THE 



AQUARIUM 



-C^ 



THE AQUARIUM 



Issued in the Interests of the Study, 

 Care and Breeding of Aquatic Life 



Published monthly except July and August 

 at Hammond, Ind., by the Aquarium Societies 

 of Brooivlyn, Chicago, New York, Fliila- 

 rielphia, Boston, Milwaukee, Minneapolis 



Send all manuscripts, exchanges, books for 

 review, etc., direct to the Editor-in-Chief; 

 remittances to the Treasurer; all other 

 matter to the Business Manager 



IT has been quite aptly said, that it is 

 not the rare, but the common 

 species that give character to the animal 

 and plant life of a region, ard that the 

 time and money expended in the success- 

 ful or unsuccessful quest for some rare 

 kind, could be far better employed in 

 cultivating a more intimate acquaintance 

 with the more "common things" abovit 

 us. This assertion applies preeminently 

 to the aquarist. In our mad rush to 

 possess rare foreign fish, we overlook, or 

 give scant attention to the interesting 

 beauties in our own streams. Indeed, 

 this passion to possess soon unconscious- 

 ly, is apt to overstock us; to give us 

 more fish than we are able to properly 

 study. 



Our neglect of the native species is 

 much to be deplored, A deal of in- 

 formation is still to be learned regarding 

 the life histories of many species. Much 

 that is known is hidden away in abstruse 



scientific works not accessible to the 

 average man, even were he able to com- 

 prehend the obscure terms used in the 

 usual technical description. Good work 

 can be done placing this information in 

 popular langviage in the hands of 

 aquarists. There is a broad field to 

 draw from, and a long time will elapse 

 before we exhaust the resources at our 

 own door-step. 



In our hobby, we are too prone to 

 consider the word collector synonomous 

 with aquarist. A true aquarist is a 

 scientist; an investigator delving in the 

 veiled mysteries of many-sided Nature. 

 The mere possession of a collection of 

 fish means no more than a collection of 

 postage stamps, not as much, unless the 

 owner can demonstrate that they mean 

 more to him than a mere piece of bric- 

 a-brac in his parlor. Collecting is not a 

 science, but an aid to its prosecution. 

 Aquaria are tools, so to speak, where- 

 with a certain kind of work may be 

 done, and a man is no more an aquarist 

 on account of their possession, than 

 another may be a skilled carpenter 

 because he has a chest of excellent 

 tools. Each may be the means whereby 

 a certain end is to be attained; the 

 mistake consists in regarding the means 

 as the end. It is too much the habit of 

 men generally, to flatter themselves into 

 the belief that because they have good 

 collections, they are therefore really 

 scientific investigators. 



Tramping about the country netting 

 fish is, no doubt, a very healthy occu- 

 pation for the body, but it does not rise 

 to the dignity of science, or merit regard 

 as an intellectual pursuit. This is applic- 

 able to all departments of natural 

 science. 



A man should possess an aquarium, not 

 solely as a beautiful ornament for his 

 home, but to enable him to gain an 

 intimate knowledge of the habits and 

 peculiarities, instinctive or acquired, of 

 the fish and other animals he has placed 

 therein. In conclusion, the knowledge 

 thus obtained should not be selfishly 

 stored away, but given to fellow enthusi- 

 asts in the columns of The Aquarium. 



