RIVER GARDENS ; 



the result of accident rather than scientific experi- 

 ment, as neither the establishment of Aquaria nor 

 the illustration of the principles announced by 

 Priestley and Ingenhauss were sought, when it was 

 first found that fish would live longer and more 

 healthily in vessels in which aquatic plants were 

 growing, and also that the water, under such con- 

 ditions, remained clear without artificial aeration, 

 or the addition of fresh water. 



Nevertheless, it is interesting to know who were 

 the ingenious and philosophical experimentalists 

 who first, while in pursuit of other results, became 

 the means of demonstrating that a miniature "lake" 

 or "ocean" could be constructed in a glass tank little 

 more than a foot square, exhibiting the plants and 

 animals peculiar to each, all maintaining themselves 

 in a healthy condition, as in real lakes or oceans, 

 without any further care being bestowed upon the 

 little world after its first creation. 



Mr. Ward, in 1837, threw out, incidentally, the 

 first practical hints towards the formation of glass 

 vessels, whether for terrestrial or aquatic plants, in 

 describing the success of his attempts to grow ferns 

 in closed glass cases. Dr. Johnston, in 1842, 

 proved that sea water containing marine Algae in a 

 growing state, would remain pure for almost any 



