28 
Feeding the anemones is a delicate operation requiring 
judgment, care and patience. When they are fresh from the sea 
they must be fed with regularity, but after they have been in 
confinement some time they will not suffer if left unfed for a 
considerable period. ‘hey will, in fact, exist without solid food— 
but they cease to grow, and ultimately dwindle in size and vigour. 
It is better therefore to feed them, say, once a week. Oyster and 
mussel afford the best food for them as well as for other inhabitants 
of the aquarium. The soft parts of these molluscs should be cut 
up into very small pieces and the whole well washed to get rid of 
the liquid animal matter which would taint the aquarium. A 
piece must be placed upon the tentacles of each anemone, and, if 
the animal be hungry, the morsel will be speedily conveyed to the 
mouth and will disappear. If it remains long on the disk, or is 
allowed to roll off, it should be removed. Long wooden forceps 
made of box or lance-wood are used for feeding anemones and 
corals. A glass tube of about half-inch diameter is a convenient 
appliance for removing morsels of uneaten or undigested food, 
which should be carefully looked for while feeding, and also on the 
following day or two. After feeding, an increased quantity of 
oxygen is demanded, to counteract the excess of carbonic acid given 
off by the animals. This should be supplied by the syringe (which 
must be made of glass or vulcanite), and some extra light may be 
admitted to stimulate the vegetation in its corrective work. In 
hot weather still greater caution is required in feeding. 
When there has been no disturbance of the water for a few 
days, a film will be found on the surface which should be skimmed 
off with a strip of paper, and the surface agitated. The film pre- 
vents the proper ulsorption by the water of the oxygen in the 
atmosphere. A mucous substance which is given off by the ane- 
mones, and sometimes remains attached to the integument should 
be brushed off with a camel-hair brush, and taken from the water. 
Any green growth which appears on the glass front of the aquarium 
may be removed by means of a small sponge-mop, but such 
growths should be encouraged on the opaque sides of the tank. 
I have said nothing of the minuter forms of animal life that 
will be developed as time goes on. Hydroid zoophytes, in their 
different stages ; polyzoa; ascidians; anelids, &c, may make their 
appearance from germs introduced with specimens fresh from the 
sea, or when additions are made to the water, and should always 
be welcomed when thus developed naturally. Many of these 
organisms will afford employment for the microscope. These and 
other matters cognate to the subject might be treated of, but they 
lie outside the scope of this paper. 
I believe I have set down all the points essential to the 
successful management of a small marine aquarium, and if they 
are borne in mind, and the aquariist will devote a few minutes 
