45 



AQUARIA. 



The establishment of an Aquarium on hoard ship may 

 appear at first sight to he difficult or impossible. Really it is 

 not so, at least on a small scale. Glass globes, such as are 

 ordinarily used for gold-fish, answer very well for this purpose 

 Take a circular piece of wood an inch thick ; to this attach 

 four small cords of twelve or fourteen inches long, bind their 

 loose ends to a metal eye, place a globe on this stand within 

 the four cords, hang it to a hook in the cabin ceiling, and it 

 will swing as safely as a lamp. In this way globes of the 

 kind above-named, containing living specimens, have been 

 conveyed four times across the Atlantic by Capt. Mortimer in 

 the ship "Florida," without being broken or damaged. A 

 double object may be attained by the establishment of small 

 aquaria of this kind : they afford the opportunity of closely 

 studying various interesting living objects, and of importing 

 them to England. 



With the multitude of ships and steamers constantly 

 arriving in our ports, and the quickness of their passage as 

 compared with former times, it is not a little surprising that 

 so few living exotic creatures have been imported by this 

 method, either for purposes of naturalization or to supply the 

 demand for interesting specimens for aquaria. 



One or two hints may be useful to those disposed to make 

 an attempt. Never try to briny more than two or three 

 specimens, and these of small size, in a single globe. Three 

 fish as large as minnows would be quite as many as could live 

 long together in such limited space. Hang the globe in the 

 coolest part of the vessel, in a shady place. Strong light and 

 warmth are very prejudicial. Draw off with a clean siphon, 

 or other means, a portion of the water, daily if possible, and 

 supply its place with more. A little fine sand, washed free 

 from anything that will obscure the water, may in the outset 

 be put in the bottom of the globe, or, instead of sand, a little 



