182 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 



THE AQUARIUM. 



The east wing of the Fisheries building was fitted up by the Co- 

 lumbian Exposition Company for the aquarial exhibit of the Fish 

 Commission. 



The engineering duties in the preparation of this exhibit at first 

 devolved upon W. B. Bayley, U. S. IS., and afterwards upon I. S. K. 

 Beeves, U. S. N. The Commissioner personally assisted in the installa- 

 tion of the live-fish exhibit, having previously determined by experi- 

 ment the principles of successful management. 



In the course of these experiments sea-anemones were kept alive in 

 an aquarium fitted up with air circulation and with water half artifi- 

 cial, the aeration having been effected by means of a succession of fine 

 jets lowered to the bottom of the tank. 



A full report upon this part of the exhibit was published in the Bul- 

 letin of the Commission for 1893, pages 143 to 190. It will be necessary 

 only to give here a brief sketch of its main features. 



The aquarium was a circular structure of 125 feet in diameter, form- 

 ing the east annex of the Fisheries building. Upon the completion of 

 the annex it was turned over to the Fish Commission for the purpose 

 of making its aquarial display. Tanks of various sizes, made of cement, 

 slate, glass, and iron, filled all the available exhibition space of the 

 building. Some of them were large enough to accommodate the largest 

 fish that could be transported alive. For examine, one tank in the 

 fresh-water series was about 50 feet in length. Nearly one-third of the 

 tank capacity was devoted to the exhibition of salt-water animals and 

 plants. The water was brought from the ocean at Morehead City, 

 N. C, and was stored in a reservoir under the Fisheries building. This 

 reservoir was 46f feet long, 18| feet wide, and Si feet deep. From this 

 reservoir water was pumped into a pressure tank 30 feet in diameter 

 and 5 feet deep, located at the top of the Fisheries building. From this 

 height it was conveyed into the aquarium tanks, after leaving which it 

 passed through a sand and gravel filter back again into the reservoir. 



Bubber pumps for the circulation of the salt water were located under 

 the Fisheries building and were operated by electricity. All the pipes 

 and connections with which the salt water came in contact were made 

 of hard rubber or were lined with that material. About 60,000 gallons 

 were required for the supply of the tanks. 



The fresh water was obtained from the city waterworks, and was 

 filtered before entering the aquaria. On some occasions during the 

 Exposition as much as 750,000 gallons of fresh water passed through 

 the tanks in twenty-four hours. 



The salt water was constantly aerated by means of two hydraulic 

 pumps which delivered the air into a galvanized air cylinder at a pres- 

 sure of about 7 pounds per square inch. From this cylinder the air 

 was conducted to the backs of the salt-water aquaria by iron pipes, and 

 each aquarium received its supply of air by rubber tubing, into which 

 were inserted plugs of basswood, through which the air was forced. 



