THE ZooLocist—Aucust, 1876. 5033 
In Great Britain almost every town or watering-place of any 
note is to have its aquarium, the North of England, with its usual 
energy, eminently taking the lead. 
Scotland, so far from being behindhand, has, within the last 
few days already opened its first, at that charming little place, 
Rothesay, so much frequented by the people of Glasgow. There, 
through the influence of its patron, the Marquis of Bute, has been 
established an aquarium, which, when quite complete and in 
working order, will not only be an ornament and attraction to the 
town, but I have every reason to believe will be of great scientific 
value, for on this rock-bound rock-bound north-west coast of Scot- 
land is a grand marine fauna. This, without some aid and central 
base for operations, such as this aquarium will afford, could hardly 
ever be worked out satisfactorily. Rothesay will I hope prove to be 
a famous place in future aqarium reports, especially in its record of 
rarities and new species discovered in Britain. It is fortunate in 
having a curator, Mr. Barker, who has his “heart and soul in the 
cause,” and from whom we hope much. Already he reports to 
me that the northern stone crab (Lithodes arctica), which, up 
to the present time, has only been reported as British from one or 
two isolated captures by the trawlers of Yorkshire and Lincoln- 
shire, has been discovered in some numbers by the collectors sent 
out on behalf of this aquarium. Large Nephrops Norvegicus also 
have been found abundantly by them: this species, although known 
by the name of the “ Norway lobster,” has hitherto been found in 
Britain most commonly on the eastern Ivish coast, from whence 
the English, and even some of the continental, aquaria have been 
supplied. In Dublin I have often seen this species sold in the 
streets, after being boiled, as “‘ prawns,” at a few pence per dozen ; 
they are a very great delicacy, and quite equal to the common 
lobster (Homarus vulgaris) as an article of food. As an aquarian 
animal they are very attractive; their bright colour, their dignity 
of bearing, their habit of throwing up great earthworks for the 
protection of their hiding-places—make them great objects of 
attraction to visitors. 
At the Rothesay Aquarium marble has been greatly used, for the 
first time, in the construction of the tanks. This I believe is a 
yery important application, one which will be largely adopted in 
place of slate, as at present used for smaller tanks. Slate, from its 
laminated structure, is liable to split when any lateral pressure is 
