liO GLAUCLS ; OK, 



home ? Beautiful and instructive as they may 

 be, can they be meant for any but dwellers by 

 the sea-side ? Nay more, even to them must not 

 the glories of the water-world be always more 

 momentary than those of the rainbow, a mere Fata 

 Morgana which breaks up and vanishes before the 

 eyes ? If there were but some method of making 

 a miniature sea-world for a few days ; much more 

 of keeping one with us when far inland. 



This desideratum has at last been filled up ; 

 and science has shown, as usual, that by simply 

 obeying Nature we may conquer her, even so far 

 as to have our miniature sea, of artificial salt- 

 water, filled with living plants and sea-weeds, 

 maintaining each other in perfect health, and 

 each following, as far as is possible in a confined 

 space, its natural habits. 



To Dr. Johnston is due, as far as is known, 

 the honor of the first accomplishment of this 

 as of a hundred other zoological triumphs. As 

 early as 1842, he proved to himself the vegetable 

 nature of the common pink coralUne, which 

 fringes every rock-pool, by keeping it for eight 

 weeks in unchanged salt-water, without any 

 putrefaction ensuing. The ground, of course, 

 on which the proof rested in this case was, that 



