1586 



ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY BULLETIN 



water flea of the ponds — by taking the sea 

 horses out of the salt water and the daphnia out 

 of the fresh water, and putting them all into 

 brackish water one-third salt and two-thirds 

 fresh. Within an hour the sea horses are re- 

 placed in salt water, and this process he re- 

 peats each day. Fresh-water shrimps are a wel- 

 come substitute for the salt water variety, and 

 will live several hours in sea water. 



During a shortage of Gammarus, we have suc- 

 ceeded in enticing some of the sea horses to eat 

 the fresh water worm Tubifex, which will live 

 for half an hour in salt water, and some were 

 also coaxed to partake of enchytrae. One of 

 the Chicago department stores maintains an 

 aquarium and has succeeded in keeping five sea 

 horses alive since last summer by feeding them 

 on the new-born young of small, fresh-water 

 viviparous fishes. These little tropical fishes 

 are well known to aquarists, and include Guppyi 

 or rainbow fish, Helleri or swordtails. Gam- 

 busia, etc. 



Other fishes, also crabs and prawns, annoy 

 the sea horses, but it is possible to keep anem- 

 ones, barnacles, oysters and clams in the same 

 jar with them. 



The salt water aquarium requires strong 

 light, but should have very little direct sunlight, 

 — none in the summer and not over an hour or 

 two a day in winter. The most useful cover is 

 one made of glass of the same diameter as the 

 jar, with bits of cork glued to its edges at sev 

 era! places in such wise as to allow it. when set 

 on the jar, to rest on the corks a quarter of an 

 inch above the top of the aquarium. Such a 

 cover prevents the escape of crabs, snails, etc., 

 retards evaporation, and keeps out dust. 



Animals in all balanced aquaria at the New 

 York Aquarium are fed three times a week with 

 macerated clam. Care is taken to drop small 

 pieces from the end of a stick or long wooden 

 forceps upon the tentacles of the corals and 

 anemones, which then may be seen to carry the 

 food to their mouths. All food not eaten within 

 a few hours in carefully siphoned off with » 

 glass tube. 



For the inland aquarium, dried shrimp, des- 

 sicated cod fish after the salt has been soaked 

 out of it, fresh-water mussels, or fresh fish, fine- 

 ly chopped, would serve. Fresh fish, however, 

 is oily, and even an expert aquarist must take 

 unusual care in using it. 



A bit of wood fastened at the end of a stick 

 and covered with felt or cheesecloth, is useful 

 to clean the inside of the glass. In the matter 

 of impurities in the water, an ounce of preven- 



tion is worth many a pound of cure ; particular- 

 ly in the inland marine aquarium. The speedy 

 removal of dying plants and dead animals is 

 very essential. For this, a long wooden forceps 

 is a convenient tool. Some aquarists advocate 

 a bit of charcoal placed under the rocks as a 

 clarifier. 



During a succession of gray days, the water 

 may be aerated by lifting out a dipper full at a 

 time and letting it fall back from a height of 

 several inches. When the sand appears dirty, it 

 is well to siphon off the bottom with a rubber 

 tube until about four inches of the water have 

 been drawn. This can be used again by filter- 

 ing through four or five thicknesses of cheese- 

 cloth, or letting it seep through a sponge placed 

 in the bottom hole of a watering can. The sarhe 

 method may be employed if the water appears 

 a trifle cloudy. 



What is only difficult, may appear to the nov- 

 ice impossible. He must not be discouraged if 

 his first efforts fail, however, but remember 

 that "Patience and perseverance overcome all 

 obstacles," and, as a wise lady once remarked, 

 the only difference between the difficult and the 

 impossible is that the impossible takes a little 

 longer time. 



SPEARING SALMON FROM A SHADED 



BOOTH 



By C. H. Townsend 



A METHOD of fishing to be seen, prob- 

 ably, nowhere else, is that practised by 

 the Wintun or Digger Indians of the Mc- 

 Cloud River in northern California. 



When the salmon run begins in this mountain 

 tributary of the Sacramento, three hundred 

 miles from the sea, the Indians erect booths of 

 branches and green leaves overhanging the wa- 

 ter, through the half open bottom of which they 

 strike salmon with the spear. The booth or 

 bower is shaped like a conical tent and is high 

 enough to accommodate a standing man, while 

 the long shaft of the spear projects through the 

 leafy top. 



The booth is supported on a framework of 

 poles set firmly in the bank, its rim in close 

 contact with the surface of the water, the bot- 

 tom being without floor except for a mere shelf 

 close to the bank on which the spearman stands. 



It is erected over a shallow pool or eddy just 

 below a rapid or riffle where the upward moving 

 salmon are likely to pause before rushing into 

 more rapid water. 



