108 



aquatic Hilt 



Aquatic JLift 



A monthly magazine devoted to the study, 

 care and breeding of native, tropical, gold 

 and fancy fishes, other animals and plants 

 in the household aquarium. 



W. A. POYSER Editor 



JOSEPH E. BAUSMAN Publisher 



542 E. Girard Avenue, Philadelphia. 



Entered as second-class matter, September 

 2, 1915, at the Post Office, Philadelphia, Pa., 

 under Act of March 3, 1879. 



Yearly Subscription $1.00 



Foreign Subscriptions 1.35 



Single Copy 10 cents 



Payments may be made by express money 

 order, draft, post office order or registered 

 letter. Foreign remittances should be by 

 international money order. 



Advertising rates made known on application. 

 "Aquatic Life" is the only magazine in 

 America devoted exclusively to aquatic life, 

 and its value as an advertising medium in 

 this field of nature study is unequaled. 



Copyright 1917 by Joseph E. Bailsman 



Vol. II 



April, 1917 



No. 8 



A Story With a Warning 



F. R. WEBBER 



Never discuss tropical fishes with a 

 book agent. The other day one called in 

 my absence. He looked like a college stu- 

 dent. His clothes were of the rah-rah 

 type and his hat was decorated with a 

 ribbon the color of a fried egg. We were 

 expecting a friend of mine whom Mrs. 

 W. had never seen. When the book 

 agent asked for me by name, Mrs. W. 

 asked him inside. She gave him an easy 

 chair in the front room. On the table 

 were several tanks of fishes. The agent 

 at once had an idea. Calling in Mrs. W., 

 he began to ply her with questions. He 

 stated that he had once had a round 

 globe, in which he kept a castle, a lot of 

 shells and two Woolworth goldfish. One 

 day they floated to the top and died. 



Mrs. W. explained to him the balanced 

 tank, and several other things, to which 



he listened with eagerness. Then began 

 a rapid cross-fire of questions. When I 

 returned the nomadic book dealer greeted 

 me like a long-lost brother. He eagerly 

 asked me whether I had any fishes to sell. 

 I told him no. He asked about the 

 price of the Helleri, the Guppy, the Platy 

 and the Retic. He told about a fish down 

 in Chicago which bore a name that he 

 thought was something like "Balona-six," 

 and which took delight in shaking the 

 life out of poor minnows. He asked 

 about temperature control, breeding 

 tanks, and requested my opinion as to 

 the value of Vallisneria spiralis and 

 Sagittaria natans as oxygenators. He 

 even spoke in familiar terms about 

 Lemna polyrrhiza and Riccia fluitans. 



Of course I warmed up to him at once. 

 Who wouldn't in a remote Wisconsin 

 town, where the members of the family 

 of the fish-verrueckt are rare? He soon 

 had me worked up to a friendly pitch, 

 but I don't think I told him the story of 

 a Chicago man who had a jar of rare 

 tropical fishes wrapped in paper, which 

 he left in care of a heavy-jowled friend 

 with a white apron. Next day the Chi- 

 cago man returned. He found that the 

 heavy-jowled person had kept the mys- 

 terious package carefully, as he had 

 promised to do. He had kept it in the 

 ice-box ! 



When my visitor had me in a friendly 

 mood he suddenly paused, reached under 

 his coat and pulled from an enlarged 

 pocket a sample copy of a new book on 

 modern Biblical criticism, written for the 

 common people, and from the standpoint 

 of the negative critic. He did not make 

 a sale. 



Later I learned that every scrap of 

 knowledge had been gained from my wife 

 ten minutes before. The book agent be- 

 longed to the class of people who feed 

 crackers to scabby goldfish imprisoned 

 in globes set in the south window, and 



