g44 AQUARIA. 



was oponoil in the Zoological Gardens, Regent's Park, London. The result was that the public 

 mind bocftinc deeply interestrd in this subject, and speedily the parlors and libraries of the 

 vvcaltliv inhabitants of London became ornamented with aquaria. These are now, in fact, one 

 of the cherished luxuries of rich and refined homes thronirliout England. In this country the 

 subject has received less attention, though it is not wholly neglected. Several works on the 

 aquarium have been published here ; many private individuals, and several public institutions 



have adopted them.* 



A.piaria are of two kinds, marine and fresk-7vater. For the former, our shores afford abundant 

 supplies : among swimming fishes are the sticklebacks, minnows, killifish, blennies, gobies, ber- 

 gnlls, sand-smelts, sea scorpions, pipe-fish, suckers, the hippocampus, &c. : among Crustacea, are crabs 

 of many kinds— and very amusing little people they are— with lobsters, craw-fish, shrimps, 

 &c. ; among mollusca, we have several species of whelk, which are foun.d useful as window washers, 

 that'is, in keeping the glass sides of the tank clear and bright ; of zoophytes, we have also several 

 kinds • we have a very common species of asteria — the five-fingered jack, known on all our coasts, 

 though in the aquarium he is rather apt to snap oS his fingers ; we have not the splendid variety 

 of sea-anemones found in European waters, but we have two or three interesting species ; of the 

 (Toro-eous serpula, we have several kinds. These, with other sea animals, afford abundant sup- 

 plies for the marine aquarium. 



For fresh-water aquaria we have also a great variety of curious and interesting species. For 

 details in respect to the management of these, we must refer to the manuals, which aftbrd all 

 needful information. We may remark generally, that the care and labor required by an aqua- 

 rium is far less than might be expected, as it has been found that certain plants, placed in the 

 water, give it the necessary aeration, so that it will remain pure for a whole year, and therefore 

 requires no change for that long period. An artificial method of aeration is sometimes adopted, 

 which is also effective. As an enlightened amusement, as a beautiful lesson in the ways and 

 works of nature, we earnestly recommend the aquarium to all our readers, especially to families 

 where there are children.f 



* An excellent Aquarium may be seen in the rooms of the Academy of Arts and Sciences at Philadelphia ; we 

 may also recommend to the attention of our readers, what are called in the flourishing advertisements, the "River 

 Gardens," at Barnum's Museum. Even these are exceedingly amusing and instructive. There is a still more ex- 

 tensive establishment of this kind in Boston, called the Aquarial Gardens, where there are some twenty reservoirs, 

 handsomely fitted up and well arranged, in which there is an extensive collection of marine as well as fresh water 

 animals. 



Among American works on aquaria, we may mention " Life beneath the Waters," by A. M. Edwards, published 

 by Bailliere k Co., 290 Broadway, 1858, which furnishes all requisite information on the subject. We particularly 

 recommend the work, as furnishing some information on American marine and fresh water animals not easily ob- 

 tained elsewhere. 



t In England, the Larmrium has recently been popularized ; in respect to this, Mr. Tuthill writes as follows, in 

 an excellent article on the importance of Natural History as a popular study — New York Da'ibj Times, May, 1859. 



" The next need in this direction is that some one will do for the tribes of insects what Gosse and Kingsland did 

 for the subaqueous small fry. We want a cheap ' Larvarium,' in which to hatch moths and butterflies out of the 

 tufts of cobwebs in the corners that housewives abhor, in which to grow the tiny eggs that adhere to the leaves of 

 plants and underlie the turf, into spiders, worms, and flies, and so unveil the mystery of the lives of these total 

 strangers that still are in and out of our doors daily. The inclosed rear-yard of every city lot conceals a grand me- 

 nagerie of rare animals, just as rare and as little known as if they only bred in Africa, whose metamorphoses are well 



worth watching One slug known from the egg to the end, one moth personally observed from the 



hatching of the larva to the death of the imago, makes a memorable chapter in one's education. The moral effects 

 of such studies are on all hands recognized and welcomed. They are no less wholesome physically — drawing irresist' 

 ibly old and young into the open air, to the fields, the woods, and the beach. When they become fashionable, gym- 

 nasiums will fall into decay, and we shall hear less lay preaching about the necessity of exercise for sedentary 

 folks." — This is the spirit of the true naturalist, and cannot be too widely diffused. 



