THE AQUARIUM, OCTOBER, 1893. 



this plant with a small ^^iece of meat 

 and see it relish it. Proof against the 

 prayers of the fanatics on fasting, we 

 take our seat at the table, and think 

 that a fine roasted duck is not harmful 

 on Friday, because the flowers them- 

 selves do not refuse a small beef steak. 



WEEDS AND WATER FOWLS IN 

 RELATION TO WATER. 



It is pleasant, if only for the sake of 

 variety, to be able to say a good word 

 for weeds. Into my pond, so writes 

 a gentleman of our acquaintance, runs 

 a stream of 25 gallons per minute of 

 pure water, from a drain which I cut 

 12 feet deep, some 30 odd years ago. 

 Weeds will thrive and grow in this 

 pond, and we have annually to rake 

 out large quantities of tiiem. They 

 look very beautiful as they grow in the 

 pellucid water, which is used for house- 

 hold purposes. Said a visitor to me 

 one day, " If you had a pair of swans 

 your pond would be free of weeds ;" so 

 a kind friend presented me with a pair 

 and very soon they cleared the pond, 

 picking the weeds up by the roots and 

 feeding on them. My family were de- 

 lighted with the graceful swans and 

 the removal of weedy obstructions to 

 boating ; but although the pond was 

 free of weeds, the water was no longer 

 pure and pellucid, but most decidedly 

 muddy in taste, and when the steam 

 issued from the kettle, the smell of the 

 mud was unmistakable. Well, no one 

 thought it could be the swans ; but at 

 last I came to that conclusion, and des- 

 pite family and other remonstrances, 

 returned them to their original owner. 

 After a short period the weeds reap- 

 peared, and as they increased in bulk, 

 the water gradually assumed its pellu- 

 cidity and purity, and *•' Richard was 



himself again." What the weeds do 

 for the water and its occupants, the 

 land vegetation does for the air : man, 

 animals and other living creatures 

 poison it, while vegetation absorbs the 

 injurious gases, and reconverts them 

 into wholesome food and fuel for man 

 and beast, filling the atmosphere with 

 that precious oxygen without which 

 man and animals and other living 

 creatures could no longer exist. So it 

 is in the vast ocean, whose living occu- 

 pants and vegetation probably exceed 

 in quantity that which is on land. ' 

 We owe to the river vegetation much 

 of the purity of water. It is the excess 

 of impurities from our towns which are 

 beyond its powers of appropriation. 



AUTOINTOXICATION IN GOLD- 

 FISH. 



Since last winter we received nearly 

 a hundred inquiries from all parts of 

 the country regarding a disease which 

 caused the death of a great many choice 

 goldfish. The symptoms were in each 

 case described alike. We deem it of 

 sufficient interest to our readers to de- 

 vote some space in these columns to its 

 cause which, we hope, may tend to pre- 

 vent this fatal disease, as its cure seems 

 as yet out of the question, 'I'he fol- 

 lowing typical letter sent us recently by 

 one of our patrons describes the disease 

 very clearly, and it will be recognized 

 by many of us at once as the " forlorn 

 hope." The lady writes as follows : 



•'Taking advantage of past kindness, 1 

 write to ask for information regarding a dis- 

 ease prevalent among my goldfish. A white 

 scum or mould appears on the tail, most fre- 

 quently, but sometimes on the tins. It eats 

 toward the body until the tail is destroyed, 

 and the fish then dies. I can stay the disease, 

 I find, by salt-bath, and carefully removing 

 the mould, but the fish finally dies. It has 



