366 THE AQUARIUM. 



space as to be called, where they most abound, the weedy sea, be- 

 ginning in the Northern Atlantic, and forming an embankment 

 above twelve hundred miles in length. What countless millions of 

 strange creatures must harbour in this great sea- forest ! That be- 

 ginning in the east stretches westward to the Bahama islands. This 

 was the weed which frightened the sailors who accompanied Columbus, 

 and who, when they moved slowly through it day after day, were 

 afraid that it would form firm land, and that they should never more 

 be able to return through it. But these gigantic wonders of the 

 deep have nothing to do with the sea- weeds necessary for the life of 

 fishes kept in an aquarium, and we have only described this great 

 gulf- weed, as it is sometimes called, to show that neither desert nor 

 forest on the face of the earth extend further or spread wider than 

 these unexplored ocean prairies. As yet we know but little of these 

 great sea-gardens, the countless leagues of vegetation over which 

 myriads of fishes swim or find harbour and safety from their pur- 

 suers in the network of these unmeasured mazes. 



But before telling you about what sea-weeds to get to keep the 

 water fresh and sweet and the fishes alive, we must first make you 

 understand how your aquarium is to be made. And, first of afl, a 

 glass globe, such as gold fishes are kept in, makes a capital aquarium, 

 with rock sand and weeds at the bottom, and filled up with sea- 

 water. But then these globes not only distort the forms of the 

 fishes, but are not large enough to hold a good variety, and to show 

 you clearly what wonders are hourly worked within the sea. The 

 sides and ends of an aquarium must be of glass, though some have 

 slate for the end pieces, as well as the bottom of the vessel, the latter 

 of which is always slate. But when the ends are slate you cannot 

 well see what is going on there, though perhaps if one end only were 

 of slate it would afford a little more shadow and shelter for the fishes. 

 The glass or slate must fit perfectly true, so that the metal by 

 which the pieces are held together, shall only be brought to bear on 

 the outside of the tank, and nowhere to come in contact with the 

 sea-water, for if it does, farewell to all your fishes, there will be the 

 deuce to play, and the old gentleman who is said to keep the Great 

 Fire Insurance Office below might as well turn in one of his jets of 

 sulphur, melted pitchforks, and the scum of his earthquake boilers, 

 for there would be such a compound of poisonous gases as would 

 Aiiake even the old one sneeze if he got his nose over the aquarium. 

 The salt water attacks the metal, and the metal poisons the salt 

 water, while the fishes and sea-weeds perish in the conflict. Surely 

 some wood may yet be found that will resist the action of salt water 

 and last for years, though such wood has yet to be discovered. The 

 sides ought to be made of plate glass, as it is free from those faults 

 found in sheet glass ; and Betty ought never to be allowed to ap- 

 proach too near the aquarium when she is in a passion and has got 

 the poker in her hand. The vessel ought not to be too wide if you 

 wish to see the fishes perfectly, a foot or fifteen inches is wide 

 enough for a small aquarium which is three or four feet in length ; 

 the depth is not so particular, though the tank must never be very 



