CHAPTER IV 

 THE MARINE AQUARIUM 



WE have already advised our readers to take home their specimens 

 alive for the purpose of studying their growth and habits. Now, 

 although there may be some difficulties in the way of keeping 

 marine animals and plants alive for any considerable time, yet 

 we are in jlined to emphasise the importance of this matter, know- 

 ing that the pleasure and instruction that may be obtained from 

 even a moderately successful attempt to carry this out will far 

 more than compensate for the amount of trouble entailed. There 

 are very many marine objects that are exceedingly pretty and 

 also very instructive, even when studied apart from the life with 

 which they were associated in the sea. Thus, a well-preserved 

 sea-weed may retain much of its original beauty of form and 

 colour, the shells of numerous molluscs and crustaceans exhibit 

 a most interesting variety of features well worthy of study, and a 

 number of the soft-bodied animals may be preserved in such 

 a manner as to closely resemble their living forms. This being 

 the case, we can hardly say anything to discourage those who 

 gather sea-side objects merely for the purpose of making a 

 collection of pretty and interesting things to be observed and 

 admired. Such objects must necessarily afford much pleasure and 

 instruction, and the time spent in the collection and preparation 

 will certainly cause the collector to stray to the haunts of the 

 living things, where he is certain to acquire, though it may be to 

 a great extent unconsciously, a certain amount of knowledge 

 concerning their habits and mode of life. Moreover, sea-side 

 collecting is one of the most healthy and invigorating of all 

 out-door occupations, and for this reason alone should be 

 encouraged. 



Yet it must be observed that he whose sea-side occupation is 



