94 



THE AQUAEIUM, JANUARY, 1894. 



demand for curiosities in mixed grafted 

 conifers— that is, six or seven kinds of 

 conifers on one plant. 



Maples form one of the best mate- 

 rials for the artistic fancies of the Japan- 

 ese craftsman. Often a great many- 

 different varieties of maples are grafted 

 on one stem. Seedling maples are 

 spliced and tied together when grow- 

 ing ; after they have formed an union 

 the desired shoot is cut off ; this is kept 

 up until ten or twenty varieties are ob- 

 tained. Maples thus grafted form lovely 

 features for lawns, their varying hues 

 and types of foliage enhancing each 

 other's beauty. 



Now a few words regarding our 

 miniature gardening. The a?sthetic idea 

 shows itself in every line of Japanese 

 industries, and especially is it the case 

 with our nursery and landscape garden- 

 ers. The most inex^oerienced need not 

 fear any difficulty in our mode of 

 gardening if he but uses his mind and 

 efforts in the right direction. The 

 skillful artist introduces into his minia- 

 ture garden, not regular geometrical 

 forms, but anything odd, irregular and 

 artistic. To us gardening is not mathe- 

 matic, but an art — hills, dales, rivulets, 

 waterfalls, bridges, etc., vie with each 

 other in presenting their quaintest forms 

 and fancies and harmonious symme- 

 tries. Dwarfed plants of all descrip- 

 tions deck the scene here and there in 

 thousands of peculiarly artistic shapes. 

 We derive many lessons from Nature, 

 and endeavor to imitate her as much as 

 is practicable, although on a smaller 

 scale. It is in the person of a Japan- 

 ese gardener that Dame Nature finds 

 her most ardent lover ; his is the ambi- 

 tion to make his country a place for 

 men like Arnold to flee to when seeking 

 a studio to the beauties of the " Light 

 of the World." 



OUR AQUARIUM IN 1888. 



The space allotted to us for a display 

 of live fish and aquatic j^lants at the 

 Centennial Exposition at Cincinnati, 

 was in an aisle between two high build- 

 ing. This aisle received its light 

 through a glass roof Avhich connected 

 the roofs of both buildings. The cen- 

 tre of our space was directly opposite 

 the entrance to the Floral Hall. 



The design, as the picture shows, was 

 two rustic rock walls connected in the 

 middle by a ditto arch. The material 

 used in building was old stumps from 

 ravines, plaster and paint. Of the two 

 sections thus formed, the one to the 

 left as we approach the display from 

 Floral Hall, contained six large and one 

 smaller tank. Three of these were 

 aerated artificially ; the other to the 

 right contained eight smaller and one 

 large tank. The water in none of the 

 tanks was ever changed, it being aerated 

 with the exception of three tanks, 

 through the action of the aquatic plants 

 only. In the middle, below the arch, 

 was a basin of water for marsh plants 

 and amphibious animals. This basin 

 extended all the way back to the brick 

 wall of the building. As far as it was in 

 view this wall was covered with a cor- 

 rect picture of the Ohio river, near 

 Leavenworth, Ind., painted on canvas. 

 The perspective being about ten miles 

 up the river showing the banks on the 

 Kentucky side on the right and part of 

 Leavenworth on the left. Farthest up 

 we see one of the Blue river islands and 

 the border of West Virginia. 



The frames of the tanks were of iron, 

 with the fronts and ends of polished 

 plate glass, while the rears were ribbed 

 and the bottoms rough plate glass. 



Each tank was arranged differently 

 to be in bearing with the habitate of its 

 inmates. The Exposition opened July 

 4th, and closed Nov. 10th. During 

 the hottest days, when the thermometer 

 registered 110° F. in the buildings, the 

 temperature of the water in our tanks 

 was up to 103° F. and the fish and 

 plants were in a flourishing condition 

 and water as clear as crystal. 



