ZOOLOGTCAI. SOCIETY BULLETIN 



87 



well to accustom tliciii to conic to a particu- 

 lar location each time. All dead matter must 

 be removed with promptness. If the water 

 should become cloudy it indicates the pres- 

 ence of decomposed aninial matter. It may 



© ® ® ® 



.\yL .\KU \1 IMl'Lli.MliNlS. 



1. — Net -i. — Forceps. 3. — Stick for feeding. 4. — Swab for cleaning 

 glass. 5. — Tube for taking up refuse. 



be necessary at times to siphon out the wa- 

 ter and clean the gravel, or all the animal life 

 might he killed. The water can be often cor- 

 rected by dipper aeration, as before stated. 

 L'se fresh water to supply the loss by evapo- 

 ration. Anemones are apt to move out of 

 sight to the back of the aquarium, so it is 

 best to keep them in view and thereby avoid 

 possible trouble. It is very difficult to give 

 any rule as to the number of animals to stock 

 an aquarium which will be practical. Use 

 plenty of Ulva, and sec that it is in good con- 

 dition. The beginner is apt to use too much 

 animal life. He should try very few speci- 



mens at first, and carefully watch the condi- 

 tion of the water and animals. Practical 

 experience is the best teacher, and success 

 will reward persistent effort. The student of 

 biology will find a varied and fertile field in 

 the life which can be maintained in aquaria.'' 

 Gosse's formula for making artificial sea- 

 water: 



Common table salt 8i parts 



Epsom salts 7 



Chloride of magnesium 10 



Chloride of potassium 2 



Total 100 •■ 



One pound of this mixture, carefully dis- 

 solved in water and filtered, will make about 

 three gallons of sea-water. 



THE IN'CREASING CONSUMPTION OF 

 CARP. 



It is frequently very interesting to overhear the 

 remarks of visitors at the Aquarium. One of the 

 tanks has always been devoted to the exhibition of 

 the difTercnt varieties of carp, and men stopping 

 before this collection often remark. "Why was this 

 dreadfully common fish ever introduced into Ameri- 

 can waters?" 



It was originally brought to the United States, not 

 by tlie Government, as is generally supposed, but by 

 private citizens. While few would at present defend 

 the introduction of the European sparrow, the carp 

 is not altogether useless. We have a steadily in- 

 creasing population to feed in America, and the 

 question of food for the people will become more 

 important as the years go by. The latest statistics 

 of the Fish Comtuission show that the carp is figur- 

 ing extensively in the fish-food supply. More than 

 7.000,000 pounds of carp are luarketed yearly in New 

 York City, nearly all this amount being purchased 

 by foreigners living on the East Side. More than 

 17.000.000 pounds are used annually in the United 

 States, and the carp catch from the Illinois River 

 alone is nearly 6.000,000 pounds. 



Our waters are already overtaxed to furnish the 

 annual supply of native fishes, and it may be that in 

 the end the cheap fish-food represented by the carp 

 will be very satisfactory to an important proportion 

 of our population. In any event the so-called "carp 

 nuisance" promises some abatement, if the fishery 

 statistics of the past two or three years are worthy 

 of consideration. As the species cannot now be ex- 

 terminated the best way to deal with it is to catch 

 and eat it. 



GIFTS TO THE AQUARIUM. 



During the months of January and February the 

 following-named fishes were received at the Aqua- 

 rium : brook trout, rainbow trout, hybrid trout, 

 brown trout. landlocked salmon (young). .Atlantic 

 salmon (adult and young), golden tench, green 

 tench, pickerel, pike, rock bass, sucker, crappie, wall- 

 eyed pike, yellow perch, sunfish. goldfish, paradise 

 fish, skate, cunner. mutton-fish, tautog. sculpin. and 

 torn-cod — 350 specimens in all. Most of these were 

 gifts from the U. S. Fish Commission, the New York 

 and New Jersey Fish Commissions, the South Side 

 Sportsmen's Club, and Mr. Henry Bishop of Bal- 

 timore. 



