18 THE PRACTICAL GARDEN -BOOK 



are the ravages of the curculio (see Plum) and the danger 

 to the flowers from the spring frosts. It is usually almost 

 impossible to secure fruits from one or two isolated Apricot 

 trees, because the curculios will take them all. It is possi- 

 ble, also, that some of the varieties need cross-pollination. 

 The Apricot usually thrives best on strong soil ; but other- 

 wise the treatment which is given the peach suits the Apri- 

 cot very well.. The Russian varieties bear more profusely 

 and with less care than the old-fashioned and larger kinds. 

 Amongst the best kinds of Apricots are Montgamet, Jackson, 

 Royal, St. Ambroise, Early Golden, Harris, Roman and 

 Moorepark. In the east, Apricots are commonly worked on 

 plums, but they also thrive on the peach. 



Aquarium. A pleasant adjunct to a living 

 room or conservatory is a large glass globe or glass box 

 containing water, in which plants and animals are living 

 and growing. A solid glass tank or globe is better than 

 a box with glass sides, because it does not leak, but the 

 box must be used if one wants a large Aquarium. For 

 most persons it is better to buy the Aquarium box than to 

 attempt to make it. Four things are important in making 

 and keeping an Aquarium (according to Miss Rogers, in 

 Cornell Nature- Study Leaflet No. 11) : 



" (1) The equilibrium between plant and animal life 

 must be secured and maintained. Animals do not thrive in 

 water where no plants are growing. Nature keeps plants 

 and animals in the same pond, and we must follow her lead. 

 The plants have three valuable functions in the Aquarium. 

 First, they supply food for the herbivorous creatures. 

 Second, they give off a quantity of oxygen which is neces- 

 sary to the life of the animals. Third, they take up from 

 the water the poisonous carbonic acid gas which passes 

 from the bodies of the animals. Just how the plants do 

 this is another story. (2) The Aquarium must be venti- 

 lated. Every little fish, snail and insect wants air. A 

 certain quantity of air is mixed with the water, and the 



