PEEFACE. xi 



and harmony of the works of the Creator, and 

 to see the wickedness and absurdity of interfering 

 to disarrange them. The aquarium has hitherto 

 been an interesting scientific trifle; henceforth 

 it should be a link in this great chain of obser- 

 vation. It will be seen, by the few remarks I 

 have made, that this science requires to be, and 

 is capable of being, widely popularized. I shall 

 touch further on these matters in the body of 

 my work as I find occasion. 



It may be urged that, in the succeeding pages, 

 I have taken somewhat too wide a range of sub- 

 jects into the study of Pisciculture. I cannot 

 think so, however, if this science is to become 

 as popular among us and as beneficial to us as 

 it should be. The mere hatching and rearing of 

 small fish appears to me to be but an integral 

 part of Pisciculture ; and it will not be denied 

 that considerations as to the best kinds of fish 

 to encourage, and how to encourage them, with 

 the best methods of producing suitable food for 

 them, are necessarily points of as much import- 

 ance as that of bringing them into the world. 



