The Aquarium 3/34 1895

C<yvVi'^.J^U

No. 34.

m

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sermons

in stones,

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HUGO MULERTT, BROOKLYN, Copyright.

N. Y.

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EDWARD

ADDRESS,

SCHMID,

S. AQUARIUM DEPOT,

Washington,

No. 712 Tweirtn street, N. w.,

p. c.

NICHOLAS WAPLER, IMPORTER OF

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Manufacturer of Round, Oval and Square Glass Shades, Fish Globes, Aquaria, Glass Jars and Floating Animals.

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008 Penn A v., Pittsburgh, Pa, LAURA ESPICH, Manager.

I

m

Vol.

JANUARY,

III.

Copyright

1894.

THE STICKLEBACK.

of

five or six species of the stic-

klebacks that live in American waters, the Gasterosteus aculeatus or two-spined Stickleback

is,

as far as our experience

most interesting one for the fresh water Aquarium.

We have pairs of them building nests and hatching out their young in our tanks every spring, and as we can approve to the description given by Dr. Lankester, of England, we give his article. He says "T mention this little fish first, because I think he has claims to the rank Whether we i*eof the king of fishes. gard his high organization, his courgoes, the

:

ageous nature, his domestic habits, his varied instincts, his power of living in all

waters, at

all telpijDeratures,

he

is

fairly entitled to take the first jDlace

among imal

and high rank in the anAnd where is this wonder-

fishes,

scale.

ful fish to be got

pond

?

The

nearest jjool

or ditch that has life in

to have sticklebacks in

it.

it, is

sure

Take a walk any country

on the nearest road out of town, and the chances are that the first boy you meet with a blacking bottle or a pickle jar in his hand, has got stickle-

backs in

it.

They

are the

first

game

sportsman

the youthful

Great Britain.

(Gasterosieics.)

Of the

No.

1895.

84.

All Rights Reserved.

You need

all

over

not catch

them yourself a penny will buy a score of them from any of these urchins.

But should you wish to catch them for ;

â&#x20AC;&#x201D;

always a great pleasure, and an art to be cultivated â&#x20AC;&#x201D; then a handnet will take them by dozens but this is a cowardly, wholesale way.

If you wish for 'sport' at the same time, you will angle for them, not, however, with yourself

;

The

cruel hooks.

stickleback

is

much

and incautious a fellow to hook. A little red worm, at the

too brave

need a end of a

twine,

jiiece of

necessary to secure him.

is

all

that

is

Once having

the worm, he never lets go, though you drag him out of one element When you have secured into another. your stickleback, you must not inconseized

him with other fishes. have asserted that he is a royal fish, and you will soon discover that he will No sooner is he fairly bear no rivals. free in your Aquarium than he recommences his reign and not always, I siderately place I

must confess,

of the mildest sovereignty.

you put him with you will find them all dead in the morning. Sad disemboweled by the use of spectacle

The chances

fish

of

his

I

are, if

own

size,

THE AQUARIUM, JANUARY,

146

our pet's spine upon his neighbor's stomachs, their eyes picked out as delimorsels

cate

for

his

morning meal.

This, therefore, must be a warning to

you

;

if

you have but one

jar,

and wish

to keejD sticklebacks you will probably

not have an opportunity of keeping any other fish, of his own size at least. " But he will repay you for his disposition.

He has all the ways of other Look fishes, and many more besides. into your tank is one there see, larger than the rest; he is clothed in a coat of mail, like a knight of old, and it is resplendant with purple and gold.

â&#x20AC;&#x201D;

eggs,

1895.

and having done

care of

them

this, resigns the

to our hero of the purple

and gold, who watches over them with an anxiety that no other male in creation but the male stickleback seems to know.

He fans and freshens the water with his fins, and at last, when the young are hatched, watches over their attempt at swjmming with the greatest

Nor

anxiety.

is

this habit confined to

A

the fresh water sticklebacks.

writing to

lady,

me from Aberdeen, and

scribing her aquarium says

' :

de-

A fifteen-

spined stickleback [Gasterosteus spinach ea) constructed a nest on a piece of

The Two-Spined Stickleback.

how his eye glisten, and with every movement present a new color. He is See

a male

the king of your

fish,

He

shoal.

has important

little

offices

to

Presently, in the course of

perform.

you watch him, and are fortunate, you will see this wonderful little fish engaged in the most useful

a few days

manner

if

He

in building a nest.

first

hold of one little bit of weed, then of another, and carries them all

seizes

to "some

nest

is

safe

built.

gently allures

made home.

corner,

till

at

last

his

Having done this, he his mate to their new Here she deposits her

which was covered with a fine green seaweed, and laced altogether with a long thread, composed, api)arrock,

ently,

of

some

afterwards,

for

The

secretion.

about

the

space

fish

of

three weeks, watched the nest, never

leaving

it

of driving

at all,

save for

away other

the purpose

fish,

when they

approached too near. When a stick was introduced into the vicinity of the nest, the fish would fly, open-mouthed, to attack it, and would bite it with At the expiragreat apparent fury. tion of the above named time, the young fry made their appearance by

THE AQUARIUM, JANUARY, hundreds; but I am sorry to say they soon disappeared, being devoured by the other tacles

fish,

the

of

and caught by the tensea anemones.

The

mother-fish continued her attendance at the nest as long as any of the

fry were

young

147

them, however, become young fish.

Considering that one male takes the eggs of four to five females in one nest, and after these deposits are hatched goes to ''housekeeping" again until the hot weather approaches, he can get

up a

left.'

1895.

numerous family

pi'etty

in one

" The stickleback is very tenacious of life, and will live out of water for

season.

was watching, a few mornings since, on the sea shore, where some fishermen had left the

The

engaged in nest-building in one of our tanks had, having the first pick, used up

refuse of their nets the night before;

the

several hours.

all

the animals

I

were dead, except a

solitary stickleback,

and being placed off again as

who

in the

still

survived

sea, scuttled

through nothing had hap-

The

pened.

fresh water species are taken at sea at the mouths of rivers; and Sir Edward Belcher informs me that he took a specimen whilst dredging at sea during the last Polar voyage."

ofte?!

A

water temperature of 60 to 70 degrees F. seems to be the most favorable

during breeding time. If possible, each male should be supplied with two females.

After the female has deposited the eggs and left the nest the male chases her away from the nest and

enters

two

it

himself, remaining in

to three minutes.

it

from

After this he

closes the hole out of

which they had

and takes

his position be-

left the nest

fore the entrance, fanning the eggs day

and night, only leaving them

to inspect

the surroundings or to drive away an

enemy. He takes the eggs out of the nest from time to time to assort them, carrying away the bad ones, and placing the good ones back in the nest. This is done some days four times.

The number of eggs in one deposit of a female is from thirty to forty, and about five such deposits are made in intervals â&#x20AC;˘of about a week only two-thirds of ;

Sticklebacks are very intelligent first

best

Stickleback

fish.

that

building material

;

when he

had completed building, hardly any was left. A second one which now commenced to build had no other chance to get choice material than by stealing it from the nest of the other.

To

that effect he

made himself appear

too busy to notice anything else than his

own

nest

â&#x20AC;&#x201D; but as soon as

the other

stickleback left his nest to go in search for this or that in order to still

prove on

" im-

the other end of the tank to "court," he would sneak through the cavity of the rock work, taking advantage of every stoue or it," or to

behind and keeping bottom at the same time, to the other one's nest.

There no time was lost he tore off what he found was most useful and with a big mouthful of building material he would return just as carefullv over the same sneak road to his own nest, which was a much greater distance than the ordinary honest road. Once he was caught in the act of stealing and a fearful fight followed, which lasted about five minutes, and which was finally decided by the females who took part with the thief and drove the other back to his estate.

The twelfth day after the eggs are plant

to

hide

closely to the

;

deposited, the

young

fish

make their now be

appearance; the old ones should

taken away from them, as they will eat

THE AQUARIUM, JANUARY,

148

them, and placed in another aquarinm, About half well stocked with plants. an hour after introduction into their

new home they begin to build a new But now not so much pains are nest. taken in constructing it; perhaps that in higher temj^erature, it being springnow, the eggs need less protection.

THE YELLOW OR RING-PERCH. {Perca Flavescens.)

The in

perch,

if

not of too large

size,

which case he would be dangerous to

his neighbors,

is

exceedingly well suited

to the aquarium, both

on account of

1895.

damp moss, and if not sold, taken back and put into the pond again. Theperch frequently attains four pounds in Donovan, in weight, or even more. his " History of British Fishes," saysthey have been taken from Bala Lake weighing five pounds and it is stated ;

by Yarrell, that a gentleman residing near Dudley took one six pounds in weight from the Birmingham canal.

Colonel Montague records the capture of a perch of still greater size, stating that one was taken in the Avon, in Wiltshire, with a night-line, baited for a pike, which weighed eight pounds, dimensions which Pennan's famous

Yellow Perch.

and his susceptibility of being tamed, to say nothing of his handsome appearance.

Perch have been known to breed in small vases, and there is little doubt that they might, with only ordinary care, his robust constitution,

bring up a numerous family in a wellmanaged aquarium. They are so hardy that they live for water,

and revive

Avithout

much

many hours out of when put in again

appearing to have sustained In Catholic countries,

injury.

where fresh fish are much more prized than with us, fine perch are often brought to market and exposed for some hours on open stalls, upon a little

specimen considerably exceeded, the one he records as taken in the Serpentine weighing nine pounds. This must have been a magnificent fish, but it is stated by Block that a head of a perch in the church at Luehlah, in Lapland, measuring nearly twelve inches from gill cover.

This, howmust doubtless be the head of some allied species, and not our common perch probably the last of some

the nose to the ever,

;

now extinct species.

The coloring of a healthy and marked perch is very back and upper parts

striking.

are

well

The

of a rich

olive-brown, variegated by several broad

THE AQUARIUM, JANUARY, bands of a dark, purplish hue. These upper tones pass into rich golden tints, which grow gradually paler till they

149

1895.

have dreamt of without some previous knowledge concerning them.

AN OLD FRIEND

become nearly white underneath. The and caudal fins are bright

IN A

NEW

ROLE.

ventral, anal

orange, the others different shades of

ANACHARIS CANADENSIS AS A DISIN-

brown, the dorsal ones being marked with a few black spots.

Specimens of the perch are occasionally found nearly white in ponds imjDregnated with the particles from par-

one good to hear occasionally a good word regarding an old friend.

Some twenty years ago we were in certain localities of the Ohio Valley

ticular soils, and they retain this color €ven when removed to other waters. A white perch would form a splendid ad-

dition to the aquarium, but such a prize

FECTANT. It does

attracted by the luxuriant growth of a species of aquatic plant.

The Striped Top-Minnow of the Ohio Valley and a Anacharis Canadensis.

but rarely to be met with. It should be observed here that fish jDlaced along with the perch should be of nearly or

is

•quite his

own

think

tom appear

submerged miniature

closer

inspection

we

terribly pis-

desirable to

know some-

canadensis or Eloclea alstnastruni of others).

But little was known then

he

regarding

their habits, qualities, history, etc., the

son

shall find

them surrounded

its

properties except that

it

was a very troublesome water- weed, obstructing navigation and for that reathe characteristic

pest was given

with pleasing and instructive associa-

country

and capable of inspiring many kinds of interest which we should not

tists

tions,

like a

Upon

forest.

thing of the character and antecedents before introducing fish into an aquarium, as the more we know respecting

more we

op

is

size, as

it

Spric;

(Natui-al Size.)

found that this jolant was the much {Anacharis pest " despised " canal

•civorous.

We

The growth

below the water surface, covering the bottom densely, made the bot-

as seen

it

who

it.

name

of canal

In Europe, to which

had been brought by

use

in the leaves

it

scien-

to study the circulation

under the microscope,

it

THE AQUARIUM, JANUARY,

150

was soon also condemned, Germany even going so far about ten years ago as to offer a

premium

plan to exterminate

The of

for a successful

it.

around smooth, round stems, the

latter

directions, soon form-

all

little

We introduced

wilderness in the water.

in our tanks, and also where it proved itself a very powerful oxygenator and great fish food AV'e used it especially when producer. fixing up hospital tanks, as it seemed to impart new life to sick fish, and when, years ago, the so-called " Lob-

plague" destroyed nearly every fresh water lobster throughout Germany, a calamity through which about ster

1,400 families lost their income, we recommended the planting of anacharis

In one of the recent numbers of Die Deutsche Fischerei Zeitung we read that Dr. Brandes, of the Health

the once so

made

much

Com-

the discovery that despised canal pest

(Elodea canadensis) destroying

purifier,

is

a great water

many

microbes, especially those

injurious

that cause

Typhus, Cholera and Malaria.

Dr. B.

has the plant under observation since 1886, and he finds that localities in which dysentery and chills and fever were a standing plague are now, since anacharis has been introduced into the ponds and ditches of these sections, entirely free from these diseases. Cuttings of this plant have been sent to Java, S. E. Africa, to the Congo and other sections where malaria abounds, for acclimation, and the results, it is

One

of the supplying pipes of

the

city water works in a city in Germany needed frequent cleaning of the rapid growing water weeds. Several efforts to give the pipe a thorough cleaning

seems that the

many

learned

failed, until a

man was

men

struck with the

make

capital idea to use a fish to

a

A connection with the two tanks. carp was put into a small vessel, and on his dorsal-fin a thin but strong line,, which was varnished, to prevent the water from soaking into it, and thus

making fastened.

it

too heavy for the

The

close to the pipe

The

and the

fish, was-

now held

was

vessel

fish

entered

it.

distance he had to travel was six feet.

He had

to

go straight

forward, as his size prevented to turn himself around.

him him

Several times

was noticed, by the line, that he when he had reached the second half of the distance he had to travel the water has a stronger fall, and he did not try to stop any more. He arrived at the other end after two hours, with the line still attached ta his dorsal fin.

He was very weak from A stronger his work, and easily caught. rope was now pulled through the pipe, and with this a wire cable was put there stationary, on which brushes can be run through when necessary. The poor carp did not live long enough to be used as the customary Christmas dish,, but had to be killed soon after he had performed his valuable service.

it

stopped, but

Did you pay your

claimed, are already noticeable."

It

A CARP IN CITY SERVICE.

hundred

in the infected waters as a remedy.

mission, has

much im-

portance into the aquatic flora should be silenced in view of such facts.

it

in our ponds,

**

with placing entirely too

it, with the eyes was a beautiful,

graceful plant of a brilliant green color, the leaves arranged in sets of threes

ing quite a

years ago used to charge the writer

we saw

plant, as

a fish-culturist,

shooting in

who

1895.

cription to

last

year's

The Aquarium

?

sub-

THE AQUARIUM, JANUARY,

WINDOW CONSERVATORIES.

151

1895.

plants growing at the bottom. trickling

is

Of window ferneries we have seen few better than those in the coffee-

is

room at the City of London Club, near Bank of England. The room is

sized mirror placed

the

sixty feet

long,

thirty feet high, is

a

a

miniature

plants,

is

window

;

seen in a good

diagonally across

the further left angle of the case, ap-

wide, and

parently at the end of a deep cave, the

end there

edges of the reflecting glass being con-

at each

and

a

conservatory

foliage

of

and a different appearance

is

Each window- sash

four feet six

is

inches wide by five feet high

;

but this

does not indicate the size of the fern-

which are eight

feet

nected with the rock work which

wide and

seven feet high near the window-pane,

is

covered with ferns.

Another has for its central object a young plant of Cibotium princeps, under the gracefully arching fronds, of which a little fountain mimics the fine

curves of the fern above.

presented by each of them.

eries,

it

thirty feet

window upon either side of the fire place. The lower halves of these four windows open into it,

close to the left side of the

but a reflection of

and

central mantelpiece, with a large

mirror over

This

not seen unless the observer

In this con-

servatory two pieces of reflecting glass are inserted in the rock

work

at

the

extreme right, the other on the extreme left, the result of which arrangement is that the sides of the conservatory are repeated, and that back, one on the

with a glass roof sloping off to six feet They are four in height at the back.

the conservatory appears to be twice as

feet deep.

deep as

We

are careful in giving these di-

mensions,

window conserva-

because

tories are too often constructed of just

the same width as the window and with the bottom on the same level with

it

The

really

is.

a deep aquarium, through which a stream of fresh water flows, entering below and oveiflowing The rock into a cavern on one side. work is here arranged so as to carry out

third

has

In those here figured the window-sill. the space for growing ferns extends for

the leading idea of a large pool, the

more than eighteen inches on

another pool which

either

surplus water of which descends into is

out of sight, and

side of the

window, so that large plants can then be used, and portions only of

the contents of the upper pool are ren-

them contribute to the general effectin the room â&#x20AC;&#x201D; an important advantage, which could not be otherwise obtained.

plate glass on the side nearest to the

of the conservatory

just in front of the spectator, the water

Again, the depth below the window-sill is another great advantage, since it permits the use of much taller plants than could otherwise be employed.

One of the conservatories has on

its

right a series of pocket-like pools on the face of the rocks, with a stream trickling

down from

another, until

it

is

one

lost

pool

to

amongst the

dered visible through a sheet of stout

window.

The fourth has

a dashing cascade

upon a shallow ledge oi rock, which causes a greater splash than if There is much less it fell into a pool. light in the last two cases than in the others, owing to the nearer proximity of tall buildings, and consequently the falling

neither so varied nor so luxThis drawback is, however, overcome by using here a preponderfoliage

uriant.

is

;

THE AQUARIUM, JANUARY,

152

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Kqumriutvy

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a Tear.

cts.

graceful festoons, while Begonias, Marantas,

Magazine^ Each.

1S95.

Anthuriums, Cyperus, and nu-

merous

ferns, together

with

many

of

the plants previously mentioned, look

Sample Copies Free

quite happy.

Advertising Rates on Application.

As the

HUGO MULERTT,

F. I. R. S. A., Editor and Publisher,

Brooklyn, N. Y.

173 Nostrand Av.,

ance of such plants as have been found to do best under those unfavorable conditions.

It will

have been noticed that, in

described are the re-

effects

put in several years ago, we are not premature in pronouncing the arrangement to be a great success, and we can well imagine the relief sults of plants

all

which the jaded man of business must derive from partaking of his hasty luncheon under such influences.

the four, water plays a not unimportant part

and,

particularly

hot

the

in

HOW TO WATER.

weather, conveys to both the ear and the eye a more refreshing feeling of coolness than foliage alone could impart.

These conservatories are provided with ventilators above and below and are heated during the colder months with two flow and one return pipes of two inches diameter, with means of

Every one thinks he can water plants, whether in or out of pots. But one might almost count the good plant This may waterers on his own fingers. seem strange to those whose idea of watering consists in dipping a pot in a tank and emptying it on the plant

dis-

to those who, with even less care, simply attach a hose to the water and fire away right and left,

tance along by the sides of the flow

behind and before, and when tired of

and return pipes and

this

regulating the heat in each at cold water pipe

is

carried for

will.

A

some

connected with a screw nozzle tap in each case. When is

and yet stranger

amusement

declare their plants

and

the plants require syringing or water-

gardens to have been well watered.

There is yet a third way of watering,

ing a piece of flexible tube, with a noz-

an example of which came under the

zle at

the other end,

is

screwed on to

the tap, and water with the chill off

is

thus at command.

Palms appear all

to

do equally well in

the cases, especially species of Sea-

forthia, Latania, Aroca,

Geonoma,

etc.

These, With Aspidistra lurita var, Ficus elastica,

Dracaenas and

few

a

other

form the leafy decoration of the two more gloomy cases, the climbing-fig growing well, and the Japan lygodium hanging in bunches from the

things,

wires attached to the roof. is more vahanging in

In the lighter cases there riety,

the

climbing-fig

writer's notice the other day.

lie

was

pot with which a youth was watering some pot roses, and confounded by the time struck by the

smallness of

Looking

that the small potfull lasted.

more

closely,

the

he observed that the water-

ing pot was furnished with a fine nose,

and the waterer was giving face

of

making

each

j)ot

to the sur-

only a sprinkle

a supply for two pots

â&#x20AC;&#x201D;

make-

believe water twenty or more.

This surface sprinkling is the most mischievous of all modes of watering.

It allures the thirsty roots to sure de-

struction.

Thev

scent the water from

— THE AQUAEIUM, JANUARY, afar,

come up

find

caught

to the surface to taste,

no moisture, and

are

at the worst possible jilace

by a

or

little

dead the pot needs no water, but if, on the contrary, it rings in a measure as clear as a bell it needs to be watered thoroughly.

These mock waterings are the spot. repeated until there are no more surface

of water used.

be destroyed, and until the mass of roots below have utterly perished from thirst, daily, under the specious veil of a sprinkled surface.

The

canon

first

watering

is

in the

good and in

such quantity as to thoroughly soak the whole mass of roots and moisten all the In a word, soil that surrounds them. a good watering means a flooding so that the farmer who turned the river over his Mangel was really a scientific But the next waterer on a large scale. point of moment is promptly to turn off the water when enough has been given, and not turn it on again until Next to the foots be dry and need it.

—

the

surface

soaker

is

dribblers

the

it

is

the sort

This should be pure and soft. Hard water will often kill hard- wooded fine rooted plants. Therefore, rain water is the best, and next to this river water. it

If

spring water must

should be exposed in open

Cold hard spring water.

Hence the chill should always be taken off, and if this be done in the sun it is yet more beneficial.

Evening is undoubtedly the best time to M^ater plants, because that water tanks or barrels several days.

water

is

almost as injurious as

given in the morning

is

is

quickly

dissi-

pated and the rapid evaporation produces an amount of cold that checks rather than stimulates growth.

When

watered in the evening the roots have time to absorb their drink all night

incessant

long.

He

filled

Every part of the plant is thus with moisture, and the morning

it is

finds

it

the worst plant waterer.

gives enough, but he gives

The next important point

be used,

art of

to water thoroughly,

—

—

scorching sunbeam which cripples them for life or withers and destroys them on

roots to

153

1895.

when

not needed, or whether it is needed or not. After thoroughly watering a plant the waterer should see that no more is given until it is quite dry. Watering

in

renewed health and

vigor.

Villa Garden.

FRESH WATER POLYPS.

at fixed hours, regardless of condition, kills its

thousands.

The second canon watering it

is

is

dry.

which

it

is

in the art of good

never to water a plant until The degree of dryness at safe and right to water is

In most brooks and ponds we find adhering to stones, plants or dead leaves,

and,

foothold,

indeed,

numerous

to any secure minute creatures

which appear, when viewed with the

often a most difficult point to deter-

unassisted eye, like miniature flowers,

Rapid growing plants, such as Pelargoniums, Fuchsias, etc., generally show by the surface soil when they are

more commonly, which is called Hydra viridis the former H. It is called Hydra, on account fusca. of some fancied resemblance to the many-headed creature of mythology

mine.

dry, but this

is

not always a sure

test.

Experienced florists can tell by the weight of the pot, but a surer way is to strike the pot a sharp blow with the If the sound is heavy or knuckles.

either of a grayish, or

of a green color, the latter of :

bearing that name. hydra,

however,

has

The

fresh water

really

but

one

THE AQUARIUM, JANUARY,

154 head, and the other

pear

members that aparms or circle around

are but the

like heads,

arranged in a If we should take one of

tentacles

the mouth.

these curious

little

transversely through

hydras, and cut its

body,

it

Ave shall

head

find that the part that bears the

form for itself a new body and foot; while from the other portion, which is but a foot, will grow a new head and tentacles.

We can also cut a hydra longitudinally in several pieces, and such portion will supply itself with the wanting parts, and become a perfect will

We

animal.

can turn

inside out,

it

and the part that was the lining of the stomach will become the exterior skin or cuticle and the cuticle will take upon Itself the offices of the stomach. ;

And

experiments

like

on sea anemones with similar results, but they are, as a general rule, more tender than their fresh water relations ;

and,

indeed,

there are

many

First and most desirable comes the Adiaittnm.

able for house cultivation.

Adiantum pedatum maiden hair

of

the

is

of our woods,

only one of this family that of the

United

States.

a pot during the

It

the

native

and

is

is

the

a native

grows well in

summer, but upon the

approach of winter, no matter how warm and sheltered you may keep it, the foliage dies, and the plant restsuntil spring,

when

it

renea^s its beauty.

Adianttim capillns veneris is a. charming little evergi*een British fern, with fronds from six to twelve inches high, fan-shaped and of a rich bright green color.

Adiantum

crispuhi-m has handsomely

curled fronds of a rich dark color and

makes a very beautiful specimen

Adiantum formosnm

made

can be

1895.

growing plant with

jet

plant.

a fine strong

is

black stems and

cheerful, light green fronds.

The above three varieties of Adiantum are easily cultivated, do not re-

under the on separat-

quire a high temperature, and will bear

ing them from the rock to Avhicli they are attached (if we are not very careful to avoid injuring, in any

rest of this family are also vei'y beauti-

species that will certainly die

operation

;

for

we

find that

way, the tender part of the

any wounded finally

of. our

kill

part

the

tanks

will

decay,

and

In

one

creature.

we have

animal),

now about

both kinds, H. viridis and H. fusca, sitting on the glass sides and the

fifty of

plants.

dentally

They must have been acciintroduced to the tank with

some plants last September, as the aquarium has not been disturbed since.

FERNS.

a great deal_ of hard usage.

ful,

All the

but more tender, requiring the aid

Wardian Case to grow them in perfection.

Asplenium vivipnrnm is a most beautiful little fern, indeed we think it of a green house or

the prettiest of

all

of the small growing-

The fronds

kinds.

are

about a foot

high, very finely dissected and some-

what curled, and covered on the upper young plants. It is very easily cultivated, grows vigorously and shows a compact bushy mass of foliage.

But it is very impatient of dust, particularly coal dust and smoke.

We have surface with

not been able to carry

it

through the

winter in this city without a covering of

[Continued from last number.)

In the last number we promised to mention a few varieties of ferns suit-

glass.

A

bell glass placed over the

a 23retty ornament, to

pot

is

and allows the plant

grow luxuriantly.

In the country

)

THE AQUARIUM, JANUARY, we think it would flourish in the room without the ghiss.

Pteris tremula

and

155

1895.

is

managed

easily

another well known The only species.

it is, that its growth is so under careful cultivation, that soon becomes too large to handle con-

AspJeninm inequalifoliinn is somewhat simikir to the last, but the fronds are not so finely cut, and the young plants upon their upper surface are not

objection to

The plant is also larger so numerous. and much more hardy. As its name

doors in the shade during the

implies, the fronds are unequally dis-

some being quite coarse and which gives the plant a

sected,

others

fine,

singular but not

This

ance.

is

appear-

unpleasing

a desirable addition to a

Scolopeiidrmiu nredulcdum or Hart's

Tongue has thick

fronds,

leathery

which are mostly undivided, eight or ten inches high, and are produced very

much

It

has a thin creeising stem,

branched, soon

fills

the pot and

reaches over the rim, adhering by

its

hairy roots to the moist sides of the pot,

and throwing up leaves

that the whole vessel

so thickly

soon completely

is

Scolopendrium oficenarum

is

similar

more slowly and many fronds at the same

to the last but grows

never shows so The edges of the leaves have a time.

Both

wavy appearance.

of

these are

very desirable.

Lomaria gihha

is

one of the most It is of very

beautiful ferns known.

It

should be placed out of

summer,

and frequently shifted.

Pteris argyrea is a showy species with fronds from two to four feet long, of a silvery white color, with light green margins.

It

is

a rapid grower,

but rather tender.

graceful and The and forms a stem with age. been not has specimen our of growth interrupted in the least during the

weather.

Any

one

who

will

give this plant reasonable care will find satisfactory in every respect.

Xeplirolepis exaJtata

is

is

a very

with fronds about a foot long, very bright green, with a fern,

attractive

broad white stripe running through each penuce. It is very easily managed.

This old Chinese Pteris serulata.

with

fern,

foliage,

grass-like

its

will

thrive under almost any kind of treat-

Nothing seems

ment.

frost or red-hot It is

to kill

the

it

except

mid-summer sunshine.

indispensable in a collection. similar to

is

but has broader and more

last,

erect fronds, with the apices beautifully crested.

It is

equally hardy.

might go on to enumerate many others no less beautiful and desirable, but we only promised to mention a few of the most common and easily culti\ye

vated as a sfuide to beginners.

growth,

rapid

regular,

it

veniently.

Pteris serulata cristata

hidden.

coldest

it

Pteris cretica alba lineata

collection.

rapidly.

rapid,

the sword fern

THE LATTICE OR LACE PLANT. (

Ouviranda Fenestralis.

One of the most curious plants which have recently engaged the attention of those

who

are interested in floriculture

and kindred

growth,

is

a

specimen

so much used in hanging baskets. This is too well known to need description.

known

as the lattice plant, of aquatic

habits,

and brought from Madagascar

It is of the easiest cultivation, and indispensable, no matter how small youi-

as a rare acquisition.

collection

may

be.

for

a

known

considerable to

botanists

has been

Its existence

time

past

through

a

few

THE AQUAKIUM, JANUARY,

156

dried leaves sent from Madagascar by a traveler,

who was unable

to transmit

living specimens of the curiosity he

discovered, and

it

1895.

plant at the conservatory of the Executive

Mansion

in

Washington, D. C.

had

was not until a long

period thereafter that this desirable ob-

INTEKDEPENDENCE OF MALS AXD PLA^^TS.

ANT-

ject could be attained, w^hen several of

the living plants were safely brought from the above-mentioned country by Kev. Mr. Ellis, the well-known missionary.

The

interest of this plant lies

in the extraordinary

structure of the

leaves, which, unlike those of

anv other

The Lattice or

known

plant, are

made up

and cross veins only

;

derives

up with

name. specimen of the

its

fine

The

large bag-shaped

L^ci: Pla.nt.

vided with two sharply toothed wings.

The neck of the pitcher is thrown into

filled

spect perfect and beautiful, of a piece of well-wrought net or lattice work, it

others.

pitchers are, Avhen fully developed, pro-

almost entirely open, and thus giving to the leaf the appearance, in every re-

saw a very

Low and

the interstices,

cellular tissue, being in this case left

We

dried specimens collected in Borneo by

of the ribs

which, in other leaves are

from which

The Gardner'' s Chronicle gives an engraving of a very remarkable pitcher plant, new to cultivation, but described

by Dr. Hooker, a few years ago, from

with intervening furrows, and prolonged at the back into an erect, or slightly incurved process, terminating in two sharp recurved spurs, the whole reminding one of the head of a ridges is

snake uplifted and ready to strike with its fangs.

At a recent meeting of the

THE AQUARIUM, JANUARY,

lor

1895.

Linnsean Society, Mr. Burbridge, an observant naturalist, read a paper on the subject, which throws some light on the curious organization in question,

them pretty regularly. In the some of the pitcher plants, the insects imprisoned in their unarmed

and

the species under consideration, as the

is

visits

case of

urns are readily removed, but not so in

of considerable interest as illus-

trating the

solidarity of

the

sharp spurs are so placed that the

organic

seems that the stalk of the lower bag or ampulla-shaped pitcher is

sier is sure to

swollen and hollow, and in their native

serted

country most of them are perforated by a species of black ant, which forms its colonies in the old and dry pitcher, and

the

world.

It

tar-

be pricked by them, and

quite sharply

too,

under the

if

head

its

in-

is

getting at

for

lid

continually visits the fresh ones, so far

interior.

The main question,, and the one yet to be solved, is, use are the living ants, of what and what end is this one species

as can be determined, for the purpose

of Nepenthes

made

and water, since these

of a peculiar

species of

of obtaining food

fresh pitchers contain a miscellaneous collection of dead

of

many

and decaying

As

kinds.

insects

these pitchers are

perfect traps to creeping insects of ant-

by reason of the incurved

like character

To

to serve as the nest

these insects.

suit its requirements not only is it&

very structure

modified, but

especial

precautions are taken to ward insect-eating tarsier.

entrapped

insects

The

off

the

use of the

we already know,

these black ants ingeniously perforate

demonstrated by Dr. Hooker that the pitchers of Nepenthes

the stalk, and so obtain their supplies,

not only allure insects by a sweet secre-

ridges round the throat of the pitcher,

and provide a means

of exit in case of

for

it

has been

tion at the rim

and upon the

lid of

as to the uses of the for-

the cup, but also that their capture, or

midable spurs which lie concealed under the kidney shaped lid of the pitchers There is found in the Bornean forests,

the presence of other j)artly soluble

Now

need.

:

this fine pitcher plant grows, a

where

curious ives

"

little

animal called by the natand by the few

Taoiperlilie,"

animal matter, produces an increase and an acidulation of the contained watery liquid, which thereupon be-

comes capable of acting

like

gastric

juice in dissolving flesh, albumen,

and

In other words, these jjitchBorneo isers seem to be stomachs.

Dr. indeed a land of many wonders.

Europeans who have ever seen it alive, the "Spectre Tarsier," {Tar sier specIt is a most singular and intrum).

the like.

teresting creature, about the size of a

Beccari has found there a curious plant

rat.

Its

head

is

singularly like that of

{Myrmecodia) which never

fully

de-

the eyes are large and a small kitten full, the body is monkey-like, and the tail is slender and as long as the body, but bushy at the tip, like that of a lion.

velops until bitten by a large red ant.

have curiously enlarged disklike tips, reminding one of the enlarged ends of the climbing tendrils of the Virginia creeper. This little animal is

presence of these ants

;

Its feet

ad insect eater, and knowing pitchers contain entrapped

They make

their nest in the swollen

stem, and thence rush out to repel invaders.

is

absolutely es-

sential to the plant^s existence, for less

un-

the young plants are thus attacked

they soon perish.

that the insects.

all

Dr. Beccari asserts that the

Show

this

copy to some friend.

—

—

THE AQUARIUM, JANUARY,

158

LOA^E ME,

walk the

^ocd

©rift

LOVE MY DOG.

<me of the thousands of homeless wanderers

in

the streets of Chicago to furnish the latest

He was

ill

clad and

streets all night before

we

part com-

pany."

"Love me, love my dog," is exemplified iu more instances than one, and it regained for

illustration.

1895.

had a

half-

The dog seemed to comprehend and gave a low bark, and without another word the man and cur went out. Efforts to get shelter for himself and the dog at other stations failed, and they spent the night

Amencan

in

tlie

streets.

Field.

—

Fish to Give Away. Uncle Sam is hard enough upon a good many of his working but he is generosity itself when it givine away books, flower seeds, cuttings and goldfish.

The Fish Commission announced to-day that it had no more goldfish to give away, and coupled its announcement with the astonishing information that during the past five years it had given away no fewer

starved look as he stepped up to Desk Serjeant Ed. Perry. Following close at his heels was a dog, somewhat sorrier looking for a blocked tail, a few bare spots on his coat, and one ear up more than the other. One of his eyes was riveted on a reporter for the Evening Journal, who was present to pick up any little police news, hut who, instead, had his eye opened to true humanity iu the rough looking specimen before him, and instead of securing a blood-curdling murder news item, he recounted for his paper the follcnving touching

people,

episode " Scab and me wants a place to sleep " " All right," said the Sergeant, " get down

stock the parlors of the people of this city with Congressmen started the business goldfish.

:

comes

to

than 20,000 goldfish. For several years the goldfish depaitment of the commission has absorbed more enei'g}' and cash than any other, notwithstanding the fact that there is no law requiring or authorizing the government to

!

stairs,

The

quick." face of the wayfarer brightened.

"My

name's Dick Dunn," he said, "and I'm on a tramp from Laporte to Oshkosh.

I'm dead broke, and it's mighty good in you in giving us a place to sleep."

As he spoke he stooped down and picked up the bobtailed dog. At the same moment the Sergeant caught sight of the cur. " What are you going to do with that dog?" he asked,

" Well, Scab needs

much "

a night's shelter, just as

as I do."

We

house dogs," said the Sergeant, " You can staj% but you'll have to throw the cur out." can't

decidedly.

The

face of the

"Why,

say.

tramp was

Cap," he

"Scab's been years, and he walked all

friend fur five

the

way from Laporte with me. You wouldn't "

me

give him the go by would you ? " I'm sorry," responded the Sergeant, " bvit

we can't have any dogs iu the station."

Dunn looked down at the dog and patted its head. " It's a cold

night.

gently

Scab,' he said,

"a

mighty cold night, but where I go, you go too, and if the police won't have you in the station,

they won't have me, either.

thet nearly a third of the houses in the District of Columbia have been supplied with goldfish at the government's expense.

There is a good deal of human nature in fish commissioners, as in common people, and they accomplish their ends by much the same means, conciliating those through whom their If a scoring is due anywhere congressmen who in a sense compelled this work at the hands of the commission.

The wrong lies in supplying the ricli, who have the means to supply themselves, unless the poor have equal privileges, and this That latter we think to be the case, to wit any person could, on application, secure goldfish from the commission while the supply

aid it

must come.

is

to the

:

lasted.

a study.

said,

my

have

by requesting the commission to send a globe of fish to some of their friends, and as the commission was always wanting an increased appropriation, it complied with the demands.

Up to this lime, it is estimated by the ofiicials

We'll

we do not look upon the spent in this department as a waste.

This being true,

money

We

would like to see an aquarium of wellselected small varieties of fish in every home They are a source of refining in the land. jjleasure, of thought, of study, of observation, of education, to better the old and the young, forming a constant object lesson in natural history.

Families that have not an aquarium should strive to get one, and our national and state fish commissions should encourage them in this, making it easy for them to come into possession of the varieties of fish necessary to 27if Chicago Herald, stock the aquarium.

Nov.

23.

THE AQUAEIUM, JANUARY, refS

but

line,

Queries.

1895.

when

rium fungtis

it

59 to live in an aquasoon appear on the

is

will

bruised part, spreading from here fore-

and when it has reached the middle of the body the fish dies.

If newly caught minnows are subjected to ward,

a salt bath, one teaspoonful to a gallon

For the small sum

of fifty cents in advance,

Tvhich ]iays for a year's subscription to

Aquabium. you

The

of water,

of days,

are entitled to ask informa-

any point regarding the aquarium or the window garden. We oflfer no other i^remtion on

all

right and enjoy

to our subscribers than that of putting our 25 years of practical experience in these

their

at

ciuestions as

you

Ask

disposal.

as

many

please, but please (o enclose

postage for reply.

All questions are answered

by mail, and we publish only such columns as are of general interest.

iu these

—

Mrs. K. Angle iron is bar-iron, which, instead of being flat, is sha];)ed in

the rolling-mill

angle.

It

comes

to

form a right about twenty

in bars of

From these bars sections of any length may be cut by any The price is very reasoniron worker. feet in

length.

able, one inch

angle iron costs abotxt

The three (3) cents a running foot. <3ost of the glass for an aquarium 24x 12x15 high,

is

about 81.50.

This

Dr. B.

snails are small fleshy animals

{shells).

cases

Sea shells are the empty cases

of those frequenting the ocean.

They

feed on vegetable and decomposing animal matter for that reason they are ;

•excellent scavengers for

an aquarium.

—

Mr. M. When minnow^s are affected with fungus it is generally caused by rough handling when they are caught.

Many people take hold of the minnows* tails when they pick them up, this being the quickest way to take them up. This mode may be good enough when the minnow is to be used to bait a fishing

not be safe to put

fish in

a

pond together

The Paradise fish

Avould

needs not to be put out of doors and one is thus enabled to Avatch the entire, very interestthat

it

in order to sjDawn,

ing proceedings of nest building, spawning and rearing of the young.

After

the young are about ten days old they

may if

be put in an out-of door basin and, has a

it

grow

warm

exposure, they will

very rapidly

without

artificial

food and develop very brilliant colors.

Miss Kitty.

that live in hard spiral-shaped

aquarium

manage to hold their own, but the young goldfish would be devoured by them as soon as hatched. One of the main advantages of the Paradise is,

mention

Water

— It would

your Paradise with goldfish.

in-

•cludes the glass bottom.

in an

life

for a year or two.

ium

1)ranches

and left in this for a couple they will generally come out

— In

artificial

our book we do not feeding of the baby-

supposed that these the rearing pond, where there is plenty of natural food If the babies are kept in a for them. fish,

because

it

are "planted^'

is

in

wooden tub, a sawn-off' barrel for inaquarium tank, then of course it is necessary to feed them artificially in order to make them grow.

Feed them twice a day, or oftener, on powdered IX L fish food, allowing at each meal only what they will require for stance, or an

that particular meal.

The

food should

be given at a regular feeding place for instance, if you set a flovv^er pot upside :

down

in the center of the tub,

and on

THE AQUARIUM, JANUARY,

160

this a saucer, using the latter as the

you can control the feeding This saucer should be washed

table,

nicely.

out frequently. case, too, to

It

is

necessary in this

have aquatic plants grow-

ing at the bottom.

—

Cat-

cept the sunfish are quite small. fish

are not objectionable in an aqua-

rium, but if too large, say over two and a half inches long, they will grab nearly all

the food intended for the other fish

and thus grow soon too large while the

Mrs.

G.

J.

— Subject higher

a

to

are

Especially in the

summer they display The Dyticus eats

a fearful appetite.

anything

that,

First

catch.

it

and

lives,

and snails, next it attacks the if you should have a crayfish collection

it

will

can

it

the tadpoles

eats all

attack

and your below the

it

fish

in

and keep on eating until the empty shell of the crab is left.

The Hydrophilus is not quite as bad as the former, but, being a vegetarian, soon makes its tail

presence

known by

destruction

among

your camelia

These beetles should be kept entirely by themselves in an insect aquarium, for which our

temperature.

frog-house design (see

other fish will starve.

japonica

water-beetle {Hydvoijliilus piceus)

two of the worst things a person can put into a well stocked aquarium.

uj)

Miss Mary K. Sunfish are very handsome fish, but it will never do to put them together with goldfish, ex-

1895.

the

aquatic

plants.

If the

p. 110), is

very

two species are kept in

Syringe with pure water the leaves and stem daily, and thus make it produce

good.

young growth early; these shoots will ripen and flower-buds will be formed at Further on in the their extremities. spring, when these buds appear, if the

ly fed with

pots are full of roots, the plant should

kind of fungus disease, which appears Specimens atfirst on their backs. tacked with this disease should be taken out of the water, and a little salt put on the affected parts, will cure them

be repotted into a pot one size larger (not more), using a compost of rich, turfy loam and a it

away

never

little

sand, then place

in the shade, out of doors,

let

it

After taking

and

get too wet nor too dry. it

warm

safely

— The Bouvardia

{Dyticus

the

beef,,

Hydro-

philus.

Both

of these beetles are subject to

a.

again.

night,

we never had one that

The Aquarium should

all

over the globe.

has

now

did.

subscribers

Africa joined in

a

few days ago, when we received a subscription from the Cape Colonies.

It will not flower except in

moist atmosphere.

It

may

be called the most unsuitable

B.

small pieces of fresh

otherwise eat

Although we have frequently heard

plant for house culture.

Mr.

will

that these beetles leave the aquarium at

have light, rich soil. If grown in pot this must be large, to give plenty of very

it

the Dyticus should be regular-

Turn-

ing one side towards the light this week, and the other the next, causes the flower-buds to drop off.

root room.

as

jar,

into the house again its

position should not be changed.

Miss R. K.

one

— The

banded water-beetle, marginaUs) and the black

A year's subscription to The Aquarium

is

fifty cents.

It will

useful Christmas gift to

young

friends.

make a very

some

of

your