abound. Earthenware vessels are the
best for the conveyance of sea-water and specimens, but
if a large quantity be required, a new cask should be used,
and the greatest care taken to have it stopped with a new
bung, and conveyed quickly to its destination. Mr. Gosse
recommends a cask of fir-wood if it can be procured, " the
wood of the oak, of which wine casks are usually made,
gives out tannin or gallic acid to the contained water,
which by its astringency, converts the animal integuments
into leather." In fact, our poor anemones get their hides
tanned if any vegetable bitter comes into contact with the
water in which they are to be kept. I make it a rule to
filter sea water through charcoal before using it ; this is
not essential if the water appears bright, but is, at least,
a precautionary process that may have its advantages.

Artificial Water is now used so extensively as to jus-
tify some special remarks here upon it. It must be

THE MAEINE AQUARItJM. 59

understood that where real sea water can be easily obtained,
as at spots near the coast, it is undoubtedly the best,
though, in some respects, the artificial preparation is pre-
ferable, because less liable to certain eccentric changes of
constitution, which wiU fall under our attention further on.
Sea-water contains the spores of plants, and the germs
of many forms of animal life which may have develop-
ment in the tank, and when these births occur, it is a
special gratification to the possessor. But such germs
may also decay, and cause putrescence ; and if a tank is
neglected, the water is liable to get cloudy, the stones
black, the sides of the vessel semi-opaque, and the
animals diseased. Death soon sets his black seal on the
undertaking when such a state of things occurs, and the
collection, however costly or well formed at first, may be
lost. Now such misfortunes as these are preventible, as
it will be my duty to show presently, but I here call atten-
tion to the fact, that artificial sea-water is much less liable
to get out of condition from the very absence of organic
matter, which on first reflections, we should regard as
a disadvantage. Thus, the prepared material has certain
advantages over the natural ; we lose the chance of rear-
ing new additions to the stock through the introduction
of minute organic germs ; but incur no danger of those
same germs perishing and poRuting the bright lymph.

But artificial water is quite unsuited for animal life of
any kind, until it has been brought into condition by
means of growing weeds for eight or ten days, and for
Crustacea, star fishes, and fishes proper, it is not suitable
tni it has been in use for many months, and even then

60 THE MARINE AQUARIUM.

some species lose their health in it, and at last perish.
But for anemones of all kinds, many mollusks and
crustaceans, and some other forms to be presently
described, artificial water does well, and improves daily
if properly managed. Unless, therefore, the aquarian is
bent upon domesticating the rarer and more delicate sea
specimens, he may avail himself of the aid of the chemist,
and manufactui'e sea- water from the river or the pump.

Composition of Marine Salts. — The limited space of
this work will not enable me to enter upon the considera-
tion of the chemistry of this question so fully as I have
done in " Rustic Adornments ;" nor, perhaps, is it neces-
saiy here to do more than point out the simplest method
of procedure. There are at least seven ingredients besides
water, used in the natural laboratory, but the chemist dis-
penses with some of these, and finds every purpose served
by using a selection of the chief of them. The composition
of sea water is as follows : —

Water .... 964.744

Common Salt, or Chloride of Sodium

Chloride of Magnesium

Chloride of Potassium

Bromide of Magnesium

Epsom Salts, or Sulphate of Magnesia

Gypsum, or Sulphate of Lime

Carbonate of Lime

Loss, or not accounted for .

27.059
3.666
0.765
0.029
2.295
1.407
0.033
0.002

1,000.000

Mr. Gosse, in July 1854, communicated to the " Mag-
azine of Natural History " the results of experiments in
the imitation of this composition, and a formula for the

THE MARINE AQUAEIUM. 61

artificial preparation of sea-water. In the fictitious pre-
paration the component salts were reduced to four, so that
no less than three of the original ingredients were dis-
pensed with. If the reader will note in what minute
quantities the bromide of magnesium, the sulphate and car-
bonate of lime occur, and at the same time bear in mind
that river and spring waters always contain a considerable
proportion of the last-mentioned ingredient, it will be
easily understood that the absence of those materials iq
the preparation does not materially aff'ect its value. The
preparation on Mr. Gosse's plan is composed as follows : —

Common Table Salt . . 3g ounces.

Epsom Salts ... 4 »

Chloride of Magnesium . 200 grains, Troy

Chloride of Potassium . . 40 „ „

The recipe may be given in another form to avoid the
perplexity of avoirdupoise and troy weights, thus : —
Common Salt . . .81 parts.

Epsom Salts . . . . 7 ,,

Chloride of Magnesium . . 10 „

Chloride of Potassium . . 2 „

Management of Artificial Water, — When the salts are
ready, it is best to mix: them in an earthem pan or jar,
and allow them to settle and refine for a day or two. To
dissolve them in the tank is decidedly a bad plan, though
it is daily recommended by the dealers. Any one who
will dissolve a portion in a clean bell glass, and allow it
to stand for a week, using the clearest water, and adding
nothing but the salts, will observe, at the end of that
time, a minute gritty deposit, similar to iron rust, mixed

62 THE MARINE AQUARIUM.

with minute fragments of sand. This deposit proves that
the chemicals we obtain are not pure ; and, perhaps, it is
not desirable that excessive purity should be obtained,
but it certainly is desirable to keep such matters out of
the tank. When the salts have been stirred up once or
twdce, so as to dissolve them thoroughly, test them for
the last time with the hydrometer, till it registers 1.027 or
thereabouts ; it may safely range from 1.026 to 1.028
without interfering with the success of the experiment.
Hydrometers, registered for sea-water, are not everywhere
obtainable, and the specific gravity-bulb, sold by Mr. Lloyd,
for a shilling, answers the purpose just as well. IVIr.
Cox, of 100, Newgate Street, has lately supplied me with
an hydrometer of a register of 1.000 to 1.050, made in
Paris — the cost was seven shillings. I prefer it to the
bulb because it can be put to other uses.

A Caution to the Uninitiated. — Some beginners have
attempted the preservation of marine specimens in solutions
of common bay-salt, and have expressed surprise that
they perish rapidly in a solution of salt obtained from
the sea. Anyone at all acquainted with chemistry would
readily predict, that there could be no more certain way of
killing the creatures than the adoption of such a plan of
preserving them. When bay-salt is prepared, many of
the more soluble materials, chloride of magnesium espe-
cially, remain behind in the mother liquor, because the
chloride of sodium crystallizes first, hence hay -salt alone
does not produce sea-water ; we must have the aid of the
experienced chemist, or turn chemists and prepare it for
ourselves.

THE MARINE AQUARIUM. 63

Those not experienced in chemical manipulations may-
find some difficulty in obtaining and weighing accurately
the several ingredients; and I should advise them to
purchase the preparation sold by Mr. Bolton, of 146,
Holbom Bars. This merely requires to be dissolved
according to the instructions just given. Mr. Bolton
has given minute attention to the preparation of the
salts, and is now improving them by compounding with
them the minute quantities of the more subtle ingre-
dients, which were originally omitted by IMr. Gosse.
The salts are sold in packets, at the rate of three gallons
for a shilling ; a price which must be considered reason-
able when we consider the purity of the article, and the
care taken in its manufacture.

Filtering. — When the salts are weU mingled with the
water, pass the liquid, through a filter, into the tank,
which is supposed to have been already well-seasoned, and
famished with a bottom of sand and pebbles, and any
ornaments that may be deemed necessary. A bee glass,
with a bit of sponge thrust into the orifice, is a convenient
form of filter, but if such a thing is not at hand, take an
old flower pot, and wash it quite clean, thrust a piece of
sponge through the hole in the bottom, and throw into it
a handfid of powdered charcoal. This may be suspended
above the tank, or stood on two slips of wood, and filled
from time to time, till the whole of the water has been
passed through it.

Some healthy plants of Ulva latissima and Enteromor-
pha compressa are now to be introduced, and the whole
left undisturbed for at least a week or ten days, when the

64

THE MARINE AQUARIUM.

stocking with animal life may commence ; some of the
hardy Actinia being the best of all to start with. But if
the aquarian is in a fever to see something alive in the new
vessel, he may di'op in haLf-a-dozen Actinia mesembry-
anthemum, one day after the introduction of the plants,
and unless he has made some mistake in the preliminaries

ACTINIA MESEMBRYANTHEMUM, DYCTYOTA DYCHOTOMA.

they wiU do weU. I have, for the sake of gaining in-
formation, placed this anemone in water the instant it was
prepared, and without filtering it, without suffering the
loss of one ; indeed, I have some by me now which a year
ago were so operated on; they attached themselves
directly, and lived through all the trials incident to a new

THE MAEINE AQUARIUM. 65

tank, in wliich there was not a single drop of natural sea
water. Mr. Hall tells me lie has, on emergencies, kept
them alive for a week in soap-suds, and even in more
offensive liquids ; and judging by the life the creature leads
on the sea shore, now submerged in the cool waters, and
now exposed to the burning sun, it is not at all surprising
that it has a hardy constitutiou. Still, this hasty proceed-
ing is not to be recommended ; let time develop the
powers of the water, let the solar light reach the plants
through the green medium of the stained glass, and soon
a lovely beading of oxygen bubbles will appear, to indicate
that all is right, and then the animals may follow each
other in proper order to their domestic home.

If a little real sea-water, even a pint or two, can be
obtained to mix with the artificial, the ripening of the
latter will be considerably hastened, but it is an interest-
ing fact in the chemistry of the aquarium that, though in
the first preparation of sea-water certain of the ingredients
are left out of the prescription, in process of time those
very same ingredients are to be discovered in it by means
of analysis. How do they get there ? They are com-
municated to it by the vegetation, and hence as the water
acquires age, like good wine, it increases in strength, and
after some months use, will maintain creatures in health
that would perish in a day in water recently prepared.

The preparation costs, when prepared from ingredients
bought at wholesale price, about three-pence a gallon ;
but it is a much better plan to purchase it ready prepared,
the price then being only four-pence per gallon, or a three
gallon packet for one shilling.

66 THE MARINE AqUAEIUM.

CHAPTER III.

COLLECTING SPECIMENS.

To gather specimens is mucli more pleasant than to
purchase them, though an inexperienced person would be
pretty sure to bring home, from the sea side, many things
utterly unfit for the tank. As a rule, green weeds are the
best, the red sorts offer some lovely specimens that do
well in an established tank, though none of them succeed
in recently prepared artificial water. Brown and olive
coloured plants are to be wholly avoided, they wither
soon, and spread pollution around them so as to endanger
the whole collection.

Ordinary shore gatherings are quite useless for the pur-
pose of the aquarium ; the drift is composed of torn spe-
cimens of unsuitable plants, and we must seek for speci-
mens at the extreme low-water mark, or in the tide-pools
which remain full during the whole of the ebb.

During spring tides is the best time for making collec-
tions, and it behoves excursionists who cannot go to the
sea side very often, to make their arrangements for such
trips, in accordance with the state of the moon as indi-
cated in the almanac. New and full moon are the times
in which the tide rises highest and sinks lowest, and much
disappointment will be avoided if such proper times are
chosen.

Any one who may wish to gather a few specimens for a
tank, should be provided with a jar or two, and a basket.
A geologist's hammer and a chisel are also necessary. By

THE MARINE AQUAEIUM. 67

searching the tide-pools and the boulders at low-water
mark, masses of rock wiU be found covered with weeds of
various forms and colours. Select the green grassy kinds,
and chip off each with a portion of rock attached, for a
sea-weed has no root, and if detached from its rocky site
inevitably perishes.

Any one using a Kttle perseverance and judgment may
secure, at any part of the coast, sufficient good specimens
to stock a tank of moderate size ; and if the collection be
watched closely for a week or two, the unsuitable sorts
wiU make themselves known by their increasing shabbi-
ness, and must either be removed altogether or treated
according to the instructions to be included under the
head of management in a subsequent chapter.

A few anemones may be detached from the rocky
hollows in which they have ensconced themselves. The
common smooth anemone, which may be known in a
moment by its near resemblance to a large deep coloured
strawbeiTy, should be secured in plentiful numbers, for it
is equal to most of its kindred in beauty, and is so hardy
as to submit to the harshest treatment unhurt ; the more
delicate kinds of anemones, especially the white ones,
should be obtained in the same way as the weeds ;
namely, detached with a portion of the rock on which
they are found adhering.

In packing the collection for carriage, care must be
taken not to allow any pieces of rock to press upon the
soft anemones. The whole may be brought away in jars
of sea-water, or packed in masses of wet fuci gathered
from the beach.

68

THE MARINE AQUARIUM.

There are very few of the specimens so obtained, but
may be as well or better conveyed in wet sea-weed than in
water, and if they remain a couple of days so packed, they
will take Kttle harm, and may be quickly revived if put
into shallow bowls, with a little sea water, and oxygenised
by means of the syringe before being placed in the tank.
On this head I can say no more here, but must refer the
reader for minute instructions to the chapter on specimen
collection, in my work on Rustic Adornments, though,
what should be sought on the beach, may be judged from
the kinds recommended in the succeeding chapters, as
well also as to what should be purchased from time to
time. Before any specimens are placed in the tank, they
ought to be rinsed with sea-water, and any barnacles or
sponges scraped off the pieces of rock to which the plants
are attached. Any neglect of this will be sure to be
followed by the production in the tank of sulphuretted
hydrogen, which blackens and kills all before it. Nor
should any animal that appears exhausted be consigned to
the tank until it has been kept some little time in a
shallow bowl with a few weeds, and revived by the occa-
sional use of the syringe. Otherwise, delays are danger-
ous, and no time should be lost in conveying the several
objects to their proper home in the little crystal palace,
where blue eyes are to admire, and ruddy lips smile
approval of your work.

THE MARINE AQUARIUM. 69

CHAPTEH lY.

THE PLANTS.

As already stated, the gTeen weeds are most suitable,
the red next so, but of the brown and olive sorts there
are very few that can be kept in a state of health for any
length of time. There are only two plants suitable
for the commencement of the experiment, and these are
Ulva latissima, the common sea lettuce, and Enteromorpha
compressa, a delicate grass-like algse, of a very cheerful
green. Of these Mr. Lloyd and Mr. Hall have always
plenty on hand, ready cleaned and prepared for immediate
3ubmersion. Artificial water soon acquires the properties
of natural sea water under the influence of these plants,
which grow rapidly, and disseminate their spores through-
out the tank, at the same time giving abundance of
oxygen for the support of animal life.

When a few weeks have elapsed Chondrus crispus,
better known as " Carrageen moss," may be added, it is a
free grower found in plenty on the ledges at extreme low-
water mark. The green weeds Codium tomentosum, Cla-
dophora arcta^ and rupestris, and Bryopsis plumosa may
be considered safe stock when the water has been in use a
month or two, but the growth of the more delicate of the
Rhodosperms must not be attempted in artificial water for
at least three or four months.

The best weeds of the latter class are Phyllophora
rubens, Corallina officinaUs, and Iridcea edulis. In col-
lecting, no doubt the Dulse, Delesseria alata, and san-

70

THE MARINE AQUARIUM.

guinea, with, perhaps, some of the Polysiphonice will be
considered valuable prizes, but they will not succeed in any
but experienced hands, for whom this work is not written.

Dasya, Chylocladia^ Nitophyllum, Griffithsia, Rhody-
menia, and Ptilota will all contribute specimens as time
goes on, and opportunity affords for obtaining them. But
not one of these lovely weeds of the red class are fit for
ordinary aquarian tactics, they are the " florists' flowers "
of the aquarian world, and refuse to be domesticated by any
but adepts. The exquisitely delicate Griffithsia setacea
is perhaps the only one of the above that may be safely
used in a well-seasoned tank of artificial water ; the other
genera seem to be still more delicately constituted and to
require their own native element in a state of great purity.

Once more I urge the beginner to be content with
Ulva and Enteromorpha at starting, with half-a-dozen
plants of each of these, a large and pleasing variety of
animal life may be preserved, and in the case of disaster
of any kind, these are the most readily restored to health
by a little timely and judicious management.

All coarse and dark coloured weeds, however tempting
at first sight, are to be avoided. The sprawling tangles
that one steps over in traversing the boulders and the
slimy masses of sea-weed, everywhere cast upon the coast,
are quite unfit, however fine the specimens, or strong the
desire to possess them. Neither must much value be
attached to any weed cast up by the surge. The only
trustworthy specimens are those chipped from the rock
in situ and brought away without being detached from
their natural basis.

THE MARINE AQUARIUM. 71

CHAPTEE V.

THE ANIMALS.

Though Anemones take precedence in the order of
stocking, and frequently monopolise tte tank — for, after
all, these are the main attraction of most marine aquaria
— ^yet, as they do not stand the highest in the order of
nature, we must recount zoologically what creatures are
best fitted for domestication, and in another chapter give
directions as to their selection and management.

Fishes take the first place, because they are the highest
forms of life admitted to the marine tank ; but they are
the last introduced, because, being more delicately orga-
nized than the tribes beneath them, they require either
real sea-water, in a state of high preservation, or artificial
water of some months' seasoning, and good management.

The fishes best adapted for tank life are the queer-
looking gobies, the lively blennies, small specimens of
wrasse, rockling, and eel. The grey mullet is a pretty
fish, but not to be domesticated without some difBculty.
Some kinds of flat fish may be kept in tanks, but begin-
ners had better have nothing to do with them. Small
sticklebacks may be taken in plenty by means of a hand-
net in quiet tide-pools, and do well in the tank, but they
are pugnacious, and harass less* vigorous creatures ; so
that some judgment is required in grouping them.

Mollushs. — The common Periwinkle is usefid as a
cleaner, and interesting also to those who find pleasure in
contemplating the startling resources of Divine Wisdom,

THE MARINE AQUARIUM.

as evidenced in the construction of the most humble
creatures. The winkles accomplish for the marine-tank
what the fresh-water snails do for the river-tank, they
scrape confervoid growths from the glass, and so help to
preserve the crystalline aspect of the tank. All the
species of winkle are capable of domestication, Littorina
littorea, the commmon sort, and E. Uttoralis, a pretty
little fellow, with a gaily mottled hybemaculum.

PORCELLANA PLATYCHELES, CANCER PAGURUS.

The Trochus tribe, better known as Tops, are also
useful as cleaners, and in appearance are more stately and
ornamental than the winkle, their cleanly marked conical
shell attracting as much attention from strange eyes as
the noble planorbis comeus does in the river-tank. Gene-
rally speaking, univalves are more easily kept than bivalves;
many of the latter are apt to die off, and cause some
amount of putrescence before their demise is discovered.

THE MARINE AQUARIUM.

73

Crustacea are lively and interesting, but of course
small species, or small specimens of large species are the
most suitable. The Soldier crabs (Pagurus) and the
Swimming crabs CPortunus) are eminently suitable, so is
the pretty Strawberry crab, Eurynome aspera, and the
interesting Broad-claw Porcellana platycheles. Shrimps
and prawns may be ased freely ; they are lively creatures,

CARCINAS M/ENAS.

and much more beautiful when seen in motion, gliding
about Hke ghosts, than would be imagined by any one
judging from the appearance of specimens on the table.

Annelides afford us the interesting serpulas, some pretty
sea-worms, and the terebeUas, aU easy of preservation,
and remunerative of the attention bestowed upon them.

Zoophytes. — This is the division from which the most
prominent attractions of the tank are derived. Of these

74 THE MAEINE AQUARIUM.

the Actinia take precedence of all the ordinary inhabitants
of the tank, because of their exquisite beauty, strange habits,
and still more general certainty attending their preservation.

Actiiiia mesemhryanthemum is the common Smooth
Anemone which abounds on every part of our coast. Its
colour varies considerably, but it is usually of a deep, warm
chocolate, dotted all over with small yellow spots, and when
closed has the best possible resemblance to a large ripe
strawberry. Every stone about the sea-beach is studded
with this anemone, and a collector may secure any required
number in a few hours, slipping each from its base, and
dropping the whole into a jar with some fragments of
fresh wet weed to keep them moist.

When it expands, a circle of bright blue beads, or
tubercules, resembling torquoises, is seen just within the
central opening ; and, as the expansion proceeds, a num-
ber of coral-like fingers, or tentacles, unfold from the
centre, and at last spread out on all sides like the hundred
petals of a Peri flower, reminding one of Hinda's boon : —

Be it our's to embellish thy pillow

With everything beauteous that grows in the deep ;
Each flower of the rock, and each gem of the billow,
Shall sweeten thy bed and illumine thy sleep.

Around thee shall glisten the loveliest amber
That ever the sorrowing sea-bird has wept,

With many a shell in whose hollow-wreathed chamber
We, Peris of Ocean, by moonlight have slept.

Lalla Roohk.

This anemone will remain expanded for many days
together, if the water be kept bright and pure ; but if the

THE MAEINE AQUAEIUM.

75

tank gets fouled, it closes and falls from its foothold, and
perishes if not attended to. It is the hardiest of all the
creatures that are regarded as stock for tanks, and sur-
vives many a wreck unhui't. To induce it to climb up
the sides of the vessel, let it be placed with its base lying
partly against it, or bring it close to a stone in the centre,

ACTINIA ANGUICOMA, TROCHUS ZiZIPHINUS, ULVA LATISSIMA,
BRYOPSIS PLUMOSA, ACORN BARNACLE.

and it will be pretty sure to attach itself where you desire
in the course of a few days. This last suggestion applies
to anemones generally ; novices are surprised to find how

76

THE MARINE AQUARIUM.

well disposed the creatures are in a well-kept tank. The
disposition dates from the day of introduction, for none
of this tribe are fond of locomotion ; and the an'ange-
ment of them for effect, depends upon whether you drop
them quietly just in contact with the spot you wish them
to adhere to, or throw them in pell mell, to cling to the
weeds or to each other.

ACTINIA BELLIS AND GEMMACEA, DELESSERIA
POLYSIPHONIA URCEOLATA.

A LATA,

A. anguicoma, or the snaky-locked anemone, is a pretty
but curious creature. It is all arms, just as a crab is all
claws ; but so delicate in form, so beautifully striped in
the tentacles, that it stands quite apart in the tank as a
thing unique. When found on the sea-shore, as it is

THE MARINE AQUAEIUM. 77

usually after a storm, it is a flat-looking, smooth mass, of
a brown tint, delicately striped with yellow and white.
After a few days' residence in the tank, it begins to expand,
and rises to so tall a figure, especially in the twilight,
that it appears quite a different creature to that introduced
a few days before. In fact, its actual bulk is increased
vastly by expansion. It is constantly expanded.

A. Bellis is another good species. It is a delicate
pink and brown and pink and white anemone, and cer-
tainly does resemble a daisy very closely indeed. Though
much prized it is not rare. Mr. Lloyd usually has abun-
dance of them on sale, at a shilling each, and a few should
be used to give variety to the collection. In newly-made
marine-water it will not do at all ; but if it falls into the
possession of an aquarian who has no ripe tank at hand
for it, it may be kept for weeks in a shallow pan.

If anything goes wrong with this kind, it throws out a
number of white threads, and shrinks out of form, and
perishes in a few days ; but once obtained in a sound
state, and carefully treated at the outset, it is as hardy as
mesembryanthemum, and more readily expanded at all
seasons than most of its compeers.

Actinia Gemmacea. — This is a delicately-constituted
anemone, that displays itself freely only iu the most pure
sea- water, in which there is abundance of oxygen. It is
quite unfit for early experiments, but well repays the
trouble it occasions when it can be successfully kept. A
few weeks since I had the pleasure of witnessing the birth
of a large cluster of this pretty anemone in the extensive
collection of Mr. Lloyd, at Portland Eoad. To the

78 THE MARINE AQUARIUM.

naked eye they appeared mere flocculent specks, but a
lens revealed their true form as they adhered to the side
of the vessel ; eveiy one of the little creatures, with its
tentacles expanded, a real microscopic gem, combining
the grace of a flower with the tinting of a pearl, and the
delicate volition of a new-bom animal.

When full grown, the gemmed anemone is very showy
in its tintings. Pink, yellow, and grey are aU beautifully
blended, and the rows of glands which reach from the
margin to the base, add their dots of white to the gar-
ments of this tiny harlequin. The disk is brilliantly
coloured, scarlet, green, and orange, shading into each
other, and occasionally mingled with half-tints of every
colour of the rainbow. The lip is usually of a vivid
green, and the tentacles exhibit rose, violet, orange, and
white on theii* upper surfaces. In the cut, this anemoue
is seen partially closed on a piece of stone behind two
specimens of A. Bellis,

Actinia Crassicornis is another of the more delicate
kinds, that dies speedily, unless treated with great care,
and in a well-established tank. It is very abundant on
every part of our coasts, and must be removed with the
stone to which it is found adhering ; for if removed, or
even handled, it perishes in the course of a few hours.
It is, however, too beautiful not to be worth an effort to
preserve it ; and, if the tank is in good condition, it will
be well to obtain two or three specimens, and watch them
narrowly, so that if any of them die, they may be imme-
diately removed to avoid polluting the water.

The colour of this anemone varies considerably in dif-

THE MAEINE AQUARIUM. 79

ferent specimens. Violet and amber shades frequently
predominate in the tentacles. Sometimes the disk is of a
pearly white, at others of a warm fawn or bright orange
and scarlet, sometimes a deep crimson or a dull chocolate ;
while the tentacles vary from pure white to dark brown,
dingy fawn, and brick-dust red. The latter organs are
very numerous and tubular. When irritated, the crea-
ture has the power of attaching the tentacles to the
object which annoys it, and in this way it frequently
clings to the fingers when handled, and at the same time
squirts out numerous jets of water, until it is quite
empty and collapsed.

Actinia Parasitica. — This is a good aquarium species,
on account of the ease with which it may be kept. It is
a species that the rambler on the sea-beach will not be at
all likely to meet with, for it is truly pelagic in its habit.
It is only to be obtained in a state fit for the aquarium
by means of the dredge, and when so obtained it lives a
long while in confinement.

The most interesting feature in the history of this
zoophyte is that of its usually inhabiting the sheU of
some defunct univalve moUusk, such as the Trochus, or
the great whelk, Buccinum undatum. This is not the
most curious part of its history. The anemone loves
company, and in the same shell as that on which it extends
itself, we usually find a pretty but pugnacious crab,
Pagurus bernhardus. To the anemone the crab acts as
porter ; he drags the shell about with him as if it were a
palanquin, on which sits enthroned a very bloated but
gaily-dressed potentate, destitute of power to move it for

80 THE MARINE AQUAEIUM.

himself. Like most lazy dignitaries, this showy Actinia
attracts more attention than the lively servant who drags
it from place to place, for its form and colouring are
beautiful in the extreme.

It is of large size, frequently attaining to a height of
four inches with a diameter of two and a half. Mr.
Gosse's description of this fine creature is so minute and
interesting, that I must beg the reader to accept it in
preference to any that I can write. He says, the " gi'ound
colour is a dirty white, or drab, often slightly tinged
with pale yellow; longitudinal bands of dark wood-
brown, reddish, or purpKsh brown, run down the body,
sometimes very regularly, and set so closely as to leave
the intermediate bands of ground colour much narrower
than themselves ; at other times these bands are narrower,
more separated, and variously interrupted or broken. I
have seen a variety in which the bands took the form of
chains of round dark spots, the effect of which was
handsome. Immediately round the base the bauds usually
subdivide, and are varied by a single series of upright,
oblong spots of rich yellow, which are usually marginal,
with deeper brown than the bands. The whole body is
surrounded by close-set faint lines of pale blue, some-
times scarcely distinguishable, except near the summit,
where they cut the bands in such a manner as to form,
with other similar lines which there run lengthwise, a
reticulated pattern.

" The disk is somewhat wider than the diameter of the
body, which it over-arches on all sides. Its margin is
somewhat thin, and occasionally thrown into puckered

THE ilARiyE AQUAEIUM. 81

folds to a small extent. Thus it appears to approach the
peculiar form of A. hellis. The disk is nearly flat, or
slightly hollowed, but rises in the centre into a stout
cone, in the middle of which is the mouth, edged with
crenated lips. The tentacles are arranged in seven rows,
of which the innermost contains about twenty, the second
twenty-four, the third forty-eight, the fourth ninety-six ;
the other rows are too closely set, and too numerous to
be distinguished. Probably the whole number of ten-
tacles, in a full-grown specimen, may be considered as
certainly not less than 500."

Actinia Dianthus. — This is the Plumose anemone of
Mr. Grosse, and sometimes bears the very appropriate
name of the Carnation anemone. It is the most superb
of our native Actinias — a gorgeous creature, that in itself
more than realizes our brightest imaginings of the hidden
splendours of the ocean floor, and of the gems that
bedeck the caves of Neptune. How will future poetry
be aflFected by the revelations of the aquarium, and how
far will the sober facts of scientific research influence the
pictures and the incidents of romance? Even Keats's
glowing description of " God Neptune's palaces " becomes
tame in the presence of this splendid creature, which
carries the fancy —

' far below

The sea-blooms and the oozy woods, which wear
The sapless foliage of the ocean,"

and peoples the dark slippery slopes with wondrous forms
of Hfe and beauty, as if the lost argosies and the perished

THE MARINE. AQUARIUM.

navies, that have found a common sepulchre in the waters,
had given up their myriad souls to the conjuration of
Glacus and Scylla, and all the dizzy troop of ocean spirits.
It is, verily, a wondrous creature, of enormous size, and
so delicately tinted, so light and fairy-like in stmcture,
so constantly expanding and retracting its thousand deli-
cate fingers, like the Indian blossom that the Brahmin
believes to be endowed with life, that it never ceases to
attract the attention of the coldest, and fill the ardent
lover of nature with —

the amaze

Of deep-seen wonders."

I have before me noAV five specimens of this splendid
anemone. They are all expanded, and they glow in the
sunshine like huge carnations of the brightest amber,
one of them verging towards a pure white. Two of these
are represented in the engraving, surrounded by fronds
of Delesseria sanguinea, Callithamnium, and Griffithsia.
The one attached to the pei-pendicular side of a stone
is of the golden amber variety ; when ftdly expanded it
forms a massive column of five inches in height, at least,
and nearly three in diameter. From the summit of the
column the tentacles fringe over in rich masses, like the
petals of a monster carnation, all of them in motion as
if seeking something which they cannot find. The ten-
tacular disk is deeply frilled and puckered, and constantly
changes its outline under the capricious wiU of the animal ;
while, at the same time, the tentacles arrange and re-
arrange themselves into most confusing forms ; then again
expand to their utmost, and expose the oval mouth and

ACTINIA DIANTHUS, DELESSERIA SANGUINEA, CALLITHAM
NIUM ROSEUM, GRIFFITHSIA SETACEA.

p. 82.

THE MARINE AQUAKIUM. 83 I

crenated lips, of a pellucid softness that would appear as
if chiselled out of alabaster, were they not constantly
varying their form, and every instant undergoing a new
" sea-change." The tentacles are very regularly arranged
around the mouth, but towards the margin they thicken
and thicken tiU they form a dense fringe that overlaps the
column, and continues ever waving as if stirred by
trembling ocean currents. If I now strike the glass with
my finger, or even breathe lightly on the surface of the
water, they are all withdrawn, the stately column shrinks
down into a mass of pulp, and in a few moments sweUs
out like a globular balloon, so tight and large that one
momentaiily expects it to burst. Por an instant only it
remains thus blown out ; it is suddenly constricted as if
clasped by a cord, and it then becomes double like a pair
of globes placed one upon the other, and flattened where
they meet. Suddenly the imaginary girdle slips down-
ward, disappears, then it contracts, rises again, assimies
its noblest proportions, expands its thousand fringes, all
delicately waving above the dark stones, and is once more
as lovely, or lovelier than ever.

This has been described as one of the most tender of
its class, but I have long been convinced that it is com-
paratively hardy, and may be preserved with very great
certainty. So long as the water is kept moderately pure,
by an occasional filtering through charcoal — which aerates
and purifies at the same time — it lives and prospers,
occasionally moving fi-om place to place, but almost
always expanded, and every instant assuming some new
form. It is, however, so far delicate that, if frequently

84 THE MARINE AQUARIUM.

disturbed, it is sm*e to perish. When removed from its
native " oozy bed" it should be kept on the stone or shell
to which it is found attached, until it floats ofi" of its own
accord, and fixes itself elsewhere. When handled it
throws out a number of white threads, which are after-
wards withdrawn.

CHAPTEE YL

WHAT IS AN ANEMONE?

It is very strange that where the animal and vegetable
kingdoms meet, the forms should assume such close
resemblances to each other, as to make it frequently a
matter of difficulty to determine to which of the two
gi'eat departments some special specimen shall be assigned.
Here are the lovely sea-flowers — flowers only in name and
appearance — ^representing the lowest links of animal life
and pointing to that last link where the animal and the
vegetable blend into one, bearing all the outward resem-
blances to flowers from which they take their appropriate
names, yet all of them strictly animals, endowed with
volition, and in their general organization assimilating to
the extensive series of zoological orders which stand
above and beneath them. The sea anemones are animals
of the lowest class — zoophytes of the great Cuverian
division of Badiata. It is in this division that ani-
mation is seen to tremble and flicker in the socket, and
to become gradually extiaguished as we descend the

THE MARINE AQUARIUM. 85

scale and approacli the confines of the kingdom of verdure.
Here, then, life has its lowest if not least lovely forms ;
the individuals have less individuality, many of them live
in groups and clusters, and increase in a semi-vegetative
manner by gemmation, or the formation of bud-Uke
germs, while others generate by spontaneous fissure, and
break up into numerous forms, each of which rapidly
acquires the form of the parent, and proceeds in the same
way to increase its kind.

The Radiata are so named on account of the ray-like
form generally observable in the structure of the creatures ;
in some the ray-like divisions give such a speciality to
the structure as to distinguish them at once as mem-
bers of this division ; as in the star-fishes, for instance,
in which the intestinal canal branches out from the
body into the several rays which form the star, and in
the anemones, in which the relation to the tribe is at
first sight perceptible in the tentacles which surround
the mouth, and which render it so exquisitely beautiftd
as a marine representative of a true flower.

But though the term Eadiata is applied to an extensive
division, in which the members have many characteristics
in common with each other, the ray-like form is not
equally distinguishable in aU. In some tribes there is a
tendency to associate into groups, in which each indi-
vidual has a certain degree of connection with the rest,
as in the infusoria common in our brooks, and indeed
most of the polypes which thus live in community. The
resemblance to vegetable forms is, however, common to a
great portion of the Radiata, and those in which this

86

THE MARINE AQUARIUM.

resemblance is the strongest are grouped together under
the general designation of Zoophytes, In Zoophytes, the
leading feature of a radiate animal is very distinctly
observable, and that leading feature is the arrangement of
the vital organs around a centre, the organs composing

EDWARDSIA VESTITA, ESOP PRAWN, ENTEROMORPHA
COMPRESSA, ULVA LATISSIMA.

the rays of the imaginary star, or the petals of the ima-
ginary flower, to which the mouth or stomach is the centre.

THE MARINE AQUARIUM. 87

Among the Zoophytes we meet with many of the crea-
tures which have the greatest attraction for the student of
the Aquarium. The brooks supply him Avith the curious
hydra, the seven-headed monster that perpetuates one of
the triumphs of Hercules — withal a beautiful and won-
drous creature, that may be cut in pieces, turned inside
out, or even thrust one animal within the other, and still
remain the same. The sea supplies the madrepores, the
builders of ocean-reefs, and the founders of islands and
continents ; as it also supplies the sea anemones of more
than a hundred species, from the curious Edwardsia
vesiita, here figured, from the first seen in this country, at
present in the collection of Mr. Alford Lloyd, to the
familiar members of the genus Actinia, obtainable every-
where on our coasts.

The tme Zoophytes have aU, more or less, the plant-
like form, and they readily separate into two great classes,
namely, the Anthozoa, or flower-life, and the Polyzoa,
or many-life, in which the individuals are associated
together in numbers. They are aU inhabitants of water,
are aU destitute of joints, lungs, nerves, and proper
blood-vessels ; but in the place of nerves possess what
naturalists call an irritable system, in obedience to which
they expand or contract at will. At the upper part of
the body is situated the mouth, which is usually sur-
rounded with tentacles, which are mostly used in securing
prey. There is no alimentary^ duct, for the stomach has
the form of a simple sac, the aliment being injected and
ejected by the same orifice.

The Anthozoa comprise animals which are perfect in

88 THE MARINE AQUARIUM.

themselves, and these are mostly soft bodied, having no
shelly covering, and are protected only by the leathery
integument which surrounds them, and the thousand
weapons of offence and defence which they expand in the
form of tentacles. Among the Polyzoa we meet with
creatui'es that encase themselves in homy shells, or cal-
careous coatings, such as the Madrepores, which, like
submarine masons, elaborate the carbonate of lime which
the sea supplies them with, into shelly retreats ; and the
tubed Hydrioda, which construct winding galleries and
convoluted tubes, from the mouths of which they protrude
their fans and tentacles in search of prey.

Among the higher orders of the Eadiata we meet with
the strange Sea Cucumbers and the Sea Urchins, and the
Star fishes ; and among the lower orders the Sea Ane-
mones, many forms of which are described and figured
in these pages.

A Sea Anemone, then, is a Zoophyte belonging to the
class Anthozoa, or flower-life, and the order Helan-
THOIDA, or sunflower-like creatures. The central disk of
the sea flower is composed of the lips, which open into a
mouth which communicates with the simple sac which
constitutes the stomach, and the petals and fringes which
surround it — now like the anemone, now like the sun-
flower or the mesembrj'anthemum, or the richest car-
nation that ever won for a florist a golden prize. The
further subdivision is dependent on the details of indi-
vidual structure ; and a large section — that of Actinia —
comprehends most of those on which the aquarian
bestows his patience in the work of domestication.

THE MARINE AQUARIUM. 89

The Actiniadce — so named from the Greek — signiiying
a ray of the sun — are an extensive family, of which more
than a himdred species are to be found on our coasts, or
in the deep bays adjacent. But few of these are suited
for confinement in aquaria, and of these the chief are the
Actinia proper, the Sagartia, most of which are usually
grouped with the Actinia ; the Anthea Cereus ; the
splendid Adamsia Palliata, which is the only known
species of the genus to which it belongs ; and a few of the
Bunodes, Ediuardsia, and Corynactis.

In all the varieties of sea anemones the mode of life is
similar ; they are carnivorous, and obtain their prey by
means of the ever-seeking tentacles that search the lymph
around them, and secure sometimes fishes, at others
mollusks, but more frequently the minute forms of infu-
sorial life that abound in the sea, or in the artificial
w^ater of the tank. The mode of reproduction is by ova,
which are sometimes vivified in the body of the parent,
and not only do they give birth by ejection from the
mouth of a numerous progeny, but rctual divisions of the
body may be made, and each division will acquire com-
pleteness. Dr. Johnson relates several instances in proof
of this, one of which is particularly interesting. A spe-
cimen oi Actinia c;•as5icor7^^5 had swallowed a large, sharp-
edged shell, which so completely stretched the body of
the creature as if on a ring of wire, as virtually to cut it
into two equal parts. Thereupon it put out from the
base a new disk, with mouth and tentacles, and became
at once a double anemone, to which the gorged shell
served as an intermediate base of attachment. Dr. Cocks

90 THE MARINE AQUARIUM.

has seen specimens of Bunodes alba acquire complete
forms in duplicate wlien tlie original specimen has been
severed into two or more parts; and there are many
other instances on record of this plant-like division of
sea anemones having been observed.

Though apparently immobile, there are few species but
possess some power of locomotion. We frequently meet
with anemones attached to stones, sand, or shells, by a
wide sucking base, and if some species be moved from
their chosen site, certain death is the result. Yet in by far
the gi'eater number there is a distinct faculty of progression
— the anemone, by a slow, gliding motion, gradually re-
moves itself, and climbs up the sides of the vessel, or
takes possession of a tuft of weed, or shifts from one stone
to another, or fairly leaves go of its anchorage, and floats
like a balloon upon the surface. Thus low in the scale
as they are, they possess will, and a power of obeying it ;
they have their organs of locomotion, of attack, and
defence ; though naked, they are armed for combat on an
equality with their enemies, and succomb at last to mau;^ —
the universal destroyer and appropriator — who turns them
to account as food, or treasures them as gems of beauty
that gratify his eye, and even win over the affections of
his heart, while they lead him to contemplate the variety
and profuseness of that life to which the Almighty has
given so many wondrous forms, and instincts, and eco-
nomies, every one of which proclaims —

" The hand that made us is divine."

THE MARINE AQUARIUM. 91

CHAPTEE YII.

GENERAL MANAGEMENT.

I SHALL in this Chapter only notice such particulars in
the management of aquaria as belong especially to the
marine department, since some of the directions given in
the former division of the work apply to tanks of all
kinds, and heed not be repeated. When preliminary
difficulties have been surmounted, the matter of first im-
portance is the selection of the stock, and its arrange-
ment in accordance with just principles.

Grouping, — In Chapters IV. and Y. I have enumerated
the kinds of animals and plants most suitable for aquaria,
and must now caution the beginner against the injudicious
grouping together of creatures of dissimilar habits.
Anemones may, as a rule, be kept together. The several
species agree well, and seldom or rarely injure each other ;
but star-fishes and crabs are best kept in vessels apart
from them. Star-fishes are very destructive, and readily
absorb the bodies of mollusks out of their shells. If ex-
ception is to be taken to any particular anemone, I think
the grand plumosa must suffer by it ; for this noble
creature gives off a floccident exudation, which seems
injurious to other kinds. I have generally kept the
plumose anemone in company with A. mesembryan-
themum, A. bellis, troglodytes, and others, without per-
ceiving any bad result ; but I have always been careful
to remove the slimy exuvia daily, by means of the dipping
tube. Eespecting mollusks, and especially trochus and

92 THE MARINE AQUAEIUM.

most bivalves, it should be borne in mind that they
are apt to die off rapidly, and to cause a putrescence of a
most obnoxious character, which soon spoils the water,
and causes a general havoc. Another remark applicable to
mollusks is this, that the Eolids — members of the Nudi'
branch, or naked mollusks — are destructive of anemones,
and delight in nibbling holes in their coats, or eating off
their tentacles ; whereas the pretty doris may be kept as
long as it will live, in company with the most delicate
creatures, without offering offence to any. The more
varied the collection the more is our interest in its exa-
mination increased ; and the possessor of a single vessel,
or of a tank, and a few auxiliary jars, will be naturally
anxious to preserve representatives of as many tribes as
possible ; and this may be done, to a certain extent, by
appropriating the vessels to such creatures as agree ami-
cably in confinement. It is, indeed, possible, if a vigilant
watchfulness be observed, to bring together and preserve,
for a length of time, specimens of creatures that are
naturally antagonistic to each other; but where Crus-
taceans can be kept apart in one vessel, with, perhaps a
few fish, such as gobies and blennies — a second appro-
priated to anemones and madrepores — and a third to
mollusks, madrepores, and tubeworms — there wiU be the
greater certainty of success, and less supervision will be
required. Crabs are very annojdng to anemones, as they
scratch and sprawl over the delicate creatures; and
shrimps, prawns, and fishes frequently fall a prey to the
barbed threads and the tentacles of the anemones ; the
latter also frequently take possession of the mouths of the

THE MAEINE AQUABIUM. 93

cells of tube worms, and of the openings of the shells of
mollusks, and thus suflFocate the inmates, and insure their
own death by the putrescence that ensues upon the demise
of their victims.

Sulphuretted hydrogen. — When the death of an animal
occurs, the water soon gets putrid ; the stones assume a
rich brown tint, the sides of the vessel lose their bright-
ness, and an effete odour indicates the cause of the dis-
turbance.

Preservation of the Water. — To those who live near
the sea it is an easy matter to change the water, as soon
as it shows signs of disorganization, but since the
majority of those who wHl consult this work will have to
depend on Mr. Bolton's marine salts, it is necessary that
I should suggest in what way, and in the best manner,
the water may be preserved, not only to avoid the expense,
but the trouble attending a new supply. Charcoal is the
grand restorative, purifier, and preserver ; and for this
department of aquarium management may be regarded as
the ne plus ultra.

In the second Chapter of this part of the work I have
described the process necessary in preparing artificial
water by means of the filter. Now, whatever happens,
set the filter to work, it will revive exhausted stock by
aeration, destroy sulphuretted hydrogen by the contact of
the water with the charcoal, and remove all fragments of
decayed weed, flocculent threads given off by anemones,
and restore the whole to strength and purity. I repeat
what I have already said more than once, that the neces-
sity for changing the water is a proof of injudicious

94 THE MARINE AQUARIUM.

management; every new supply is a witness of the
aquarian's lack of skill, as Mr. Lloyd wisely says, " pro-
perly managed, the water and other contents of an
Aquarium may be kept unchanged for periods indefinitely
prolonged." For the sake of aquarian science, I do im-
plore the student to surmount any and every difficulty,
rather than own the weakness implied by changing the
water.

Aeration is frequently referred to in works on the
Aquarium. It is at variance with the self-sustaining
theory, and there is something wrong where it is wanted.
If the tank is stocked before the plants are well estab-
lished, or if overstocked with a crowd of animal life, or
if sulphuretted hydrogen be produced and make its
presence manifest to the nose, then aeration may be
necessary. A cup or jug may be used to dip water from
the surface, and pour it back again from a height in a
thin stream. Or a filter may be placed over the tank and
filled from the surface, and the water allowed to drip back.
But the most efficient instrument is a common syringe.
This is simply to be charged at the surface, and dis-
charged again with some force, so as to send a stream
of oxygenised water deep into the tank. The process
should be repeated for a quarter of an hour at least.

Filter. — A bee glass or a common flower-pot may soon
be made into a filter. Thrust a piece of sponge into the
hole in the bottom, and upon it lay a stratum of washed
sand and powdered charcoal. Pass the water through it, and
it wiU be purified, and saturated with oxygen at one and
the same time. With the river-tank, the simplest way of

THE MAEINE AQUAKIUM. 95

reviving exhausted stock is wholly or partially to change
the water; with marine stock, such a change is not
easy, and the filter comes more legitimately into use.
As already remarked, the necessity for aeration marks
error in management, except when you have stock for
which no proper receptacle is at hand, or any such
special contingency.

Decay of Plants. — The sea-weeds are apt to acquire a
pale tint, which is the first evidence of decay. This
generally happens with the first marine stock, when Ulva
and Enteromorpha are used to season artificial water.
When the water gets ripe, the plants recover and make
healthy growth, but if many white fronds appear, lift out
the blocks on which the plants are fixed, trim away the
decayed portions with a pair of scissors, and then scrub
the stones with a small brush in a little waste sea-water,
and replace them ; they will soon recover. If red plants
have been hurriedly introduced, and decay manifests
itself, remove them at once, and waste no time in attempts
at revival. Mr. Lloyd will supply a new stock for a
trifle, and it is better to begin de novo than to attempt to
cure the incurable.

Death of Anemones. — If you observe any of the ane-
mones to shrink up like button-covers, lift them out into
a shallow vessel, and aerate them liberally. When small
beads of gas appear upon them, you may rest assured
that they have gone beyond the —

" Bourne from whence no traveller returns ; "
for the first outward proof of death is the formation of

96

THE MAUINE AQUARIUM.

bubbles of sulphuretted hydrogen upon their bodies, and
they should be removed before this spreads and devastates
the tank.

Removal of Objects. — For the removal of portions of
decayed weed, and other small noxious bodies, from the
bottom, a glass tube of J or J inch diameter, open at

both ends, will be found very useful. Place a thumb or
finger on the top of the tube, and thrust it down over the
object to be removed, then remove the finger, and the
matter will rise in it. Lift the tube up to the surface of

THE MARINE AQUAEIUM. 97

the water, then place the finger on again, and lift the
whole away. The advantage of this plan is, that no dis-
turbance is occasioned. A pewter spoon bent to a right
angle, and attached to a stick is very useful for lifting up
objects that are too large for the dipping tube.

Density of the Water. — Evaporation causes the pure
water to escape from the Aquarium, and hence there is a
constant tendency to increase of density — in fact, if left
alone, the water in the tank soon gets too salt. To pre-
vent this, additions of pure spring or distilled water must
be made from time to time, and the amount regulated by
a specific gravity bubble, which it would be as well to
leave at all times floating in the tank. This instrument
registers the density much more accurately than the
hydrometer, for it is more delicate in its determination of
a balance. I find it expedient to use two bubbles of dif-
ferent specific gravities — one which just floats when the
water is sufficiently fluid, and another which just sinks
when it is sufficiently saline. The movement of either
indicates at once the exact cause, and enables the aquarian
to regulate the density to perfection.

Green Stain. — I have never been troubled with con-
ferv^oid growths in tanks filled with artificial water, though
the same water has been in use during periods of from a
few months to two years. When it occurs, the moUusks
are the natural remedy, the sponge the artificial one.
But a strange affection — which I think is most common
in spring — is the sudden occurrence of a green turbidity,
which destroys the translucence, and for which neither
sponge nor \vinkle can afford a remedy. It is not a

THE MARINE AQUAEIUM.

growth on the side of the vessel, but a green stain per-
vading the water, as if a green colouring matter had been
dissolved in it. Mr. Gosse says, " it is vegetable in its
origin, and arises from an infinite number of the spores
(or seeds) of green Jlgce dispersed through the fluid,
and held in suspension there." Mr. Gosse further says,
" I know of no cure for this," but he quotes Mr. Lloyd's
experience as demonstrative of its curability by placing
the water "in a dark closet for two or three weeks."

From the experience I have had in this matter, I have
no hesitation in saving that the filter will be found an
instantaneous remedy ; the water need not be drawn off
at all, but kept filtering through charcoal by frequent
filling of the filter from the surface. In May last, a tank
of mine became suddenly opaque, though otherwise in
excellent order. The collection was valuable, and a dis-
turbance of it would have been attended with risk. I
suspended an old flower-pot half filled with fresh charcoal
and sea-side grit above it, and set the filter to work.
As fast as the filter ran out, I fiilledit again from the tank,
without disturbing anything, and a change for the better
was perceptible in an hour. Two days after, the water
was as bright as ever, and the stock in the finest possible
condition, owing to the brisk aeration they had gained
by the experiment.

Feeding. — Anemones generally do not require feeding,
though the Daisy and the Dianthus will greedily partake of
small fragments of oyster and minced mutton, and some
other kinds will occasionally eat of the same food ; but I
cannot recommend the beginner to feed Anemones, for, in

THE MARINE AQUARIUM. 99

a well managed tank, Infusoria are sufficiently abundant to
provide them with all they require, and food not eaten
soon decays, unless speedily removed. Crabs and prawns
positively require feeding, and Madrepores may be fed for
amusement. Small fragments of the lean of raw meat
should be given, or the flesh of a cooked prawn, and twenty-
four hom's afterwards, the undigested morsels should be
removed .

The Syphon is a simple aff'air enough. In using it,
place the short end below the surface of the water in the

tank, and apply the mouth to the longer end, and draw
till the water flows ; it will then continue to flow as long
as the short end is kept under water. If you object to
promote aquarian science by means of suction, first fill
the syphon with water, and apply a finger to each end,
and so turn it over, and withdraw the fingers when the
short end is dipped beneath the surface of the water in the
tank. ]\Ir. Lloyd sells a syphon expressly for the purpose,
which the aquarian should possess.

Purchase of Specimens.' — There are now many dealers
in Aquarian stock, but very few of them supply marine

100 THE MARINE AqUARIUM.

stock in any variety. I have my readers' interest only at
heart when I suggest, that no one should attempt to set
up an Aquarium without first paying a visit to the estab-
lishment of Mr. W. Alford Lloyd, of No. 30, Portland
Eoad, Kegent's Park, where choice may be made from a
stock consisting of thousands of specimens, supplied, as,
the oyster shops say, "fresh every day." Mr. Lloyd was
a labourer in the field years before the Aquarium became
popular, and his experience, attained by patient study, is
now at the service of all who need advice or assistance in
a7iy department of the subject.

I have no interest in this matter beyond doing justice
to my reader, and beg to add that Mr. HaU, of City Eoad,
has supplied me with marine stock of high character, and
that I can recommend him as an honest and intelligent
naturalist, though, on marine matters he will not attempt
to compete with Mr. Lloyd, for the latter has now the
name, the trade, and the organization, and since he keeps
everything, so he can supply everything of the com-
monest or rarest kind, in the highest condition.

(SG)

THE BOOK OF THE AQUAKTUM.

THE WATER CABINET.

CHAPTER I.

CONSTRUCTION OF CABINETS.

Distinctions between the Cabinet and the Aquarium. —
The Aquarium has not only spiead abroad a love for
Natural History, it has also increased the facilities for the
study of nature by removing the difficulties which have
hitherto attended the presentation, for any length of time,
of living specimens of aquatic life. The tank had
scarcely taken its place among the resources for pleasure-
able recreation, and scientific study, when the field of
culture extended itself, and every variety of minute life
found in the waters, came to have its share of attention
for the general profit and delight of the studious. The
ordinary tank was found insufficient for the wants of the
aquarian, and wherever a large vessel was to be seen
stocked with fresh water fishes or mariue objects, a collec-
tion of small jars, phials, or show glasses, was pretty sure
to be found also. In an aquarium, we may group together
many dissimilar objects ; but it must be evident to the
most superficial observer, that when immersed in a large
body of water with other creatures, many objects are iU-

102 THE WATER CABINET.

placed for examination, especially if we use the micro-
scope. Hence, where the study is pursued with any
degree of ardour, some special arrangements are neces-
saiy to enable us to keep in a healthy state, and in a way
that admits of close scrutiny at any moment, such of the
smaller aquatic objects as most commend themselves for
beauty or scientific interest. Many beginners, unable to
resist the temptation of a jar of beetles, or a collection of
larva, and having no other means of keeping them, have
placed them in the tank to mingle with the stock of
finny creatures, and have thereby either lost the better
part of the collection or have been compelled to break up
the stock and begin anew. I have already suggested
that a few species of water beetles, and aquatic larva,
may be safely preserved in an aquarium ; but an aqua-
rium is by no means the best place for them, if we wish
to study their habits closely, or investigate their me-
chanism and economy by the aid of lenses : all insects,
many mollusks, larva, and other small objects should be
kept apart, and a collection of such objects is what we
mean by a Water Cabinet.

To the genuine student, there is really more for re-
munerative study in such a collection than can be found
in the Aquarium, though the tank, whether river or
marine, will always prove most attractive as an orna-
ment, and because it requires less care and study, will be
pretty sure to retain the greatest number of admirers.
But the Aquarium and the Cabinet are distinct things ;
they cannot be combined in the same vessel, and, though
a Water Cabinet is but another form, or rather a series of

THE WATER CABINET. 103

separate and smaller aquaria, tlie uses and economies of
each are in a great measure distinct. It is possible to
cultivate either without the other, though we should gene-
rally expect to find them in company, the Cabinet being a
growth or extension of the Aquarium.

Construction of a C«Z?/«e^.— Ingenuity, under the con-
trol of circumstances, wiU devise many modes of pre-
serving the smaller specimens of aquatic life, and I shall
here describe a plan which I think will be found most
generally useful, particularly as it may have a veiy simple
form, and be produced for a very trifling outlay ; or may
be elaborated into a noble piece of fiu-niture for the
adornment of an elegantly furnished room.

The frontispiece represents a series of shelves fitted into
a carved frame-work, the lower portion of which forms a
table with drawers. My own cabinet, which is a simple
affair of stained deal, is made after the model of the one
here represented, but without ornament of any kind ; and
if I describe its measurements, it may serve as a guide to
any who may desii'e to have one constructed of a similar
pattern, though, as a matter of course, the plan admits of
endless modifications to suit the means of the student, or
the position in which such a cabinet is to be placed.

The table measures nineteen inches fi'om back to front
across the centre drawer ; and from back to fi'ont across
the two side drawers, twelve inches. On this is placed a
row of seven-inch cylindrical glasses of clear flint glass,
and in the centre, behind the jars, stands a twelve-inch
bell glass aquarium, to be stocked with choice fishes or
superfluous cabinet specimens. The first shelf has a

104 THE WATER CABINET.

breadtli of eight inches to receive a row of six inch
glasses ; the second shelf a breadth of five inches, and the
jars upon it measure four inches in diameter. The top
shelf is only three-and-a-half inches wide, and the glasses
on it measure three inches across the top, and, two-and-a-
half at the base ; the jars of this size, in my own collec-
tion, are of a tapering form, half an inch narrower at the
bottom than at the top, though I am not aware whether
such is the usual form of the small vessels. The entire
framework has a breadth of about thirty-two inches, and
a height, from the floor of the room to the level of the
top shelf, of about sixty-six inches.

The breadth and height of the window, in which the
cabinet is to be placed, must have the first consideration,
with any one who may intend to construct such a piece of
furniture ; the respective sizes of the vessels must be an
after consideration, because, unless the whole be so
adapted, as that it shall enjoy a full share of iminter-
rupted daylight, very little progi'ess can be effected,
especially if the growth of the more delicate forms of
aquatic vegetation be attempted.

In the absence of a properly constructed set of shelves,
a few plain ones may be fitted up in a window. A single
strip of deal, on brackets, would afford room for a dozen
jars, and in these by judicious grouping, specimens of
from fifty to a hundred kinds could be kept, whether for
observation by the naked eye, or the microscope.

Glasses. — In common with many aquarians I used
phials and confectioners' show-glasses for a considerable
length of time ; but to preserve the uniformity of the

THE WATER CABINET. 105

collection, I should recommend cylindrical glasses of flint
glass of tlie form represented in the engraving. Chancing
to unearth a number of such glasses, at the warehouse
of the Messrs. Phillips, of Bishopsgate Street, I have
since abolished the olla podrida of acid bottles and phials,
with which I had previously been content, and now use
no other kinds, and I think their strength and clearness
of coloui' must commend them to the student, as the best
that can be had for the purpose. The cost of them is a
shilling a pound, though common show-glasses may be
had at ninepence a pound. If there is much dust in the
room where the cabinet stands, a strip of green gauze
might be stretched on light cane frames over each row of
glasses.

The jars are intended for the reception of separate or
grouped species, and the bell glass may be an ordinaiy
aquarium or a receptacle for the omnium gatherum of
general collecting. My jars are now (July, 1856,) stocked
with minute aquatic plants, beetles of several species,
diving spiders, water worms, and mites, larva of beetles
and flies, tadpoles in progress of transformation, mollusks
of choice kinds, and spawn of all kinds, removed from the
tanks. The bell glass contains a miscellaneous assemblage
of duplicates of aU kinds, such as water weeds for renewal
of tanks, tadpoles, leeches, whirlwigs, mollusks, Crustacea,
and infusoria for the microscope. Species that do not
agree, may be introduced to the bell glass for the sake of
teaching us the nature and incidents of the strife main-
tained in the great world out of doors ; the battle may
there have its way, and we may study destruction with as

106 THE WATER CABINET.

much profit as we may the momentary creation by which
the system of nature is maintained in its completeness.
In fact, the bell glass is a reservoir into which we may dip
for almost anything we want to fill up vacancies in the
jars, and in the proper tanks, and to which we may consign
the superfluities of a day's collecting; having first assorted,
and set apart such as are wanted for separate observation
and study.

CHAPTEE II.

COLLECTING AND ARRANGING SPECIMENS.

Implements for Collecting. — Most of the ordinary pro-
ductions of ponds and brooks may be purchased of the
dealers, especially beetles, larger kinds of larvae, water
spiders, and tadpoles; but very little progress can be
made in the study of this branch of natural history, with-
out personal visits to the fishing grounds.

An hour spent in dragging a brook or pond, will do
more towards stocking a cabinet with wonders than a
hundred purchases. To the pleasure of an excursion is
added the intellectual profit of learning the nature of the
haunts, and many of the habits of the creatures obtained ;
ever}^ haul of the net will bring forth from the oozy
bottom, an immense variety of the most curious kinds of
life.

Nets, for the purpose, are easily obtainable. At least,
two kinds will be necessary, namely, a small hand net
attached to a short rod, or made to slip on a common
walking stick, and a larger one for a long rod, or for

THE WATER CABINET. 107

hauling with a line. The small net should be of a fine
mesh, and for convenience of caniage, may be fitted on a
jointed ring of brass, so as to fold together. The large
net need not be very fine in the mesh, but it should be
very strong, both in the texture and the fittings, and
should be Kned inside with muslin so as to prevent the
escape of the smallest game. Every variety of pond and
drag-nets may be obtained of the dealers in fishing-tackle,
at prices varying from one to five or six shillings, and
of a quality that may be depended on for serviceableness.

Some water-cord, a jointed rod or walking stick, and a
few earthen jars, or live bait cans, make up the stock
of implements, the whole of which, with the exception
of rods, may be packed into a basket in which suitable
divisions are made, and transported easily. Living in
the neighbourhood of many prolific brooks and ponds,
I have veiy little experience in the carnage of specimens,
and, indeed, seldom use more than a single jar, and a
single net at one time; but I should suggest to those
who have to travel a distance for the pleasiu'e of beetle
fishing, to provide themselves with a basket or box, made
after the fashion of the baskets in which bottles are
sent out by vintners, the divisions being fitted with stone
jars ; and one division left the whole length of the basket,
for nets, scissors, a pair of forceps, and a few small phials.
Each vessel should have a lid of perforated zinc, to

108 THE WATEE CABINET.

preyent the escape of objects during transit ; the jolting
of a railway train or coacli might otherwise waste the
contents. The stone jars used for the purpose, should
have a cord attached round the rim of each for convenient

handling at the brook side.

Pond fishing. — Every variety of stream or stagnant
pond may be fished to advantage ; but the specimens ob-
tained from clear running brooks will, in general, differ
greatly in character from those which the drag net brings
from a dark still pool. Ponds which have formed in
gravel pits, are generally well stocked with newts, mol-
luiks, and tadpoles ; but for the varieties of the beetle
family, old ponds in meadows, and which are the resorts
of cattle, are the best ; ditches and rank brooks are the
usual haunts of caddis worms, diving spiders, poh'pes,
and the more beautiful varieties of water bugs ; but every
locality has its special attractions only to be learnt by
experience.

Supposing that you have made a halt beside a plea-
santly shaded brook, with hedge sparrows, robins, and
black-caps warbbng about you. You prepare by selecting
a suitable spot free from brushwood, and where the edge
of the water may be reached without danger. The first
thing to be done is, to fill a few jars with clear water, and
to throw into each a few strips of any common water-
weed, of which callitriche is always the best, and most
generally attainable. If the water is very foul it will be
better to travel a little distance for a supply, because the
specimens are wanted as cleanly as possible, and if thrown
into clean water when caught, their own motions vri^l tend

THE WATER CABINET. 109

to cleanse them, and fit them for the glass jars at home.
The shore should be fished first, and the operation should
be conducted with as much quiet as possible ; any dis-
turbance will be sure to drive away many of the liyelier
creatures. Take a small net attached to a walking stick
or short rod, and thrust it out from you as far as possible
over the water ; then quickly dip and draw it towards
you, and land it at your feet at some little distance from
the edge of the water. Sort out the contents of the haul
into separate jars, though, as you cannot have as many
jars as the kinds which the net will bring up, a little
judicious grouping will be necessary. Spawn of all kinds
may be placed together in the same jar with mollusks,
tadpoles, caddis worms, and colymbetes; most beetles
must be kept by themselves, on account of their voracity,
as must also the several kinds of carnivorous larvse, such
as those of the Dytiscus, and the di'agon fly, and water
worms of the genus Nais.

When the sides have been weU fished, the deeper water
may be operated on by means of the drag-net, and the pro-
duce disposed of in the same way.

On arriving home, sort over the jars seriatim, and dis-
pose of the specimens according to the capacity and
arrangement of your cabinet. The glass jars should be
each furnished with a few tufts of some gi'owing weeds,
and with clear water. Some of the specimens will require
to be washed to remove offensive matter, and some few
will need a bottom of small pebbles, and a jar nearly filled
with healthy vegetation. Jnacharis, Myriophyllum,
Nitella, Chara, Riccia, and choice Covfervoids, are the

110 THE WATER CABINET.

best for the cabinet, on account of the limited space in which
they must be kept, and the elegance they impart to the
collection. In the larger jars it would be well to keep
some tufts of vaUisneria in order to propagate it to supply
vacancies in the tanks. "VMien the stock has been housed
in the cabinet, whatever is left may be transferred to the
bell glass for further examination. It would be better
not to wash or disturb the refuse weed and sediment of
the collecting jars, but to throw the whole into the vase.
After a few hours it will settle down, and a lens will assist
in the detection of whatever curiosities may swarm out
of the refuse weed. Objects for the compound microscope
may in this way be obtained and preserved in plenty.

CHAPTER III.

THE STOCK.

I HAVE already indicated some of the varieties best suited
for the cabinet, but ^vill here briefly enumerate those
which form the leading features of attraction, leaving the
development of the collection to the perseverance of the
student. The great division of Coleoptera will furnish by
far the largest number of showy species, all of them inte-
resting and lively creatures, many of them possessed of
great beauty. The ravenous Dytiscus marginalis and
dimidiatuSy with their strong hooked claws, and brightly
bronzed elytra; and the pretty, docile, and harmless
Colymhetes, with its shining silver breast-plate, and jet
black limbs and elytra, must take the first place among
the beetles for beauty of form and colour. The large,

THE WATER CABINET. Ill

harmless Hydrous piceus, the lively Notaiiecta, Gyrinus^
and Nejpa, are essential to the collection.

Among the larva, those of the Caddis fly should be
kept in abundance, on account of the amusement afforded
by their strange habits and their remarkable metamor-
phosis. Larva of the Dytiscus, known as the Water
Tiger, of the Dragon fly, the gnat, the May fly, and of
the two-winged fly, Stratiomys Chamceleon, the pretty
blood-worm, which is the larva of the Chironomus plu-
mosus, a very pretty gnat, with feathered antennae ; and
the telescope-tailed grubs of Helophilus pendulus, which,
in its larva form, is one of the most curious examples in
the cabinet, and, in its imago, is frequently mistaken for
the honey-bee.

The drag-net will also bring out many curious water-
mites, than which there can be no more interesting sub-
jects for the microscope, or prettier objects for ordinary
observation. While writing this, I have before me several
specimens of the beautiful mites, Hydrachna geographica
and ahstergens (Miiller), in a jar of Nitella ; they are
ever in action, treading the water as if it were aii*, with
a kind of motion that cannot be termed swimming, but
rather a walking or dancing, maintained with the greatest
ease at any level, or at the bottom of the vessel. Another,
and much more showy one, is the bright carmine-coloured
mite Limnochares holosericea (Latreille), of which I find
an abundance in a neighbouring brook. Its pretty,
spidery motions, and vivid colouring, render a jar, con-
taining a dozen specimens, very attractive to the eye of
a student of natui'e.

112

THE WATER CABINET.

The Diving Spiders are amusing, and should be kept
in plenty in large jars, weU stocked with healthy weed ;
and the curious E.aft Spider may also be preserved in a

DIVING SPIDER AND NESTS,

shallow vessel, closely covered with gauze. Aquatic
Spiders are most abundant in clear brooks and ditches

THE WATER CABINET. 113

near rivers; the small tributaries of the Lea, and the
dykes that abound in the marshes at Tottenham, supply
me with specimens whenever I seek them.

Among the water-worms most easily obtained, the hair-
like Gordius aquaticus (Linnaeus), and the curiously-
formed Naisy may be recommended as curious and inter-
esting. The latter requires a bottom of sand in which to
burrow, and should be covered with only a few inches of
water. When it takes to its new home, it plunges its
body into the sand or mud, and extends its telescope-
tail upwards to the surface for air, adapting its length to
the depth of the water.

The generation and development of reptilia and mol-
lusca may be better studied by the use of jars for the
specimens, than by their immersion in the aquarium.
Tadpoles, the larva of newts, and the spawn of mollusks,
may be preserved in the cabinet for purposes of study,
much better than in the tank ; each species being separate
in a bright and portable vessel, every minute change can
be observed, and a lens applied at any time, or the spe-
cimens removed for close inspection without difficulty.
I find it a good practice to remove any spawn, which may
be deposited on the large vessels, to the small jars on my
shelves. There the little Lymnea and Planorhis are
developed in hundreds, without molestation ; and if in-
crease of Paludina vivipara be required, a jar is at once
converted into a breeding tank by throwing a couple into
it, with a bunch of Callitriche, and any vegetable waste
from the tanks. In the aquarium, the young moUusks
are devoured almost as soon as they are bom ; and the

114 THE WATEE CABINET.

pleasing spectacle of their increase, coming forth from
the gelatinous mass in hundreds, like minute beads of
gold, is lost without the aid of the cabinet in which to
rear them. The young of most species of univalve
mollusks are vagrant in their habits, and the jars in which
spawn is hatched should be closely covered with perforated
card or gauze, fitting closely by means of India rubber
rings.

Since it is unnecessary in this work to give a classified
history of the several creatures that may be kept in water-
cabinets, I shall devote the remainder of the space at my
command to notices of a few of the most attractive and
best known species, and to a few hints on the general
management of the cabinet.

CHAPTEK IV.

LARVA.

The great class of insects comprises many remarkable
and diverse forms, among the 560,000 species which Dr.
Imhoff estimates to be now known to naturalists. Yet,
various as they are, it is by no means impossible to define
what are the distinctive features by which this class is
separated from those which approach it in conformation
and habits. A true insect has the body divided into
three parts — the head, the thorax, and the abdomen. It
has never more than six legs, and these are attached to
the thorax. The segments of the body seldom exceed
thirteen in number, one of which forms the head, three
the thorax, and the remaining nine the abdomen. The

THE WATER CABINET. 115

possession of one or two pairs of wings gives them their
prominent characteristic to the eye, but it is the successive
metamorphoses that arrests universal attention, and calls
forth the admiration and wonder of mankind. In the
progTcss of an insect from the minute egg to its com-
pleted form, we see the most remarkable series of develop-
ments which animal life ever displays in all its endless
procession of forms — the egg, the worm, the chrysalis,
the fly — a strange unfolding, for the first time accui'ately
observed by Swammerdam, who detected, under the
wrinkled skin of the disgusting worm, the complete out-
line of the lovely butterfly.

This metempsychosis may be studied in its several
strange details by the aid of the Water-Cabinet. The
first condition of the newly-hatched egg is that known as
the grub, or caterpillar — scientifically called the larva.
The laiTa generally bears no earthly resemblance to the
imago, or perfect insect, into which it is to be hereafter
developed, but leads a life of sensual enjojnnent — it eats,
eats ! it is gluttony concentrated in tj-pe and act. It
changes its skin several times, slips one coat ofl" and
acquires a new ; gi'o^ving, and eating, and changing gar-
ments, till, like man himself, it seeks a temporary tomb,
from which it is to soar to the skies like a soid liberated.
This second form is popidarly known as the chrysalis, or
aurelia, scientifically called the pupa. In this fonn the
insect remains in a state of complete or partial toi-pidity
for a few days, weeks, or months, according to the par-
ticular species.

The day of its deliverance arrives, its bonds bui'st, and

116 THE WATER CABINET.

it comes fortli " a thing of beauty" to sport in sunbeams,
and, for but a brief season, lead a life of joy —

" Fluttering round the jasmine stems,
Like winged flowers or flying gems."

But beauty of the high poetic kind is not the inheritance
of every member of the class insecta ; and the water-
cabinet presents us with many that have but analogical
resemblances to the typical structure of the moth or the
fly, though the natui-alist finds beauty in a beetle, and
points of profound interest in a maggot or grub.

Since larva are distributed through at least three ele-
ments, being, according to the species, inhabitants of
earth, air, and water, the breathing apparatus arrests our
attention, as constituting a distinct feature in the anatomy
of the insect. A caterpillar may be regarded as aU
stomach, and the cravings of this immense digesting tube
easily account for the voracity of larva of aU kinds. In
the larger animals, the food is elaborated into blood, and
brought to the lungs to be oxygenated by means of
contact with the air, but the insect does not breathe at
the mouth, but at the other end, or by means of tubes
arranged along the sides of the body. In a caterpillar
there are usually eighteen of these tubes, the orifices of
which may be seen in action. These tubes all run into
two larger lateral tubes, or wind-pipes, arranged one on
each side of the body ; and from these lateral tubes innu-
merable smaller ones diverge, and convey air to the vessels
in which the digested food is contained, and thus supply
it with oxygen. Swammerdam was the first who sue-

THE WATER CABINET. 117

cessftdly anatomised tliis class of animals, and to him we
are indebted for the microscopic anatomy of grubs, and
a revelation of their inner economy generally.

The Dragon Fly, Lihellulidce (Leach), a well-
known summer beauty — the mere mention of which is
always sufficient to set one's heart beating for rustic
coolness, and the hushed music of the beechen shades —
is, in its larva form, an interesting object for the cabinet.
Between the larva and the imago of this insect, the dif-
ference is striking indeed; as a lady, not addicted to
scientific studies, once characterised the larva — using
Pope's lines — as,

" A monster of such hideous mien,
That to be hated needs but to be seen."

But the gauze-winged and gaily-coloured fly merits all
the praise bestowed upon it by the French, who call them
Demoiselles, so light, faiiy-like, and visionary are its form
and movements. Scientific writers have applied many
descriptive names to it, such as Calepteryx (pretty wing),
Puella (girl), Sponsa (bride), and Firgo (virgin). The
larva of the dragon fly exhibits, in a very striking manner,
the mode of respiration in aquatic insects. It is not an
active creature ; for though it has six legs, it seldom
uses these except in the capture of prey ; its locomotion
is chiefly performed by the tail in the action of breathing.
T\Tien thrown into a jar with some fragments of weed and
a few light chips, these will be seen to be drawn towards
the tail of the creature, by the current occasioned by the
absorption of water ; and then again driven off, with con-

118 THE WATER CABINET.

siderable force, as tlie water is again ejected. The quan-
tity drawn into tlie body by tbis hydrostatic action must
be considerable, since the dimensions of the larva regu-
larly change with the breathing action, the body becoming
collapsed when the stream is ejected, and again swelled
out with the suction that follows. If it be thrown into
water, tinged with cochineal, and then quickly removed
again into clear water, the coloui'ed stream will be seen
to be projected several inches, and with force suflicient to
propel the creature forward by a series of successive jerks.

Besides the act of breathing, then, this anal pump has
locomotive uses ; and it also aids the creature in obtaining
food by drawing minute creatures towards it in a manner
similar to those animals which are fui'nished with cilia.

But the microscope reveals a still more curious fact,
in the anatomy of this larva, which has been most faith-
fully described by Kirby and Spence. The under lip,
when closed, entirely conceals the mouth, and it not only
retains, but actually seizes, the animal's prey, by means
of a veiy singular paii* of jaws with which it is furnished.
Conceive your under lip (to have recourse, Kke Ueaumur,
on another occasion, to such a comparison) to be horny
instead of fleshy, and to be elongated pei-pendicularly
downward, so as to wrap over your chin, and extend to
its bottom — that this elongation is there expanded into a
triangular convex plate, attached to it by a joint, so as to
bend upwards again and fold over the face as high as the
nose, concealing not only the chin and the first mentioned
elongations, but the mouth and part of the cheeks. Con-
ceive, moreover, that to the end of this last-mentioned

THE WATER CABINET. 119

plate are fixed two other convex ones, so broad as to
cover the whole nose and temples — that these can open at
pleasure, transversely, like a pair of jaws, so as to expose
the nose and mouth, and that their inner edges, where
they meet, are cut into numerous sharp teeth, or spines,
or armed with one or more long sharp claws — you will
have as accurate an idea, as my powers of description can
give, of the strange formation of the under lip in the
laiTa of LiheUulina, which conceals the mouth and face,
precisely as I have supposed a similar construction of
lip would do yours. You will probably admit that your
own visage would present an appearance not very engaging,
while concealed by such a mask ; but it would strike still
more awe into the spectators, were they to see you first
open the two upper jaw plates, which would project from
the temples like the blinders of a horse ; and next, having,
by means of the joint of your chin, let down the whole
apparatus and uncovered your face, employ them in seizing
any food that presented itself, and conveying it to your
mouth. Yet this procedui'e is that adopted by the larvae
of the dragon-fly, provided with this strange organ. While
it is at rest, it applies close to and covers the face. When the
insects would make use of it, they unfold it like an arm,
catch the prey at which they aim, by means of the man-
dibuliform plates, and then partly refold it, so as to hold
the prey to the mouth, in a convenient position for the
operation of the two pairs of jaws with which they are
provided. The form of this masked jaw is represented,
but not very clearly, in Kennies' "Insect Transformations,'
p. 164.

120

THE WATER CABINET.

When its season of larva life is over, it retires to the
bottom of the vessel to repose, and becomes a pupa.
When the crumpled form of the gaudy fly begins to ex-

TRANSFORMATION OF THE DRAGON FLY.

1. The Fly just emerging. 2. The Fly nearly free, and forming an arch. 3. The Fly
liberated, and with its body bent, to hasten the drying of the wings.

pand within, and to knock at the door of its sepulchre,
the pupa quits the watery element for ever, and betakes

THE WATER CABINET. 121

itself to the dry land, or to the slip of cork placed in the
jar for its use. There, the apparently painful process
of its unfolding takes place, and the fly slowly emerges.
The envelope bursts asunder, and the head of the lovely,
but blood-thirsty damsel, emerges to the light. Next
appear the legs, not in action, but gathered up to the
breast, as if in spasm, and, for a time, the effort is sus-
pended, and the helpless, half-formed beauty hangs back
her head, as if languid with the exhaustion of pain. Once
more she pants for freedom, sighing to sun herself in the
blue ether, and another struggle is made. This time she
clutches at the pupa case with a convulsive grasp, and
drags forth the whole of her delicate body from the grave,
and there remains motionless, still clinging to it, as if
contemplating the baseness of her origin — for beauty is
ever the offsprmg of the dust. She is free at last — but,
ah ! how helpless. Her wings are damp, and closely
folded, and would not yield to the wish for flight, even
were she already possessed of the power to stir them into
action. She is on the threshold of a new world — a crea-
ture bom of the dust, just escaped from the dust ; and
now as we watch her wings dry and expand, away she
goes — a thing of light and loveliness soaring heavenward.
Like the mortal ark, out of which the spirit of man
escapes, we may, without losing sight of the disparity of
the subjects, speak of the chrysalis of the dragon fly as —

" A worn-out fetter, which the soul
Has broken, and thrown away."

122

THE WATEE CABINET.

THE GNAT — Culex pipiens (linn^eus)
In the operation of dragging, -many curious larva are
brought out, and the mud should be searched carefully for
them before washing the net for another cast. The larva

DRAGON FLIES.

a. Virgin Dragon "Fly— Calepteryx Virgo.

b. Green Dragon Fly — JEshna varia.

of the gnat is one of the most interesting of these, and
during summer may be obtained in hundreds if a little of

THE WATER CABINET. 123

the brook water be dipped to fill the jar with, and a few
light weeds thi'own in to supply oxygen. These larva
are the produce of eggs deposited in a curious manner.

The gnats repair to the water soon after day-break,
and commence an operation of a truly naval kind,
such as would have delighted the savage heart of Peter
the Great, could he have witnessed it in the midst of
his dreams of achieving naval power. In fact, the mother
gnats construct rafts of eggs, and each egg is added as a
separate timber of the vessel, till a boat-like structure is
produced. The skill as well as the necessity of the
construction is well tested by the fact that each separate
egg would of itself sink to the bottom, whereas being
protruded one by one into the angle formed by the hind
legs which serve as stocks for the future vessel, and suc-
cessively glued to each other by the fluid which exudes
with them, they gradually assume, under her guidance,
a neat boat-like form of about three hundred minute
pyramidal eggs.

" The most violent agitation," says Elirby, " cannot sink
it, and what is more extraordinary, and a property still a
disideratum in our life-boats, though hollow it never
becomes filled with water, even though exposed."

The grubs at last come forth, and lead a very merry
sort of life under the shadow of the sedges. Placed in
the jars they appear at first sight like newly hatched fry
of fishes, but we soon detect the segments of their pellucid
bodies, and, as might be expected in water larva, they
breathe at the wrong end, and hence most of their merry
movements are performed between the surface and the

124

THE WATER CABINET.

bottom ; every time they descend they carry with them
a minute bubble from the surface. Under a good lens
the pretty creature changes its form considerably, and
comes out in the pantomime style, with huge horns,
goggle eyes, and starched frills of shaggy hair ; but then
the tail becomes the object of attraction, and we watch the
breathing action of the curious funnel which breaks away
at an angle from the last segment of the body.

LARVA OF THE GNAT, NATURAL SIZE AND MAGNIFIED.

Swammerdam first observed that the breathing tube
and tail are both anointed with oil, and that if the larva
is handled roughly the oil is removed, and the grub " can
no longer suspend itself on the surface of the water. I
have, on these occasions, observed it put its tail in its

THE WATER CABINET. 125

mouth, and afterwards draw it back, as a water fowl will
draw its feathers through its bill to prepare them for
resisting water." I have now (July, 1856) some thousands
of the larva of this and other species of gnats, and they are
the most lively creatures in my collection. The flies come
off in large numbers, and escape through the open win-
dow ; or, if the window be closed, they swarm on the
glass, and keep up a musical humming, closely resembling
that of a swarm of bees at a distance.

A more elegant example of this kind of breathing
apparatus is seen in the grub of the two-winged fly,

LARVA OF STRATIOMYS.

Stratiomys Chamceleon. The funnel tail spreads into a
beautiful star of thirty distinct rays, and with this stmc-

126 THE WATER CABINET.

ture, the creature suspends itself to the surface of the
water, as if it were a ceiling, and as it moves to and fro
its changes of position may be noted by the shifting of
the dimple on the surface.

In the little gnat, Corelhra plumicornis (Meigen) we
have some further examples of the peculiar conformation
of the larva, to enable it to respire in the water ; but the
larva is so transparent that it requires an expert micros-
copist, and an effective instrument to work out the details
as represented by Eeaumur and Dr. Goring. The larva
of this species is plentiful in our brooks, and worthy of
close scrutiny by the aid of the microscope. Just now
the gnats are abundant in meadows near streams, and to
them we are indebted for that soft humming which has
been appropriately termed the " music of the wild," and
on which good old Gilbert White exhausted his ingenuity
to find an explanation. The social communities of these
ephemeral creatures are strictly music parties, and when-
ever we suffer them to assemble about our heads, when
rambling in the hedgerows, we are entertained by their
fairy-like performances. Expertum est.

The Case Ply Phryganea grandis. — There are several
species in the family of Phryganea, which is the only
tribe in the order Trichoptera, but such strong resem-
blances exist between the several members of the family
that some entomological experience is necessary to enable
the student to distinguish them. In an aquarium, the
caddis wonns are very amusing, and since they thrive
there, they are very* suitable additions to the happy family.
We see them busy at the bottom, adding fragments of

THE WATER CABINET. 127

weed, pebbles, minute shells, even if the snails within
them are alive, and any small debris that their fingers can
seize hold of. Last season I had amongst a large num-
ber of cads, one that had his case nearly destroyed by
accidentally falling from the table. I removed from him
what remained of his case, and threw him into a jar with
a soldier plant and a few Lymnea. He set to work to
repair his tabernacle, and the Lymnea helped him, for
they nibbled a plant of Stratoides into shreds. These
shreds the cad gathered, and every day he added a fresh
piece, so that, in about ten days, he appeared in a suit of
green, his clothes bulged out to an enormous size, and
eveiywhere studded with points and comers, the most
comical sight that could be imagined. Since he could
find nothing of a small neat pattern, he took what he
could, and became a perfect Jack in the green, nearly an
inch and a half in length, and thicker than a carpenter's
lead pencil.

The movements of these creatures are as comical as
their specimens of tailoring. We see them mounting a
stem or leaf with great gravity, when suddenly up goes
the tail, the legs hold tight, and the case turns completely
over, as if on the first of May, Jack-in-the-green were to
dance on his head. When the creature is hidden, and the
case sways to and fro like a buoy attached by too short a
rope, the sight is very curious. This case-maker is the
larva from a fly which bears resemblances to the two
families which stand on either side of it — the Lepidoptera,
or true buttei-flies, and the Neuroptera, of which the
dragon flies and other membranaceous winged insects are

128

THE WATEE CABINET,

members. As soon as he enters tlie world, lie begins to
show his skill in tailoring, and by means of silken threads
and gluten constructs his case of bits of stick, straw,
dead leaves, or shells, in fact, whatever he can get, and as
long as he retaius the worm-like form the case is his
castle, and he can defy the world. The case outside is
generally a rough affair, but if you draw out the cad you

LARV/t AND IMAGO OF CASE FLY.

will see that inside it is perfectly cylindrical, smooth, and
polished, and around the doorway, through which the
larva makes acquaintance with the world, it is neatly
finished with a very circular rim. When you have re-
moved a cad, if you throw him into a tank you will learn

THE WATEE CABINET.

129

in an instant wliat is the use of his case, for his soft
nakedness is no sooner exposed, than the minnows finish
him, and find the flavour excellent. But to see a cad in
his proper uniform molested is a very rare sight indeed.
He passes his larva life innocently, and is an amusing
fellow ; when he feels the numbness of death creeping over
him, the cad draws in his six legs, and sets to work inside
to weave a winding-sheet and to shut the shutters, for he
knows that his time is come, and there is no one to do
such melancholy offices for him. All alone in his solitary
cell, the hermit works day and night, and hourly his
fingers grow more feeble. We look and find the shutters
closed, and by this time the larva has changed into a pupa.

enough

GRATING OF CASE-WORM, MAGNIFIED.

The mode in which the worm closes its cell is curious
Over its entrance it weaves a grating of silk,
which hardens in water and remains insoluble. It may
be seen very plainly by the naked eye, but under a good
lens increases in interest. The grating is placed a little
inside the margin of the opening, and fits exactly within
it, and its object is to protect the pupa firom invasion.

130 THE WATER CABINET.

and at fhe same time, to admit water for respiration.
De Geer describes one of these gratings in which the
pierced holes were disposed in concentric circles, as repre-
sented ia the engraving. This, however, is not, as far as
I am aware, the usual form of the grating, many that I
have examined vv^ere formed in regular rays from a centre
like the spokes of a wheel.

Eut the escape of the pupa, when about to undergo its
last metamorphosis, is as interesting as the fact of its
closing the shutters to announce its own death. It is
provided wdth a pair of hooked mandibles, with which to
gnaw through the grating, and no sooner have these
accomplished their purpose than they fall off, and the
pupa takes its last shape of a four winged fly, as repre-
sented in the cut.

CHAPTEE V.

COLEOPTERA.

The beetle tribe are distinguished from other insects by

the possession of elytra, or wing-cases ; which wing-
cases are, with regard to the typical structure of an insect,
to be regarded as really the first pair of wings hardened
into a horn-like consistence to protect the others. The
wing-cases are of little or no use in flight, this action
being accomplished by means of the second pair, or the
true wings, which are generally of large size, and when
not in use are neatly folded up beneath the elytra. The
division of the body into three parts — ^head, thorax,
and abdomen — is very plain to the eye ; but the seg-

THE WATER CABINET. 131

ments, of wMcL tbe several parts are composed, are fre-
quently so consolidated that it is difficult to detect or
count them. For instance, the thorax, theoretically,
consists of three segments ; but, practically, the first of
these is usually so largely developed as to appear to con-
stitute the thorax in itself. The (theoretical) nine seg-
ments of the abdomen are, in like manner, reduced to six
or seven, in consequence of the last two or three being
consolidated into one.

The order is an immense one, as to its range and
variety, and hence there are in it many curious exceptions
to the general conformation of a beetle. Some are utterly
incapable of flight, owing to the non-possession of elytra,
or wings ; some have elytra only ; and in some the elytra
meet and unite along the suture ; so that, if the insect
had wings underneath, it would be impossible for it to
use them.

The specimens of coleoptera, kept in the water-cabinet,
are among the most interesting of the whole collection,
whether in the larva or imago form ; and to this order
we are indebted for a large number of aquatic species,
that may be kept in jars, and some few that may be
introduced without danger to the tank.

Dytiscus Margin aus is one of the handsomest of
water-beetles, and its habits are amusing and instructive.
It possesses an insatiable appetite, and great muscular
power, as we soon discover when removing it from one jar
to another, for if it succeeds in planting its claws firmly
on the edge of the vessel, it is difficult to move it. It
belongs to the large tribe of aquatic carnivora, ranged

132

THE WATER CABINET.

in the section Pentamera, in wHcli tlie tarsi of all the
feet are live-jointed, the fourth being of ordinary size.

The Dytiscus is a true water-beetle, being aquatic in
both its larva and perfect forms. The larva, known as
the water-tiger, is found in plenty in the muddy ditches
round London, and is a strong, stubborn, ugly, and
ravenous worm, with a tail formed for respiration, and

DYTISCUS AND LARVA (REDUCED).

curved mandibles to tear its prey to pieces. It is very
active, and may be kept without difficulty ; but nothing
else should be placed in the same jar, unless intended as
food for this savage. A small fish thrown is eagerly
clutched, and held firm by the claws ; and the larva then
plunges its mandibles into it, and is soon buried head-
deep in the mangled body of its prey. I have generally
fed them on beef, but they prefer small fish, or larva of

THE WATER CABINET, 133

the dragon-fly, and do not go througli their metamor-
phosis well without such food.

The imago is a handsome creature, with strong hooked
claws, famished with amber hairs, which, under a lens,
resemble very closely the claws of a crab. The elytra
are beautifully tinted with rich green and bronze, and the
divisions of the head and thorax separated from the abdo-
men by sharp, whitish lines. Small fishes make the best
diet for this beetle ; but as this food fouls the water, it is
best to keep them in clear jars, with a few pebbles and
weeds, and once a week remove them to another vessel,
to be fed. This plan preserves the brightness of the
beetle jar, and prevents the annoyance of effluvia.

Hydrous Piceus. — This is the largest of our native
aquatic beetles, and, with the exception of the stag-
beetle, it exceeds in bulk any other species of indigenous
Coleoptera. It is common in the brooks and ponds in
southern counties, but becomes rare as we travel north-
wards. In the larva state this is a rapacious and blood-
thirsty insect, and of so destructive a character as to
deserve its French name of ver-assassin. In that early
condition it resembles a large soft worm, of a somewhat
conical form, provided with six feet, and having its large
scaly head armed with two formidable jaws. The head
moves with such freedom in aU directions, that it can
readily seize small shell-fish and other mollusca floating
on the surface, without altering the horizontal position of
the body maintained in swimming ; and it is even bent
backwards, and devours its prey more conveniently by
using the back as a kind of support. These larvae swim

134 THE WATER CABINET.

with facility, and have two fleshy appendages at the tail,
by means of which they suspend themselves at the surface
with their heads downwards, when they have occasion to
respire {Cuvier). The beetle differs greatly in habit
from the grub ; it is by no means carnivorous, but quite
harmless, docile, playful, and tameable. It is a noble
creature for the cabinet, and may even be kept in the
Aquarium safely. In its complete form it is as interesting

HYDROUS PICEUS.

for its gentleness as it is in the larva state for its rapacity
and destructiveness. The female spins an elegant and
waterproof cocoon for the reception of its eggs, and when
they are deposited she watches them with a maternal
solicitude not frequently exhibited by creatures of this
family.

THE WATEE CABINET.

135

The hydrous piceus is here represented of the natural
size ; the ground colour is black, with a shade of bronze,
and the margins of the elytra are tinged with green and
purple. Each wing case is marked with dotted Hues, the
breast is dingy yeUow, and the antennae and organs of the
mouth dull red. The legs are black, and the hairs which
fringe the tarsi reddish brown.

CoLYMBETES, of several species, maybe obtained in
plenty from clear brooks in every part of the country.

COLYMBETES.

These are elegantly-formed and lively beetles ; their elytra,
legs, thorax, head, and breast of the same jet-black hue,
and highly burnished, though, when immersed, the breast
and abdomen gUsten with an intensely metallic silvery
lustre, owing to the film of atmospheric air which the
beetle obtains from the surface, and which adheres to the
hairy covering of the abdomen. This silvery species is
here represented in its natural size. They are compara-
tively harmless, though I have just witnessed the demise

136 THE WATER CABINET.

of one tliat was attacked and eaten by his pretty kindred,
the wing-cases and head only remaining to testify of his
former individuality. This is a delicate beetle, that
requires very pure water and a neat arrangement of
aquatic plants, to give foil effect to its beauty as a cabinet
specimen, and, when carefully preserved, a jar of them
forms a conspicuous and attractive object. I have several
specimens of a smaller species in a very fine jar of confer-
voids; they are incessantly in motion, threading their
way through the interstices of the delicate vegetation in
a business-like way, that seems to say, "I'm on an
important errand — have not a moment to lose, and, above
all things, I must take care of the bubble of air that
sticks to my tail."

Gyrinus Natatoe. — This is a member of an interest-
ing and pretty family. Gyrinus takes its name from the
tendency most of the beetles of the tribe have to move in
circles, and this particular species exemplifies the habit of
the tribe in a very striking manner. It is a very sociable
beetle, always found in company with others of its kindred,
forming little communities, which pass their time in
whirling and spinning upon the surface of still pools, like
congregations of dancing dervishes. They are as shy as
they are nimble, and it requires some dexterity to net
them, for they dive and scatter on the approach of a foot-
step ; but if the observer remains quiet a few minutes by
the water's edge, or on a plank or bridge above the pool,
they soon resume their gambols under his eye, and in the
sunshine appear like minute buttons of burnished metal
rapidly revolving or darting to and fro upon the surface,

THE WATER CABINET.

137

and for a length of time, that proves them to be by no
means subject to giddiness.

The species of Gyrinus are not numerous in Britain,
not more than eight being known to naturalists ; but the
paucity of species is compensated by the profiiseness of
the individuals, and of these natator is the most abundant.

GYRINUS NATATOR.

When placed under a lens, this beetle bears the form
represented in the next page. The colour is blue-black,
with a resplendent metallic lustre, in which shades
of copper, silver, and bronze occur, as we view it at
various angles to the rays of light. The thorax is marked
with three transverse lines on each side, of which the

138 THE WATER CABINET.

anterior one is punctured, and runs parallel with the
margin. The elytra are turned in at the sides, and the
surface of each is marked with eleven striae or longitudinal
lines, composed of minute punctures. The terminal seg-
ment of the abdomen, together with the legs, are of a
rust-red.

If we inquire by what means it is enabled to perform
its elegant performances on the water, and \vhich veiy
closely resemble those of a skilful skater on the ice, we

find that its structure is eminently fitted for such peculiar
movements. In the first place, the antennae are short and
thick ; if they protruded forward to a great length, as in
Longicornes, they would seriously impede the freedom of
action, which is the life and joy of this nimble fellow.
They are clavate, and consist of seven closely-jointed rings,
each antenna being attached by a slender peduncle to the
upper and internal edge of a large radical joint furnished
with an auricle at its outer side, which, like the lid of a
box, shuts in the antennae when unemployed, and protects

THE WATER CABINET. 139

them from tlie water {Kirhy). The anterior legs are long,
and formed for walking or to act as instruments of pre-
hension ; the four hinder ones are very short, and ciliated
externally, bearing a strong resemblance to the paddle of
an oar. " The head is sunk in the thorax as far as the
eyes, and the latter are divided by a process from the
anterior part of the head, in such a manner that there
appear to be two eyes above and two below — a mode of
structure admirably adapted to the wants of the insect,
which requires at the same time to observe objects both
in the air and water." The hinder legs are capable of a
free oar-like action, which render this gyrinus the most
expert of swimmers, and the circular movements are
accomplished by the more rapid action of the oars on one
side than on the other. So equipped, the whirlwig leads a
merry life ; he skates away fr*om morning to night, never
in fear of being drowned, and seemingly never tired.

CHAPTEE YI.

HETEEOPTERA.

In the Cuvierian arrangement the land and water bugs
stand between the true beetles and butterflies, and in those
members of the order which possess wings, the chief cha-
racteristic is, that the anterior pair fold nearly horizon-
tally, partly lapping over each other, and are of a leathery
texture at the base. The majority of the members of the
order are inhabitants of tropical climates, and some of
them display colours equal to those of the true beetles.
Not a few have the power of emitting powerful odours, in

140 THE WATEE CABINET.

some cases of an agi'eeable nature, and in others — as tlie
common bed bug — of a most disgusting nature. The order
readily separates itself into t-wo great divisions — namely,
the Geocoristti or Land Bugs, and the Hydrocorisaj or
Water Bugs. Both divisions supply a few specimens for
the Water Cabinet, but the most important are those
belonging to the second class.

Among the first class in this order the most interesting
is Hydrometra stagnorum, or the Water-measurer, which
may be seen treading the surface of still brooks and rank
pools in summer-time, in company with swarms of
tipulidan gnats (Chironomi), whirlwigs, and two other
aquatic bugs, the Gerris locustris and the Felia currens
of Latrielle. The Hydrometra is a lively creature, a body
so slender as to be little more than a black line half an
inch in length, from which the long and angularly-jointed
legs proceed in regular pairs. Under the microscope the
divisions of the body are very plainly and prettily marked,
and the terminal processes of the legs are made after the
model of those water-shoes with which a certain clever
Norwegian lately undertook to walk on water with nearly
as much ease as on land. Whether the mechanician ever
succeeded in this enterprise is not on record, but it is on
record in the Book of Nature that this, and many other
similarly-formed creatures, have found on the aqueous
element a safe flooring for their feet ever since the first
hour of creation, ere He who equipped them, had sent his
Son to walk upon the waves.

Notanecta and Nepa are of the same order, but are
true water-bugs, formed for diving and sub- aqueous life.

THE WATER CABINET. 141

The Notanecta^ or Boat-fly, is a rapacious creature, that
spends much of its time lying in wait for prey, but which
exhibits immense activity when it captures its booty,
darting down with it, and holding it fiimly by the fore-
legs, which are formed as claws. It is ingeniously
adapted for the predaceous aquatic life it leads ; the
general form is well adapted for propulsion through
water, and the hinder legs have an oar-like form, and are
fringed with bristles along the edge, by which their
striking surface is much increased. The boat-fly is an
artistic swimmer ; it varies its motions considerably, and
delights in swimming on its back, a feat in which it is
aided by its eyes being so placed as to enable it to see
both above and below, and thus gain early intelligence of
danger, or of the approach of its prey. Owing to their
liveliness and voracity, they afford much interest when
domesticated, and should be treated as directed for
Dytiscus.

The Water Scorpion is a good representative of the
NepidcB, and has the distinguishing features of its tribe
very strongly marked. The Water Scorpion is a very
common inhabitant of our brooks, and its singular form
quickly arrests the eye of the sportsman when turning
over the contents of the drag-net. N. neptunia and
N. cinerea are, perhaps, the most common ; and either of
these is an admirable object for the microscope. The
water-scorpion is the victim of the parasitic water-mite
{Hydrachna ahstergens), which inserts its egg in the
body of the Nepa, and thus compels it to support the
young of its worst enemy, a task which it performs at the

142

THE WATER CABINET.

cost of its life. I have several times introduced the

Hydrachna into my jars of Nepa, but have never yet
witnessed the parasitic deposit of the eggs. In confine-
ment, the Nepa is the least hardy of any creature in the
collection, if the sun strikes the jar it perishes, and it
will not live long unless it has means of occasionally
leaving the water — hence a broad jar should be used for
it, and a small piece of pumice stone should be floated in
it, to form an island on which the insects may take
refuge.

THE WATEE CABINET. 143

CHAPTER YH.

THE FROG. — NOTES ON MANAGEMENT.

The Erog. — The Ranidce or true frogs, and the BufoidcB
or toad tribe, contribute, whether in the larva or perfect
form, some very lively, entertaining, and instructive
specimens. I am sorry that my space is so limited as to
prevent the insertion here of such full notices as this
subject deserves, and must content myself by assuring the
reader that but little progress can be made in the study
of Zoology without a patient study of the history of the
frog.

During the spring and summer the brooks abound
with what boys call *' loggerheads,'* or tadpoles j these
are the larva of the frog. They may be caught easily,
and preserved in jars of growing weed, for observation of
their development. I have now (August 18th,) several
specimens of Bufoidce, in which even the first stage of
metamorphosis has not commenced, though, since June,
some hundreds of toads and frogs have attained complete-
ness in my vessels, many of which are now inmates of the
garden, some of them exceedingly tame.

In the Qgg state we find abundance, during April, in
every pond and brook, adhering in gelatinous masses to
the under leaves of aquatic plants. The eggs gradually
acquire a dark tint, and at last the young " tads '* emerge,
and begin their quiet existence in this first rudimental
form. In this state they are very lively in their motions,
the eyes are very distinctly visible, and the mouth is

144

THE WATER CABINET.

placed, as it were, on the breast. They are not wholly
herbivorous ; for though they nibble the fronds of Riccia
and threads of Conferva, they do not scruple to eat their
dead kindred, and half a dozen may be seen engaged upon
the carcase of a defunct brother. In this stage the gills form
a fine microscopic object. As the " tad " increases in bulk,
the hinder part of the body swells, and at last the budding
of the hind legs may be distinctly seen. These at last
acquire some degree of completeness, and then the other

pair of legs sprout in a similar manner, and the tail
begins to shrink rapidly as the general bulk of the reptile
increases. The gills now rapidly disappear^ and the
body grows at the expense of the tail, and before the
latter appendage is completely extinguished, the juvenile
Ranus takes his first dose of atmospheric air, by mount-
ing a leaf of frog-bit or a slice of cork. He now leads
an amphibious life, and at last quits the water altogether,
climbs up the glass side of the tank or jar, and escapes,

THE WATER CABINET. 145

unless confined by a glass lid or gauze. But he is now
a true frog, delicately mottled, agile in his movements,
very clever in jumping and swim-
ming — his tadpole tail entirely ab-
sorbed, and his whole system me-
tamorphosed. If he interested us
before, he is still more interesting
now, for in the structure and
economy of his frame Nature reveals
phenomena typical of animal life in all its orders and
gradations. Hence the frog is the victim of the philoso-
pher ; he suffers spasm under the galvanic wire, blindness
under the glare of the microscope lamp, tetanus through
being dosed with strychnine, and innumerable other
agonies in which operators detect analogies that throw a
light on the fundamentals of animal life, and that even
aid in the explanation of the subtle organism of man
himself.

Management of the Cabinet.— The instmctions
already given for the management of Aquaria will be
found to embrace most of the points involved in the
management of beetle and larva jars, for these are but
Aquaria on a smaller scale. The chief matter is to
separate the species as much as possible, so that the car-
nivorous kinds shall not destroy the harmless ones ; and
on this plan the study of each kind is greatly facilitated.
Since the jars afford the best means for the culture of
choice aquatic specimens of the various kinds of Riccia,
Conferva, Nitella, Lemna,Siud other minute water-weeds
may be used for maintaining the necessary balance in

146 THE WATER CABINET.

each, and if some of the vessels are filled with brook-
water only, the student v*dll come into possession of many
beaatiful specimens of both animal and vegetable life, the
search for the names and histories of which will be even
more profitable than the contemplation of their beauty.
The first specimen I ever possessed of the beautiful con-
fervoid Hydrodictyon niriculatum was obtained in this
way — the water, after depositing a green sediment, gave
birth to a rich net-work of vegetation, in which this
conferva was conspicuous. Several of the jars which I
prize the most are those which have been simply filled at
the brook side, and left for the minute germs of animal
and vegetable life to develope in their own way, and it is
not long before a rich growth takes place, that affords
abundant material for observation with the microscope.
Feeding is necessar}^ only in the case of carnivorous larva
and beetles, and for these small fish is imdoubtedly the
best ; the herbivorous creatures supply themselves. As a
general rule the water in the jars should never be changed;
it is by leaving things to themselves that the best display
is to be obtained, especially if chara and other low forms
of vegetation are preserved.

Nitella is almost too delicate for the tank, but an
admirable plant for growth in jars in which cabinet
specimens of larvas are kept. I rarely place it in the
aquarium, considering it too choice a thing, its delicate
structure rendering it barely perceptible amidst the more
luxuriant growths with which it gets entwined. Still, it
does well there, but cannot be studied unless a bunch is
placed in a glass jar for separate culture. It consists

THE WATER CABINET.

147

only of joints and threads of a pale, but pleasing, green,
grows rapidly, and gives out abundance of the vital
phlogiston, about which aquarians are compelled to say
so much.

The microscope at once increases a hundred fold the
pleasure of instruction which the cabinet is capable of
aifording us. For the minuter forms of animal life,
and for observing the circulation in the frog, or in vallis-
neria, &c., a good compound microscope is necessary.
But for ordinary purposes, I shoidd recommend a Cod-
dington lens, or the pocket Aquarian lenses, sold by

Mr. Cox, of 100, Newgale Street. They are made of
three powers, fitting into a case, and may be used sepa-
rately, or combined according to circumstances. The one
here figured costs 7s. 6d., but a cheap common lens, fitted

148 THE WATER CABINET.

with frame and handle, may be had of Mr. Cox for from
half-a-crown to five shillings.

The present work does not afford me space to discuss
the educational and ornamental uses of the aquarium, and
I have confined myself to its mere elements, dealing with
those in a way that I think will be most useful to be-
ginners. The aquarium has uses of a higher character
than such as may suggest themselves by the perusal of
these few pages, and is capable of extension so as to com-
bine with it the most attractive features of the wardian
case, and, to some extent, a vivarium for a selection of
amphibious and true land animals. These matters are
pretty fully discussed in my work on Rustic Adornments,
to which I have already called the reader's attention, and
to its pages I once more refer for more extended informa-
tion on this and other subjects of a kindred nature.

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NIGHT AND THE SOUL;

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NEW WORK BY SHIRLEY HIBBERD.

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THE BOOK OF THE AQTJAEIUil

AND WATER CABINET;

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BY SHIRLEY HIBBERD,

Author of "Eustic Adornments for Homes of Taste," etc., etc.

CONTENTS,

TEE FIlESH-"WATEil TANK.

Chapter I.— What is as- Aquakium ? The Ifame and Object — Philosophy
of the Aquarium.

Chaptek II. — Pkopek Kixds ov Vessels. Eectangrflar Tanks— Con-
struction of Tanks — ^Yariagton's Stope-back Tank — Bell Glasses and
Yases — Stands for Vases.

CflAPTEu III. — FiTTixG-up— EocKWOBK. The Bottom — Mould— Planting
— The Water— Aspect.

Chaptee IV.— Plaxts foktheAqtjaeicm. How to stock a Tank quickly —
Selection of Plants— Water Soldier — Startwort— Vallisneria — Ana-
charis — Myriophyllum — Potamogeton — Xuphar Lutea — Pipewort —
TJtricularia — Isopelis — Subularia — Eanunculus — Hydrocaris — Alisma —
Lemna, etc.

Chapter V. — Fishes for the AQUAEirsi. Cyprinus Carpio, Gibelio,
Carassius, Auratus, Brama, Leucisus, Eutilus, Alburnus, Phoidnus,
Gobio, Tinea, Barbus, Barbatula, Cephalus— Percida; — Gasterosteus.

Chapter VI,— Eeptiles, Mollusks, a^d I>-sects.

Chapteb VII. — Sei.ectioj^' of Stock.

Chapter VIII.— General Maxagement. Feeding— Confervas— Use of
Mollusks — Objections to Mollusks — Use of Confervoid Growths — Peri-
odical Cleansing— Exhaustion of Oxygen — Temperature — Dead Speci-
mens — Disease of Fishes.

THE MAEIInTE TANK.

Chapter I. — The Vessel. Points in which the Marine differs firom the
Eiver Tank — Stained Glass.

Chapter II. — Fittiitg-up. The Bottom — Eocks, Arches, and Cares — The
Water — Artificial Sea Water — Marine Salts — Management of Artificial
Vi^ater — Caution to the Uninitiated — Filtering.

Chapter III= — Collecting Specimens.

Chapter IV. — The Plants.

Chapter V. — The Animals. Fishes — Mollusks — Annelides — Zoophytes —
Actinia Mesembryantheuium — Anguicoma, Bellis, Gemmacea, Crassicor-
nis. Parasitica, Dianthus, etc.

Chapter VI. — What is Anemone ?

Chapter VII.— General Management. Grouping of Objects — Sulphu-
retted Hydrogen — Preservation of the Water — Aeration — Filter — Decay
of Plants — Death of Anemones — Eemoval of Objects — Density of the
Water— Green Stain— Feeding— The Syphon— Piu-chase of Specimens.

THE -WATER CABINET.

Chapter I. — Constkection of Cabinets. Distinctions between the Cabi-
net and the Aquarium — Construction of a Cabinet — Glasses.

Chapter II. — Collecting and Arranging Specimens. Implements for
Collecting Xets, Jars, and Phials — Pond Fishing.

Chapter III.— The Stock,

Chapter IV.— Larva. The Dragon Flv— The Gnat— The Case Ylv.

SCHOOL BOOES AND MAPS.

Published by Authority of the Commissioners of National
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TITLES OF THE BOOKS.
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SECOND BOOK OF LESSONS. ISmo, cloth.
SEQUEL TO SECOND BOOK. No. 1, ISmo, cloth.
SEQUEL TO SECOND BOOK. No. 2, ISmo, cloth.
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FOURTH BOOK OF LESSONS. 12mo, cloth.
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FIFTH BOOK OF LESSONS. 12mo, cloth.
READING BOOK FOR FEMALE SCHOOLS. 12ino, cloth.
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES OF BRITISH POETS. 12mo, cloth.
SELECTIONS FROM THE BRITISH POETS, Vol. 1. 12mo, cloth.
DITTO DITTO Vol. 2. 12mo, cloth.

INTRODUCTION TO THE ART OF READING. 12mo, cloth.
EPITOME OF GEOGRAPHY. 12mo, cloth.
COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY. ISmo, cloth.
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FIRST BOOK OF ARITHMETIC. ISmo, cloth.
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ARITHMETIC IN THEORY AND PRACTICE, 12mo, cloth.
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MENSURATION, GAUGING, LAND SURVEYING, etc. 12mo, cloth.
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SCRIPTURE LESSONS, OLD TESTAMENT. No. 1, 12mo, cloth.
DITTO DITTO No. 2, 12mo, cloth.

SCRIPTURE LESSONS, NEW TESTAilENT. No. 1, 12mo, cloth.
DITTO DITTO No. 2, 12mo, cloth,

SACRED POETRY. ISmo, wrapper.

LESSONS ON THE TRUTH OF CHRISTIANITY. ISmo, boards.
AGRICULTURAL CLASS BOOK. 12mo, cloth.
FARM ACCOUNT BOOK, 4to, half-bound.
TREATISE ON NEEDLEWORK. Small 4to, half-bound.
TABLET LESSONS, ARITHMETIC. Sixty Sheets.
DITTO DITTO Mounted on 30 Pasteboards.

TABLET LESSONS, SPELLING & READING, 33 Sheets.
DITTO DITTO Mounted on 17 Pasteboards.

COPY LINES, ALL THE GRADATIONS. Six Sheets.

SCHOOL-ROOM MAPS, MOUWl

Ft. In. Ft. In.
World 6 8 by 3 6

CED ON CANVAS & ROLLERS.

Ft. In. Ft. In

Ireland 4 4 by 5 8

Australia 5 8„4 4

Pacific Ocean 5 8 .. 4 4

Europe 5 8 „ 4 4

Asia 8 „ 4 4

Africa 4 4 „ 5 8

United States

.... 5 8 „ 4 4

America 4 4 ,, 5 8

England 4 4 „ 5 8

Scotland 5 4 „ 5 8

Geological Map of the British Isles

Ancient World

Palestine

British Isles

.... 5 8 „ 4 4
.... 4 4„ 5 8
.... 7 4 „ 8
4 4„5 8

LONDON: GROOMBRIDGE & SONS, 5, PATERNOSTER-ROW.

Twenty Years Agents to the Board of Education. Lists of Prices forwarded
on application.

Thomas Ilarrilcl, Printer, 11, Salisl)ury-sq.,Fleet-st., and Silver-st., Falcou-sq., Londi.

CC/IC7 UC** ^°"' ^°'^"*«=a' Garden Library

or4o/ .no Qgp

H'bberd Shirley/The book of the aquariu

3 5185 00132 8333

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CoCiKri

Made In Italy

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