10 MR. warington's marine aquarium. 



tlie animals and plants maintaining each other in 

 healthy life, and the water preserving its purity un- 

 changed. 



In January, 1852, Mr. Warington began to prose- 

 cute experiments of the same kind with sea-water, 

 which presented some difficulties arising from the 

 compound nature of that fluid, and from the peculiar- 

 ities of marine vegetation. These difficulties^ how- 

 ever, yielded to the perseverance and skill of the 

 operator ; and while I write these lines I am a per- 

 sonal witness to his complete success, having just 

 seen (January, 1854) specimens of Sea-anemones and 

 other marine animals in good health in that gentle- 

 man's Aquarium, which I know were sent from the 

 sea-side more than a year and a quarter ago. 



A Memoir by Mr. Warington, which appeared in 

 the " Annals of Natural History " for November, 1853, 

 gives some very interesting details of the progress of 

 the marine experiments ; and from it I shall make a 

 few extracts. 



" The sea- water with which the experiments were 

 conducted, was obtained through the medium of one 

 of the oyster-boats at the Billingsgate fish-market, 

 and was taken from the middle of the English 

 Channel. 



" My first object was to ascertain the kind of sea- 

 weed best fitted, under ordinary circumstances, for 

 keeping the water clear and sweet, and in a sufficiently 

 oxygenated state to sustain animal life. And here 

 opinions were at variance, for one naturalist friend, 

 whom I consulted, advised me to employ the Rhodo- 

 Bperms ; another stated that it was impossible to make 



