400 



TJie Ai)icrican Anolcr. 



twenty feet, and then head down into 

 the water. After leaving- Catalina we 

 went southward to Aransas Pass, Texas, 

 the home of the tarpon, and while there 

 we were told by Mr. W. D. Jenkins 

 upon showing him the photo, that a 

 similar shark with the same leaping 

 qualities was sometimes taken by ang- 

 lers when trolling for tarpon in the 

 waters of the Pass. We, at once, be- 

 came interested in this new game fish 

 and herewith present a copy of the 

 photo, in the form of a half-tone illus- 

 tration, believing that it will surprise 

 the craft to learn that one at least of the 

 pests on tarpon waters, possesses game 

 qualities. It is extremely difficult to 

 classify the species of a fish from a 

 photograph but this one shows all the 

 characteristic markings of Lamna cor- 

 nubica. We have, however, made ar- 

 rangements to secure a dead specimen, 

 when its classification will be assured 

 beyond c[uestion. 



The Water Cabinet. 



The aquarium has not only spread abroad a 

 love for natural history ; it has also increased 

 the facilities for the study of Nature by remov- 

 ing the difficulties which have hitherto attended 

 the preservation, for any length of time, of liv- 

 ing specimens of aquatic life. The tank had 

 scarcely taken its place among the resources 

 for pleasurable recreation and scientific study 

 when the field of culture extended itself, and 

 every variety of minute life found in the waters 

 came to have its share of attention for the gen- 

 eral profit and delight of the studious. The 

 ordinary tank was found insufficient for the 

 wants of the aquarist, and, wherever a large 

 vessel was to be seen stocked with fresh-water 

 fishes or marine objects, a collection of small 

 jars, phials or show glasses was pretty sure to 

 be found also. 



In an aquarium we may group together many 

 dissimilar objects, but it must be evident to the 

 most superficial observer that, when immersed 

 in a large body of water with other creatures, 



REMEMBER— The American Angler is 

 now only One Dollar a year. 



many objects are ill placed for examination 

 especially if we use the microscope. Hence, 

 where the study is pursued with any degree of 

 ardor, some special arrangements are neces- 

 sary to enable us to keep in a healthy state, 

 and in a way that admits a close scrutiny at 

 any moment, such of the smaller aquatic ob- 

 jects as most commend themselves for beauty 

 or scientific interest. 



Many beginners, unable to resist the temp- 

 tation of a jar of beetles or a collection of larva, 

 and having no other means of keeping them, 

 have placed them in the tank to mingle with 

 the stock of finny creatures, and have thereby 

 either lost the better part of the collection or 

 have been compelled to break up the stock and 

 begin anew. A few species of water beetles 

 and aquatic larva may be safely preserved in 

 an aquarium, but an aquarium is by no means 

 the best place for them if we wish to study 

 their habits closely or investigate their mechan- 

 ism and economy by the aid of lenses ; all in- 

 sects, many moUusks, larva and other small 

 objects should be kept apart, and a collection 

 of such objects is what we mean by a water 

 cabinet. 



To the genuine student there is really more 

 for remunerative study in such a collection 

 than can be found in the aquarium, though the 

 tank, whether river or marine, will always 

 prove most attractive as an ornament, and, be- 

 cause it requires less care and study, will be 

 prettj' sure to retain the greatest number of 

 admirers. But the aquarium and the cabinet 

 are distinct things ; they cannot be combined 

 in the same vessel, and, though a water cabinet 

 is but another form, or rather a series of sepa- 

 rate and smaller aquaria, the uses and econo- 

 mies of each are in a great measure distinct. 

 It is possible to cultivate either without the 

 other, though we should generally expect to 

 find them in company, the cabinet being a 

 growth or extension of the aquarium. 



Construction of a Cabinet. — Ingenuity, 

 under the control of circumstance, will devise 

 many modes of preserving the smaller speci- 

 mens of aquatic life, and we shall here describe 

 a plan which, we think, will be found most 

 generally useful, particularly as it -may have a 

 very simple form and be produced for a very 

 trifling outlay ; or may be elaborated into a 

 noble piece of furniture for the adornment of 

 an elegantly furnished room. 



If we describe the measurements of our own 

 cabinet it may serve as a guide to any who 



