248 TRANSACTIONS OF THE 



After this statement made by me, The Farmer's Journal treated 

 my book as a romance and me as a liar. One thing about it is my 

 own, the rest belongs to Tull, (viz :) I transplant in dry weather — 

 he in we^." 



[Bulletin Mensuel De La Societe-Imperiale Zoologiqiie D'Acclimatation. Paris, 



June 1856.] 



Mons. le Vicomte de Valmer, gives the following notice of the 

 aquaria (ponds,) of sea water and of fresh water, in the London 

 Zoological garden. They are made of glass and so placed as to 

 enable an observer to study the development of plants and ani- 

 mals in them. They are manufactured by Messrs. Sunders and 

 Woolcot of London, and cost about 18 pounds sterling a piece. 

 These are about six feet long by about two and a half feet wide, and 

 two and three quarters deep. It was doubted whether the sea ani- 

 mals could be kept in them, on account of the necessity for changing 

 the water often. Algse flourish in them, fastening themselves to 

 pebbles placed in the aquaria, the actinus, or anemones of the 

 sea soon grow and JBll the vase with their animal flowers of a 

 thousand brilliant colors, among one difficult to be obtained the 

 actinia mesembrjanthemum, {noon day Jlower ;) with some pains 

 the Cross corner can be procured, whose flowers are larger and 

 very brilliant and various, red, blue, rose brown and gray; you 

 reach with your hand to take hold of them, these living dahlias 

 instantly vanish and become a lump of sand ! They re-flourish 

 on the following day. The sea daisy or ox eye, called hellisy 

 flourish. The dianthus, which is sometimes found attached to 

 oysters, resembles olive colored, or rose, or white jelly. Dust is 

 as injurious on the surface of the water in the aquarium as ice I 

 It prevents the oxygen of the air from entering the water; you 

 must cover it with glass or muslin; ends open for air; keep off 

 the rays of the sun by means of transparent paper or some other 

 clear stuff. If the sun's rays are allowed to heat the water of the 

 aquarium, your tender plants are ruined; and there must always 

 be a shady place in it; new water must be ready to supply the loss 

 by evaporation ; it must be kept at the same level and same de- 

 gree of saltness; globules of pure oxygen are formed on the plants, 

 then rise to the surface, and are there seized with avidity by the 

 fishes. When natural sea water cannot be had we make it; com- 

 mon kitchen salt will not answer. 



The following rule for making sea water is given, viz : 



