of their different specific gravity, accumu- 

 late above tbe mass and may be taken 

 out in the es«aj)in<i current by pushing 

 the oiith't tube down to them. As the 

 fry hatch, they automatically leave the 

 jar in the outflow. 



Of salt water fishes, the more inter- 

 esting species found near New York 

 have most of them been shown at the 

 Aquarium. The little sea horse, clad in 

 an embossed coat of mail, looking like 

 a knight of the chess board, propelling 

 itself slowly forward in an erect position 

 by means of its back fin, and hanging 

 on with a prehensile tail, is commonly 

 found there; also skates and flounders, 

 the former flattened from above down- 

 ward, the latter from side to side, and 

 both matching the bottom on which 

 they lie. Large sharks, the jewfish 

 which is a gigantic bass caught by 

 sportsmen in the south, and other 

 species, are kept in the large floor pool. 



But of all the marine fishes, the most 

 interesting and beautiful are the bright 

 colored tropical species brought from 

 the coral reefs of Bermuda, among them 

 gaudy wrasses and parrot fish, big-eyed 

 red squirrel fish, the blue and yellow 

 angel fish with its long streamers, etc. 

 The bright colors of coral reef fishes 

 have long been the wonder of naturalists. 

 The theory that they harmonize with 

 the color of the reef, and that the reef 

 in itself is a veritable many-hued flower 

 garden, is not satisfactory, for in fact the 

 tones of the coral are more often mo- 

 notonous than bright. But the reef 

 supplies them with infinite corners and 

 crannies to dodge around and into, if 

 pursued by larger fishes, and they can 

 therefore flaunt with impunity bright 

 colors which would be suicidal if carried 

 over open stretches of sand. 



The Aquarium contains many aquatic 

 animals which are not fishes. There 

 are always a goodly company of sala- 

 manders, turtles, etc., up to the giant sea 



turtles, with paddles instead of" feet, 

 which are flapped like the wings of a 

 bird. Starfishes, variovis species of crabs, 

 the flower-like sea anemone, and many 

 other creatures large and small are on 

 show at the right seasons. 



The big, active seals are a constant 

 source of joy to visitors. Of these the 

 most notable which have been shown 

 successfully are young specimens of the 

 valuable Alaskan fur seal and the 

 remarkable sea elephant from Lower 

 California. By contrast, tanks of minute 

 animals, attractively arranged behind 

 large magnifying lenses set in board, 

 place within sight of the general public 

 such forms as mosquito larvae, as little 

 known as though they inhabited the 

 antipodes. 



For variety and extensiveness of its 

 collections, the New York Aqviarium 

 stands foremost in the world. Let us 

 hope that it will expand into larger 

 quarters, as its present cramped ones 

 do not leave adequate space available 

 for laboratories etc., and thus shut it off 

 from certain fields of usefulness. 



The Violet in Aquaria. 



Rev. C. KELLER RUBRECHT, Milwaukee. 



ONE does not expect violets to be 

 classified with aquatic plants, yet 

 there is no prettier and more interesting 

 little plant for the aquarium than Viola 

 blanda (possibly Var. pahistriformis), 

 the little Sweet White Violet, found 

 almost every where in damp places in 

 our woods. 



Last summer we found them growing 

 abundantly under water in a swamp. We 

 took a number of specimens home and 

 planted them in our aquaria where they 

 still thrive. They seem to enjoy their 

 gravel bed under water and form neat 

 little colonies which give the tank an 

 unusually attractive appearance. The 

 plants retain a dark green color rivaling 

 that of the giant Sagittaria. Its identity 

 in the aqviarium will deceive many an 

 expert botanist. 



