THE PUBLIC AQUARIUM 313 



the exhibition tanks should be almost continuous and should be as 

 large as the superficial area of the tanks if the latter are to be lighted 

 properly. 



There are other matters of importance that should not be over- 

 looked in building an aquarium. The mere setting of the heavy 

 plate-glass fronts of exhibition tanks by inexperienced persons has 

 resulted in much unnecessary breakage in all aquariums knoAvn 

 to us. Water pressure will crack heavy glass that is not supported 

 evenl}^ on every part of its margin. 



Persons contemplating the construction of an aquarium, therefore, 

 are urged to undertake the initial expense of a careful study of some 

 public aquarium known to be in successful operation and thus avoid 

 mistakes that will result in much greater expense for necessary alter- 

 ations. This should be done by an engineer. The Ncav York Aqua- 

 rium has had its full share of expensive alterations during the past 

 25 years, an experience that a new aquarium should be spared. 



COST OF CONSTRUCTION AND EXHIBITS 



The construction of an aquarium with its complete mechanical 

 equipment naturally is a less expensive undertaking than the estab- 

 lishment of a zoological garden with its numerous buildings and 

 extensive acreage. Its living exhibits, derived chiefly from home 

 waters, cost little to procure as compared with the expense of obtain- 

 ing the larger animals necessary for a zoological garden. Many 

 of these are procurable only from dealers whose valuations are based 

 on difficulty of capture and transportation from foreign countries. 

 The annual cost of keeping up the collections of the New York 

 Aquarium, i:)robably the largest institution of the kind, is less than 

 the cost of a single giraffe, rhinoceros, or elephant. The cost of food 

 is negligible as compared with that for a zoological garden. 



The building is seldom of large size, its compactly arranged ex- 

 hibits occupying little space as compared with those of a museum 

 of natural history. The aquarium is therefore a comparatively 

 inexpensive institution to establish and maintain, while its popu- 

 larity is likely to exceed that of any other form of public museum. 

 The maintenance fund of the New York Aquarium is less than one- 

 fifth that of the zoological park or any of the great museums in the 

 city. 



Usually the first cjuestion asked by persons interested in the crea- 

 tion of an aquarium relates to the actual cost of construction. This 

 the writer is unable to answer. The New York Aquarium was 

 installed within the heavy walls of a century-old fort 30 years ago. 

 Moreover, it has undergone radical alterations at various times. Its 

 cost, if exact figures were to be gathered from city archives, would 

 be of little service to-day. An estimate of present cost should be 

 based on that of some aquarium built within recent years, such as 

 that of Boston, Detroit, or San Francisco. Information on this point 

 no doubt is obtainable in these cities. The size of the building, the 

 character of its equipment and exhibits, and the public service re- 

 quired of the aquarium would all be determining factors. If the 

 proposed aquarium were to undertake more or less service to the 

 public of the character rendered by a museum of natural history 



