112 



THE AQUARIUM, APRIL, 1894. 



of a clothes-pin, if no better tool is at 

 hand. We find this saucer a perfect pro- 

 tection to the floor and carpet, greatly 

 adding to the appearance of the tub. 



C. S.— The different varieties of gold- 

 fish, all belonging to one family, will 

 cross. This fact makes goldfish culture 

 so highly interesting, because one is 

 enabled by ingenious selection, or by 

 mere accident, to produce beautiful or 

 curious forms and colors. Goldfish 

 raising is much more interesting than 

 most people think and it can be done 

 in a limited space and with a small out- 

 lay. All that is needed is two wooden 

 tubs, made by sawing a whiskey barrel 

 in two, and one or more pairs of parent 

 fish. Both of these tubs are to be 

 placed in the yard or garden where the 

 sun will shine upon them in the morn- 

 ing. Here they are fixed upon the 

 principle of an ordinary parlor 

 aquarium, omitting the snails and 

 tadpoles, as these would devour the 

 goldfish eggs and also the young fish. 

 The parent fish are placed in one tub 

 only, the other being reserved for the 

 young after having been hatched in 

 glass-jars. For more particulars we 

 refer you to our book, "The Goldfish 

 and Its Culture." Besides "raising 

 young goldfish in these tubs, you can 

 grow choice aquatic plants in them and 

 enjoy their flowers until late in the 

 fall. 



The best varieties of goldfish for a 

 basin in which the fish are seen from 

 above are the double-tailed varieties. 



D. W. — The question regarding the 

 *' hearing " of fish appears to be settled. 

 Our own facilities for proving one or 

 the other side of it are not reliable, as 

 we have so many fish, and these in such 

 quarters that a reliable test is out of the 

 question. But judging from communi- 



cations we receive now and then, fish 

 do hear, at least certain sounds. 



MissE. McL.— The Hyacinth bulbs 

 that have bloomed this winter, in the 

 house, in water, moss or soil, should 

 now be dried off and laid away in a 

 dry, cool place in the cellar, where the 

 mice can not get at them. Next 

 October they may be planted again 

 either in boxes with soil for the house, 

 or in the garden. In both cases they 

 Avill reward the little trouble they have 

 caused by a second crop of flowers, 

 which although not as gorgeous in shape 

 or size as this year's flowers, will be just 

 as brilliant in colors. The glasses and 

 dishes in which the bulbs have been 

 growing should now be washed and 

 wiped inside and outside, especially in- 

 side, and put away until fall in a closet 

 where they are out of the Avay and out 

 of danger of being broken. 



You have made notes, we presume, 

 of the varieties that took your particu- 

 lar fancy, and no doubt also noted the 

 sorts that did not come up to your ex- 

 pectations, and wherein you can improve 

 for next season regarding the time of 

 jjlanting the different varieties in order 

 to have a succession of bloom. 



All these notes should be your guide 

 when making your selection for next 

 year and you should bear in mind to 

 place your order early to secure the 

 sorts you most desire. 



THE ARROW-HEAD. 



Green and polished and pointed, fit for tlie 

 river-god s bow, 

 Rise thy sliafts from the pool, with wond- 

 rous blossoms agleam. 

 Frailest petals, white shining, of water drops 

 all compact, 

 Hover like tiny naiads, the fairest birth of 

 the stream. 



