78 THE AQUARIUM, OCTOBER, 1896. 
Tho’ the morning be ever so bright, 
' And cloudless the sky of the noon; 
Prepare your lamp ere approach of night ! 
For the day will end all too soon. 
-—From the German. 
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Now is the proper season to clean, re- 
arrange and restock your aquarium for the 
winter. Do not overstock your aquarium. 
A few choice specimens are much more at- 
tractive and interesting, and require less 
attention and care than twice their number 
of ordinary everyday fish do. 
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Feed your fishes regularly every day, but 
don’t overfeed them. Remember you don’t 
want to fatten your fish for the table ; all 
you want, isto keep them in good condi- 
tion. When feeding IXL. food, bear in 
mind that this food is condensed, contain- 
ing only select ingredients of a highly 
nourishing character. A granule of the 
size of a grain of wheat is sufficient fora 
daily ration of a small fish; when the fish 
is of medium size, two granules of IXL. 
are plenty a day. 
ny 
When the water of your aquarium be- 
comes cloudy or milky looking, this is a 
sign that you feed too much. 
Every two or three weeks you should re- 
move the refuse matter that has accumu- 
lated at the bottom of your aquarium by 
means of a glass dipping tube or a small 
rubber hose (siphon). The inside glass 
sides of an aquarium should be carefully 
wiped off at least once in a week. 
——————— 
Dutch Hyacinth bulbs should be planted 
during the month of October for house 
culture. Buy single named varieties; of 
these you will have the best results. Buy 
the best that you can get; these give you 
the most pleasure. The difference in price 
is only a few cents. 
— 
Do not forget to plant half a dozen or 
more of white Roman Hyacinths in a china 
dish(blue decorated china looks pretty with 
them), using a mixture of moss and sand 
for soil. They should be planted in the 
second half of September or first half of 
October, and will be in bloom at Christmas 
and New Year. Their culture is very sim- 
ple. (See p. 12, vol. iv.) 
During the winter months house plants 
are best watered in the morning. Water 
them only when they are dry; don’t let 
them get too dry, but then water them well, 
not merely wetting the surface of the soil, 
with water of which the chill was taken off. 
In winter no water should be allowed to 
stand below the flower pots in the saucers. 
Ficus repens is a very graceful trailing 
plant, especially well adapted to be grown 
on brackets. It should be kept rather 
moist. 
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Turtles should not be kept in an aquari- 
um. They will injure the fish and also the 
plants. 
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At this season of the year turtles, that 
have been kept as pets, should be allowed 
to bury themselves for the winter. For 
that purpose fill an empty soap box half 
full of moist garden soil, dead leaves, small 
twigs and moss, all mixed up, and on top 
of this set the turtles. These will soon 
make themselves comfortable for the win- 
ter. The box is then covered by nailing 
slats over it, to keep cats and rats out, and 
put in the cellar until spring. The turtles 
will not eat during the winter. 
The material in the box should be 
watered now and then to prevent its be- 
coming too dry. 
