THE PUBLIC AQUARIUM 



305 



aquaria being necessary for keeping some of these animals alive, the 

 laboratory' should be equipped with such aquaria in order that 

 teachers may be instructed in their management. 



A large aquarium requires photographs of its living exhibits, the 

 demands for which come from many sources. The photographs made 

 by E. R. Sanborn, of the New York Zoological Society, have been 

 used widely by publishers and the press. Those showing the col- 

 lections in the large exhibition tanks are all made by flasli light at 

 night. Hundreds of " portraits " have been made by placing single 

 fishes in a small, narrow aquarium to be carried out of doors for in- 

 stantaneous exposures. The specially constructed aquarium used for 

 this purpose measures 18 inches in length and depth by 3 inches in 

 width. The object to be 

 photographed can not 

 get out of focus, and the 

 work is done quickly. 

 A photographic tank 

 constructed in this way 

 is a necessary adjunct 

 to the laboratory equip- 

 ment of the public 

 aquarium. 



As the aquarium can 

 not avoid inquiry con- 

 cerning the local aquatic 

 fauna, it should be pre- 

 pared to render the 

 educational service de- 

 manded by such cor- 

 respondence. In con- 

 nection with such serv- 

 ice to the public a 

 library of standard 

 works on aquatic life is 

 indispensable. 



An aquarium with a 

 laboratory and a fish 

 hatchery is in a posi- 

 tion to deal with some of the practical problems connected with the 

 restoration of the fisheries. It is needless to add that a large aqua- 

 rium can not secure the best results without the services of a biologist 

 to study the needs of its delicate living exhibits. 



Fig. 36. — Narrow. ijortal)le aquarium u.^ed in plioto- 

 graphing aquatic animals and plants. Size IS by 

 18 by 3 inches 



BEAUTY IN THE AQUARIUM 



Many persons are attracted to the aquarium by beauty alone. There 

 are found form and motion and color not to be seen elsewhere. Much 

 of the reputation of the aquarium at Naples is due to its display of 

 small but colorful living things from the Bay of Naples. Artists, 

 naturalists, authors, anglers, and children often express pleasure over 

 many things that the crowds of sightseers overlook because they are 

 not big or unusual. Many tropical fishes have colors that rival those 

 of butterflies or flowers. Objects of graceful form or those displaying 

 strange activities in their watery element arrest the attention. Great 



