old fashioned in type and not adapted for the 

 best display. 



The ])ernianent aquarium, when completed, is 

 designed to hold about 140 tanks ana will be the 

 largest aquarium in the United States. 



At present there is on exhibition about 30 

 species of fish, embracing just half of the number 

 of families of fish in the waters of Pennsylvania. 

 The attendance last year was 25G,857. At the 

 present time there is an average attendance on 

 Sundays of over 2,000. 



Philadelphia also enjoys a large outside basin 

 about 150 feet long and 60 feet wide, devoted to 

 seals, and its natural location makes it one of the 

 best and most attractive seal tanks in existence. 



Some idea of the interest in fish is shown by 

 the comparative numbers of people in attendance. 



The attendance at the New York Zoological 

 Park during 1913 was 1,943,683, while the attend- 

 ance at the Xew York Aquarium in the same 

 length of time was 2,205,729. 



In Philadel]ihia the attendance at the Zoological 

 Gardens for the year ending March 1, 1914, was 

 454,344, but of this number 250,000 represented 

 children sent to the gardens by the Board of Edu- 

 cation. The attendance for one year at the Phila- 

 delphia Aquarium was 256,857, with no visitors 

 sent from the public schools. 



In each city, New York and Philadelphia, it 

 will be seen that there is a greater interest in the 

 exliibition of fish than in the animals on exhibi- 

 tion in the Zoo, and we trust our city will push 

 as rapidly as possible the completion of our "to 

 be largest and best aquarium in the United 

 States." 



We have had a number of compliments paid us 

 on the article appearing in the September number of 

 Aquarium Notes and News on the Chaetodon. This 

 is an incitive for more work along the same line, so 

 shortly our members may look for two cups to be 

 offered for original research in regard to several of 

 our common and native fish. It is only by this 

 original work that our society can be recognized as 

 a scientific body. 



79 



