THE AQUARIUM. 367 



shallow, as upon the slate that forms the floor there ought to be a 

 pretty thickish bottom of sand, pieces of rock to which the sea- 

 weeds cling, and grit or pebbles, as much like the bottom of the sea 

 as possible, for the little inhabitants to burrow and hide themselves 

 in when not disposed to " take their walks abroad," for it is a funny 

 sight, I can tell you, to see a couple of shrimps meet when they are 

 walking out, and to notice how polite they are to one another, bow- 

 ing and scraping, and though you can't hear a word, no doubt 

 saying, " How do you do this morning, I hope I see you quite well." 

 Nothing saving sea- weeds and salt water, with the bottom prepared 

 as described, ought to be placed in an aquarium until the expiration 

 of ten days, or a week at least, if even it is formed of a glass globe. 

 The water is not in a fit state to receive the fishes before that time ; 

 and it is better to keep baling out a few tumblers of water every now 

 and then, and letting it fall in again from a good height, just as you 

 give a head to a glass of ale, as this lets in plenty of ak, and seta 

 the oxygen at work. Put fish into sea water that is not properly 

 prepared, and they will " kick the bucket" before twenty-four hours 

 are over. As for a new aquarium, it takes nearly three weeks for 

 the cement to dry, and then it ought to stand another three weeks 

 filled with fresh water, and the water changed a good many times 

 during that period, for the slightest portion of obnoxious matter will 

 kill the fishes ; and nasty as you may think sea water tastes, you 

 will soon find, when you set up an aquarium, that it is no easy 

 matter to get it fresh enough for fishes to live in, and that the sea 

 is a great deal sweeter than most people think. No doubt in time 

 glass vessels will be made big enough for any moderate-sized aqua- 

 rium, and all this poisonous metal and cement be done away with. 



The next thing is to put in your plants and sea- weeds, and if you 

 have been fortunate enough to bring with them a portion of the rock, 

 or stone, or whatever it may be, on which they grew, and to which 

 they still adhere, you will have no trouble at all to get them fixed, 

 for they have but to be placed in the tank where you wish them to 

 be, and the}* will soon begin to throw out oxygen as fast as a glass 

 of fresh champagne sends up beaded bubbles to the brim. Once tear 

 them from their moorings for roots, properly speaking, they have 

 none and although they will continue to live while floating in the 

 tank, yet by no means can you ever get them to affix themselves to 

 anything again, for many have tried and not one has succeeded 

 hitherto; and this is why you should be so particular in gathering 

 your plants, and have a chisel and hammer, so as to cut off and 

 bring with them a portion of whatever they adhere to. Among 

 the plants or sea-weeds so essential in keeping the fishes alive in 

 the aquarium, we shall point out a few of the most beautiful, so 

 that you may have something both useful and ornamental at the 

 same time, for there are plants growing in the sea as beautiful as 

 any that ever expanded their green leaves to the sun in the gardens 

 of earth; and if there are blue-eyed sea- nymphs who sit combing 

 their golden hair in coral caverns, and singing wild sea-songs, they 

 must have lovelier gardens to float in than ever delighted the eyea 



