96 



aquatic fltte 



through the leaves. The plant may al- 

 most be said to sweat, throwing off an 

 acid secretion which may turn the water 

 sour. If for this or any other reason the 

 water becomes acid, the growth will be 

 sickly and the inhabitants of the aquar- 

 ium will not thrive. To counteract acid- 

 ity the soil must contain calcium carbon- 

 ate, or a small quantity of lime water or 

 ammonia can be added to the water. 



Lack of food in the soil, the presence 

 of bacteria, wrong lighting, and the use 

 of bad water, all result in weak or sickly 

 plants. Water from wells sometimes con- 

 tains salts deleterious to aquatic vegeta- 

 tion, whilst rainwater lacks nourishing 

 substances and needs to be fortified with 

 nutrient solutions. 



With a view to counteracting the too 

 rapid growth of confervae and of pre- 

 venting the development of diatoms and 

 undesirable vegetation in aquaria, Mr. 

 Edquist suggests and superintends a vari- 

 ety of experiments by his students at the 

 High Schools throughout the State. An 

 effective means of destroying the pests 

 is to add small quantities of weak solu- 

 tions of ammonia, copper sulphate or iron 

 sulphate to the aquarium affected. Flow- 

 ers of sulphur sprinkled on the surface 

 of the water will materially assist in keep- 

 ing the vessels free from confervae. 



Mr. Edquist also insisted that, unless 

 artificially stimulated aquatic plants un- 

 dergo a resting or winter period in con- 

 sonance with terrestrial vegetation, and 

 reminded his hearers that some lowly ani- 

 mal forms provided against drought con- 

 ditions by producing an abundance of 

 eggs as the water receded or evaporated, 

 which living through long periods of 

 dry weather, ensured the continuance of 

 the species and the appearance of new 

 generations when the water once more 

 soaked the thirsty earth. — Herbert M. 

 Hale, Hon. Secretary. 



(The photographs of the Australian 

 water-bug, Diplonchus, sp., were made 

 by Mr. Hale from local specimens and 

 exhibited at the annual meeting of the 

 society. Some American species have a 

 similar habit. Professor Comstock states 

 that "A striking feature in the life history 

 of many of the giant water bugs is that 

 the female fastens her eggs on the top 

 of her own back with a thin layer of 

 waterproof glue, which she secretes for 

 this purpose." He illustrates a female 

 of Serphns sp., with the eggs so attached. 

 In commenting on the giant water-bugs, 

 Needham and Lloyd say "The eggs of a 

 smaller, related water-bug, Zaitha or Be- 

 lostoma, are attached by the female to 

 the broad back of the male, and are car- 

 ried by him during their incubation. The 

 nymphs of this family, on escaping from 

 the egg suddenly unroll and expand their 

 flat bodies, and attain at once proportions 

 that would seem impossible on looking 

 at the egg." — Editor.) 



One of the members of the Ridgewood 

 Aquarium Society, who has been keep- 

 ing tropical fishes for several years, de- 

 cided to add a few goldfish to his col- 

 lection. He built a large aquarium, 

 equipped it with running water, and se- 

 cured six nice goldfish. When the land- 

 lord called for the rent on the first of 

 the following month he noticed the new 

 tank and, pointing to it, said to our friend 

 the aquarist: "See here, Mr. Blank, I 

 don't care how many of those small 

 (tropical) fish you keep, but you must 

 get rid of those large ones. They drink 

 too much water." This is a fact and not 

 a mere fish story. It happened last 

 month. — Brooklynite. 



It takes a hustler to distinguish the dif- 

 ference between an obstacle and a hin- 

 drance in Hi s path. 



