Ward. — An Experimental Fish Plant 173 



brine for refrigeration, taken from a plant in the base- 

 ment. Direct and alternating electric currents are avail- 

 able in every room, but illuminating gas is kept out of 

 the main laboratories because in previous experimental 

 buildings, it has been found particularly fatal to the con- 

 tinued normal support of animal life. The number of 

 connections planned for each laboratory is ample to allow 

 of the installation of various electric and water appli- 

 ances useful in conducting experiments of any kind on the 

 animals under control. 



The basement of the building is utilized for the neces- 

 sary machinery involved in the various installations. 

 This includes, in the first place pumping machinery to 

 run the salt water system, and a second system to drive 

 the city water or the rain water systems. The basement 

 also contains a refrigerating machine and some other in- 

 cidental machinery such as the compressor and regulator 

 for the air machine from which the compressed air is dis- 

 tributed to each of the laboratories under the proper pres- 

 sure condition. The cases and tables in greenhouses and 

 laboratories need no special comment. They are of the 

 usual laboratory type. The greenhouse wings are of 

 standard construction, but on the greenhouse benches are 

 placed either movable or fixed aquaria. Most of these can 

 be readily modified at will in position and size, but one 

 set of salt water aquaria and another of fresh water 

 aquaria on the other side are fixed installation. In plan- 

 ning for these the Supervising Architect, Professor J. 

 M. White, has utilized every possible means of securing 

 information concerning plants of recent construction; 

 and visits have been made to various city aquaria and 

 university plants where aquaria have recently been estab- 

 lished or have proved effective in operation. On the land 

 around the house, the plan shows a pond laid out. It 

 has the general shape of a dumb-bell, with a very long, 

 narrow neck. Each one of the enlargements at the end 

 of the connecting neck has an area that is precisely one- 

 tenth of an acre. Dimensions of such diminutive propor- 

 tions provoke a smile from the fish culturist. It is in his 

 opinion nothing but a "mud hole," — and yet let me assure 



