32 INFTJSOKIA. 



' Tis sweet to muse upon the skill displayed 

 (Infinite skill!) in all that He has made: 

 To trace in Nature's most minute design 

 The signature and stamp of power divine, 

 Contrivance intricate, expressed with ease, 

 Where unassisted sight no beauty sees" 



As my aim is merely to give the reader a taste of 

 the subject, and whet his appetite for its more exten- 

 sive pursuit at other sources, I shall confine my re- 

 marks to a few of those creatures which are readily 

 to be found in any well-stocked aquarium. The 

 number of animalcule and microscopic zoospores of 

 plants, invisible to the naked eye, with which such a 

 receptacle is filled, even when the water is clear as 

 crystal, is truly marvellous. These animals mostly 

 belong to the class Infusoria, so called from their 

 being found to be invariably generated in any infu- 

 sion, or solution of vegetable or animal matter, which 

 has begun to decay. Now, the water in an aquarium 

 which has been kept for any length of time neces- 

 sarily becomes more or less charged with the effete 

 matter of its inhabitants, which, if allowed to ac- 

 cumulate, would soon render the fluid poisonous to 

 every living thing within it. This result is happily 

 averted by the Infusoria, which feed upon the decay- 

 ing substances in solution, while they themselves be- 

 come in their turn the food of the larger animals. 

 Indeed, they constitute almost the sole nutriment of 

 many strong, muscular shell-fish, as pholas, mussel, 

 cockle, &c.; and doubtless help to maintain the life of 

 others, such as actiniae, and even crabs, which, as is 



