26 POPJjLAR science MONTHLY. 



which is first entered, however, might best be described as a cir- 

 cular, dome-roofed hall, whose rocky walls are broken by pools 

 and basins to harbor turtles and crocodiles. Here in the middle 

 stands the huge aviary, well stocked with bright-colored birds, 

 and adjoining are the cages of the orang and chimpanzee non- 

 aquatic attractions, for which, strangely enough, the aquarium 

 has always been noted. From this hall a long, dark gallery, whose 

 walls are pitted with aquaria, leads to a second grotto, domed 

 above, pitlike below, down which the visitor passes to a lower 

 series of corridors which twist and turn, descend and rise, but 

 continue to exhibit aquaria on every side till the exit is reached. 

 Thus have been passed the geological and basalt grottoes and the 

 beaver pool, near which a small descending rill has been made of 

 service for hatching fish eggs. One of the curious features of the 

 aquarium is the idea of distance which impresses the visitor as he 

 wanders on and on ; and it is even difficult to convince him that 

 the corridors, grottoes, and twisting passageways can be contained 

 within so small a surface area as that of the residence-looking 

 building he has seen at the corner of the street ; and he can not 

 fail to wonder at the ingenuity of the architect, not merely in 

 this regard, but in the arrangement of vistas which occur on 

 every hand, and in the deftness with which the working-day side 

 of the aquarium has been concealed. 



Such in brief is the general visitor's idea of the Berlin Aquari- 

 um ; to the adept its internal organization seems even more in- 

 genious and interesting when it comes to be examined. The tanks 

 are cared for by means of a labyrinth of concealed passageways ; 

 the storage reservoir is hidden away below the concrete floor of 

 the lowest gallery, and most remarkable of all is the use of an 

 artificial mixture as an economical substitute for sea water. As 

 long used by Dr. Hermes, the present director, this mixture has 

 been found of great practical value, and it certainly enables many 

 fishes to live in spite of the adverse conditions of their confine" 

 ment for months and even for years. The variety of living forms 

 which one sees in the various tanks is a striking feature of the 

 aquarium, and one is strongly impressed with the range in marine 

 fauna which is thus kept in a district remote from the sea. The 

 arrangement of the aquaria, it may be further added, is often re- 

 gional ; there will thus be grouped in one tank the forms of the 

 North Sea, in another those of the Mediterranean, in a third those 

 of the Baltic. 



Brighton. A brief description of the Brighton Aquarium 

 must not be omitted, finally, from the present discussion ; it is cer- 

 tainly the most typical, if not the largest, of the newer aquariums 

 of Europe. From the architectural standpoint, moreover, its in- 

 terior must unquestionably be given a foremost rank. Brighton 



