THE AQUARIUM, OCTOBER, 1895. 



15 



composed of a large number of sheets of 

 paper, with a hole in the middle, is inserted 

 in the mouthpiece and the upper disk of 

 paper is torn off after every conversation. 



A Large Sunflower.— Mr. Geo. Combs, 

 of Freeport, L. I., has growing ou his place 

 a plant of the above with 58 blooms, one in- 

 dividual head being nearly four feet in cir- 

 cumference ; the stalk measures 13 feet in 

 height. 



Snails are imported from France to the 

 extent of 200,000 pounds per annum, and 

 are mostly consumed by the French 

 people. 



There has been a great deal of discus- 

 sion of late over the resolution adopted at 

 the last meeting of the American Fisheries 

 Society against stocking private waters 

 with public hsh. This practice, which has 

 been general of late, should be stopped for 

 all time. This is not only wrong on 

 principle but it deprives breeders of many 

 dollars which rightfully belong to them. 

 A senator or congressman will send a 

 favored constituent all the fish he may de- 

 desire and as long as the pond owner en- 

 joys this pull he of course will not buy fry 

 from the breeder. 



Sleeplessness in Plants. — It is now 

 pretty well known that many plants belong- 

 ing to the LeguminosBe and Oxalidse 

 exhibit the phenomenon termed sleep 

 under certain conditions. When the light 

 wanes in the evening or at sundown, the 

 leaflets of which the leaves are composed 

 fold upwards or downwards as the case may 

 be, and close up generally face to face. 

 When a number of these plants are ex- 

 amined on a bright day, it will be seen that 

 (as a rule) the leaflets place themselves at 

 such an angle that the sun will shine fully 

 upon them. A s the sun sinks so do the 

 leaflets, until they are perfectly closed, ex- 

 hibiting the phenomenon termed sleep. 

 Now should the same plants be examined 

 during daylight on a dull day, the leaflets 

 will be seen to be fully expanded ; but 

 should the day be cloudy throughout, the 

 leaflets in the evening will be found either 

 fully expanded or imperfectby closed and 

 sleepless so to speak. The cause of this 

 would be the result of the feeble light dur- 



ing the day, and which has rendered the 

 leaves so dormant, or their function so in- 

 active, that they are less sensitive to the 

 waning light, and consequently do not ex- 

 hibit the phenomenon of sleep. Fanci- 

 fully this might be compared to sleepless- 

 ness in animals which have not had proper 

 exercise during the day, and consequent!}- 

 cannot sleep. The actual causes are differ- 

 ent in the two cases, but the results are 

 very similar, considered in the light that 

 they cannot, or do not, go to rest properly. 

 — Gardr ti ivg World. 



All on Account of a Fish.— The beau- 

 tiful, very old village of Brotterode, in 

 Thueringen (Germany), was entirely de- 

 stroyed by fire this summer. Investiga- 

 tions have shown that a little boy had 

 caught a little fish in the creek that runs 

 through the village. Desiring to cook it, 

 he started a fire behind a barn. The latter 

 was filled to its capacity with this j-ear's 

 crop ; it caught fire and in less than no 

 time it started a blaze that destroyed 3(50 

 homes out of the 380 that constituted the 

 village, including the Court House, the 

 Church and the Post Office. 2,300 people 

 are homeless, having lost everything ; only 

 a few were insured : two women and two 

 children were burnt to death. The damage 

 to property is estimated at two millions. 



In the N. Y. Aquarium the plate-glass 

 fronts of all the tanks on the main floor 

 have been taken out. These plates, although 

 one inch thick, did not stand the pressure 

 of the water and most of them had cracked. 

 The bottoms of the tanks are filled up eigh- 

 teen inches, thus bringing their bases to 

 the standard height, 36 inches, used in Eu- 

 ropean aquariums. This way the pressure 

 of the water is considerably lessened and 

 the tanks get more appropriate shapes, at 

 the same time bringing the inmates right 

 before the observer's eyes. The glared 

 white tiles that formed the lining of the 

 tanks have also been removed ; a rustic 

 coating will take their place. The work on 

 the roof is also progressing nicely. 



U. S. postage stamps are taken in 

 payment for subscriptions to The 

 Aquarium. 



