10 



The Florists^ Review 



July 10, 1919. 



scription at once to the publicity fund. 

 "We have in Texas an organization 

 for the purpose of furthering the in- 

 terest of a botanical garden, of which 

 John S. Kerr is president, J. M. Eam- 

 sey, vice-president, and L. J. Tackett, 

 secretary. I bespeak for that organiza- 

 tion your hearty cooperation, and I hope 

 that something will be done at this con- 

 vention thaf» will help to make possible 

 ■a. botanical garden in the near future, 

 that not only will make every Texan 



proud, but will be an object of interest 

 to all horticulturists as well as the peo- 

 ple at large. 



"In closing I wish to congratulate 

 you on your splendid attendance «n this 

 occasion for renewing our activities, 

 and to thank the Atistini.fl(?rists and our 

 other friends here, in behalf" of myself 

 and all other visiting florists, for their 

 hearty reception and cooperation for a 

 successful convention." 



r^V'^^JtXSVJlXS/Jt^l-VS/JliS^lAS^ 



FOR THE FISH FANCIERS 



Rliy^ffif^ffi?^fe^r1fr^|y?S1ifrti[^^ 



PBOPEB CABE OF AQUABIA. 



Some Hints for Fish Fanciers. 



The bowl of goldfish that one used to 

 •see in many flower stores has, like 

 everything else in recent years, pro- 

 gressed into something much more elab- 

 orate. Often aquaria have been made 

 a profitable side line in flower stores. 

 At this season many a florist has fish in 

 the pond that is a feature of his sum- 

 mer window. And some florists have, 

 from slight acquaintance, formed in a 

 way such as this, become enthusiastic 

 fish fanciers, devoting much time and 

 money to the hobby. Indeed, one of the 

 foremost retailers says he cannot af- 

 ford an automobile; he needs the money 

 to spend on his collection of fish, which, 

 by the way, is fine enough to be.'wortha^^ 

 such devotion. To many wSio. have liowl 

 reached his degree of Its^wlddge and 

 skill in the care of aquaria, soine sug- 

 gestions for their better success are 

 •offered. 



CM^ Sources of Failure. 



The chief sources of failure m the 

 management of aquaria are overcrowd- 

 ing, overfeeding, sudden temperature 

 changes, lack of proper plant life and 

 insufficient lighting. 



The tendency to overcrowd aquaria 

 is a common fault. A safe rule to fol- 

 low is to allov/one gallon of water to 

 «very 1-inch fi«h; thus a 10-gallon 

 aquariummay contai<?ten X-inch fish or 

 two 5-inch fish. When the fish con- 

 tinually cotn^ to the top and gasp for air 

 it is a sign" Either of overcrowding or 

 of the preseBfce of some decomposed 

 matter in the water. 



Overfeeding of fish is an evil usually 

 due to ignorahee; Under natural con- 

 ditions, in 0^*1?; to procure food, fish 

 have to ^xert ^ JJ^mselves, but as such 

 , exercise is not .possible in a confined 

 ** aquarium, foodfpnust be given in smaller 

 amounts. No mx>te should be given than 

 i<i^ be consumed at once, and if any 

 i3?femains after five minutes it should be 

 removed with a dip tube. When the 

 temperature of the water is 60 degrees 

 Fahrenheit or higher, daily feeding is 

 permissible, but as the temperature 

 goes down, feeding should be reduced to 

 2-day or 3-day intervals. 



If change of water becomes necessary, 

 sudden fluctuation of temperature should 

 be avoided, as it is quite often the pri- 

 mary cause of disease. Every few days 

 a tenth of the volume of water may be 

 changed slowly. A sprinkling pot is 

 desirable for adding water, the small 

 streams becoming well aerated. 



An evidence of sickness in fish is the 



dragging of the back fin, which normally 

 is carried upright. The movements also 

 become sluggish and a tendency to hide 

 in a dark corner is noticed. The body 

 becomes thin, the fins split and are 

 streaked with red, and the excrement 

 shows a pale color. A sick fish should 

 be removed quickly from the aquarium, 

 and if the disease ^affecting it be con- 

 tagious, the tank should be disinfected 

 by adding three grains of potassium 

 permanganate to a gallon of water, hav- 

 ing previously removed the fish and the 

 snails. 



The mineral constituents of the water 

 are absorbed by the fish and plants to 

 such an extent as to necessitate addi- 



tion of these materials at intervals. A 

 mixture of three parts of evaporated sea 

 salt to one part of'Spsom salts, added at 

 the rate of one teaspoonful to twenty 

 gallons of water every two weeks, will 

 prove beneficial. Acid conditions, re- 

 sulting in the crumbling of the shells 

 of snails, may be eliminated by keeping 

 a piece of plaster of Paris or gypsum 

 in the aquarium. In dissolving it neu- 

 tralizes the acid, but as it only dissolves 

 under acid conditions there is no danger 

 of the water becoming too alkaline. 



Use of Snails and Mussels. 



In order to get rid of a good deal of 

 decomposing matter in the aquarium, 

 Japanese, African and European red 

 snails, as well as water mussels and 

 weather-fish, are extremely useful and 

 should find a place in every tank. The 

 mussels are necessary for keeping down 

 algal growth. 



Planting is done directly in sand, 

 which is spread to a "thickness of one 

 inch. Two inches of water is then added, 

 the roots spread out, and another one- 

 inch layer of sand and pebbles placed 

 on top. The aquarium should be al- 

 lowed to stand at least a day before the 

 fish are added. 



A globe is one of the worst possible 

 containers for fish. When filled, the air 

 surface is small in proportion to the 

 welter bulk; the convex surface of the 

 globe acts as a lens, focusing light into 

 the eyes of the fish; proper plant growth 

 is difficult and, in addition, overcrowd- 

 ing and overfeeding are apt to result. 



is'fetion hw 



COAL CONTRACT IN COUBT. 



Interpretation of Wording. 



Florists who bargain for their coal 

 requirements for definite periods will 

 be interested in a decision handed ^own 

 by the Illinois Appellate court lately, 

 in that it shows the advantage of ha\^ 

 ing definite understandings in such 

 bargaining. 



The court holds that an agreement 

 which provides that a coal company 

 will deliver all the coal that a con- 

 sumer may ' ' desire, or want ' ' during a 

 given period is unenforceable as lack- 

 ing mutuality. In other words, it falls 

 within the general principle of contract 

 law that there can be no valid agree- 

 ment unless there is reciprocal obliga- 

 tion. A buyer must be bound to accept 

 delivery, as well as the seller obligated 

 to make it. 



But, fallowing the view taken by 

 other courts, it is decided that a con- 

 tract is valid which provides for de- 

 livery of all the coal ' ' needed, required, 

 or consumed ' ' by the buyer during a 

 certain time. The quantity is made 

 definite by ascertainment of the actual 

 extent of the buyer's requirements, 

 which he is bound to accept, and which 

 the seller is bound to deliver. 



The Court's Decision. 



In this case it appeared that an in- 

 stitution had previously purchased its 

 annual requirements of coal from a min- 

 ing company under contracts estimating 

 the quantity needed. The particular 



contract stipulated that the company 

 would furnish coal for the year ending 

 August 31, 1917, as follows: "About 

 2,000 tons of screenings at $1.60 per 

 ton," etc. The buyer's actual require- 

 ments exceeded this estimate and the 

 selling coal company denied its obliga- 

 tion to furnish the excess at the con- 

 tract price. Deciding the controversy 

 in the buyer's favor, the court said: 



' ' The most reasonable explanation 

 for the use of the words 'about 2,000 

 tons' is that this is a contract for the 

 season 's supply of coal, and the words 

 quoted are the estimate of the season's 

 requirements. We believe that in view 

 of all the surrounding circumstances 

 and the previous transactions which 

 this court considers, not for the purpose 

 of altering or modifying the plain lan- 

 guage of the contract, but of ascertain- 

 ing, tjie subject-matter of it, and in or- 

 der that this court may put itself in 

 the same position the parties occupied 

 at the time they made the contract, the 

 contract should be construed as being 

 for the season's supply of coal for the 

 year ending August 31, 1917, and that 

 the plaintiff was required to furnish and 

 the defendant to take its season's sup- 

 ply of coal at the price fixed in the 

 contract." 



Although the decision is an obviously 

 sound interpretation of the rights of 

 the parties under the contract, its most 

 useful purpose is to suggest that con- 

 tracts of this kind should be so worded 

 as to put their meaning beyond all rea- 

 sonable controversy. S. 



