THE AQUAEIUM, APRIL, 1893. 



43 



lacertina), of the Southern States ; the 

 Proteus, or Olm, of Hungaria ; the 

 Water dog (Necturus lateralis), of the 

 Great Lakes and Western streams ; the 

 American Giant Salamander (Hellben- 

 der), (Menopoma alleghaniense), and 

 the Japanese Giant Salamander (Crypt- 

 obranchus japonicus) belong to this 

 group. 



These have gills through their entire 

 existence, and are therefore unable to 

 live outside their element. Their mode 

 of reproduction is the same as that of 

 the terrestrial group. 



In another article we shall speak of 

 the individual species and their peculiar 

 habits. 



THE LUDWIGIA MULEETTII. 

 (With illustration.) 



Like many other good things now 

 under cultivation, so has this species of 

 Ludwigia come to this country by ac- 

 cident. In the packing used to pack 

 water lily roots which Ave received, years 

 ago, from South America, we found 

 about half a dozen sprigs of it. These 

 received good care and they soon devel- 

 oped into thrifty plants. From year to 

 year they improved under cultivation 

 and are much admired and sought after 

 by fanciers of choice aquarium plants. 



The accompanying illustration re- 

 presents the plant in its natural size. 

 A plain engraving in black ink how- 

 ever cannot do it justice. It must be 

 seen to be appreciated. The color of 

 the foliage differs on different parts of 

 the plant. Old leaves are dark green 

 above and violet crimson underneath; 

 young leaves are sometimes a brilliant 

 light green, at other times a bright 

 pink. In several instances we saw the 

 entire plant, including the stems, in all 

 the tints of crimson, from the most del- 

 icate hue to the deepest shade. The 



shapes of the leaves are very graceful. 

 There is no stiffness about them, each 

 one is curved or turned in a different 

 manner, thus giving a great variety of 

 forms. Especially striking in the ef- 

 fect, when some of the leaves are partly 

 turned over and show some of the 

 crimson. 



Besides being a very showy plant for 

 a parlor aquarium, it is also a very good 

 oxygenator. It grows all the year round, 

 and is eeldom molested by goldfish. • 

 Accompanying our Ludwigia we have 

 sketched a group of our pets as they 

 may be often seen, when they gather in 

 their favorite spot in the aquarium 

 before or after meal time. Beginning 

 with the one nearest the top, we see 

 "Blackey," a three-years old Fringe- 

 tail telescope. This fish is jet black, 

 with a purple lustre ; next we see 

 ''The Bride," a noble-looking fish of 

 the Comet tribe, pure white, sparingly 

 spotted with vermilion; "Frieda" is 

 seen swimming towards the right. This 

 is a small fan- tailed goldfish of the 

 Narwal tribe; it is deep orange in color. 

 " Harun al Rashid " is the one swim- 

 ming downward, giving us a full view 

 of his lower parts. It is a scaleless 

 Fringe-tail, white, mottled with ver- 

 milion." "Ruby" is the one swim- 

 ming directly toward us ; he is ruby- 

 red, solid color, with a golden yellow 

 abdomen, of the Faintail tribe. 



The one on the lower right is 

 ''Brutus," a fair representative of the 

 Nymph variety, mottled vermilion 

 and white. He is a very noble creature, 

 and although quite plain regarding his 

 fins, he is by no means the least attrac- 

 tive one of the group. Last but not 

 least comes " Red-Riding-Hood," a 

 little Fringe-tail of the Hooded tribe. 

 His peculiarity is, as the sketch shows, 

 a swelling of the skin on the top of his 



