270 THE STOCK. 



frequently tlie cirrlii have begun to play as quickly 

 as ever, even after a period of inaction so long tliat 

 I have supposed the animals to be dead. 



" In the vegetation, I find that No. 42 is the most 

 effective in the evolution of oxygen. No. 41 stands 

 next. No. 44 is apt to decay, if not placed in a shaded 

 spot ; but it is always interesting, from the quantity 

 of parasitic animals usually found in it. 



" I trust that these desultory observations, hastily 

 thrown together, but scrupulously containing nothing 

 that I have not personally witnessed in my own 

 collection, will have the effect of increasing the 

 domestication of the interesting productions of our 

 shores. 



"William Alford Lloyd. 



'' 164, St, Jolin Street Road, Islington, 

 " June 6, 1855." 



THE STOCK. 



As I shall presently give some instructions con- 

 cerning the modes of collecting both plants and 

 animals, a few preliminary observations are all that 

 will be needful here. 



Plants. — What are the most suitable plants for 

 an Aquarium ? Not the Oar- weeds or Tangles 

 [Laminaria)', for though young specimens have an 

 attractive appearance, they will not live long in cap- 

 tivity; they presently begin to decay, and slough off 

 in slimy membranous shreds, filthy to look at, and 

 hurtful to the living creatures. The Fuci live pretty 

 well, but their sliminess and ugliness are fatal to their 

 pretensions ; and they are, moreover, apt to tinge the 



