206 



THE GUIDE TO NATURE. 



Managing Goldfish in Summer. 



The managing editor of The Guide to 

 Nature, had occasion to pass through 

 Philadelphia, and took the opportunity 

 to call on some members of the Aquar- 

 ium Society. A great many practi- 

 cal points were brought out and they can 

 probably best be given to our readers in 

 the form of the interviews as they actu- 

 ally took place. 



The first call was on Mr. William T. 

 Innes, Jr., Secretary of the Aquarium 

 Society. The accompanying illustration 

 shows his general plan of keeping his 

 fish during the summer. His only 

 available space is in a narrow side alley, 

 but the conditions here are all that could 

 be desired in a city location. 



Q. Is this a satisfactory light for 

 your purposes ? 



A. Yes, entirely so. I get about three 

 quarters of an hour of morning sun, 

 and a good overhead light the rest of 

 the day. When one has a mixed variety 

 of plants this is about an ideal condi- 

 tion. It is particularly suited for Sagit- 

 taria. 



O. Is there much dust in the city air 

 that settles on the water ? 



A. Yes, quite a little — partly • from 

 smoke and partly from pollen off the 

 vines. I draw it off with a piece of news- 

 paper just the width of the surface of 

 the water. Lay the paper flat on the 

 water and draw quickly across. Clean- 

 ing the surface this way once a day is 

 satisfactory at most seasons but when the 

 pollen is falling very heavily from the 

 creeper vines, I cover over everything 

 with a strip of Organdie a yard wide 

 and the whole length of the side yard, 

 weighting it down on the edges with 

 little lead buttons, such as are made to 

 use in ladies' skirts. By keeping the 

 handles of the tubs in a straight line 

 and connecting with a string it supports 

 the cloth from falling into the water. 



Q. Why do you use tubs instead of 

 aquaria ? 



A. Fish thrive much better in a tub 

 or any vessel having opaque sides. You 

 see in natural conditions the fish only 

 gets top light, and the light coming 

 through the sides of an aquarium while 

 pretty for us to look at is not natural to 

 the fish. In fact, some of the most 



highly developed fancy fish will die if 

 taken out of a tub or tank and put into 

 an aquarium. Of course it is not practi- 

 cal to have many tubs in a residence dur- 

 ing the winter, but by getting the fish 

 into good strong condition during the 

 summer season, they generally manage 

 to pull through until the next spring. 



WILLIAM T. INNES, JR., AT WORK WITH HIS 

 GOLDFISH IN TUBS, PANS, ETC. 



Q. I notice you have your Sagittaria 

 in small pots in the tubs. Why is this ? 



A. It is principally for convenience. 

 These plants can be very readily lifted 

 out and the bottom water of the tub 

 siphoned off ; also the plants are what is 

 known as the Giant Sagittaria. By 

 keeping them in small pots they are pre- 

 vented from getting; too large. Of course 

 some people like them as large as possi- 

 ble. This depends upon how much room 

 you have ; it is also a matter of taste. 



Q. You speak of siphoning off the 

 bottom of the tub. How do you do this? 



A. By filling a three-foot piece of 

 half inch rubber tubing with water, clos- 

 ing both ends with the fingers, placing 

 one end in the tub the other at a point 

 lower than the surface of the water, and 

 then removing the fingers. The water 

 will then flow out freely. Move the end 



