160 



Aquatic Etfc 



informed Dr. Everman that he expects 

 to pay over to the Academy within a 

 few weeks the entire quarter of a million 

 dollars and that it is his desire that the 

 aquarium be in operation as soon as pos- 

 sible. It is therefore quite probable that 

 building operations will begin very soon. 



The city of San Francisco is to be con- 

 gratulated on having had as honored and 

 public-spirited citizens, Sigmund and 

 Ignatz Steinhart — men of vision and 

 large sympathies, who, having prospered 

 in this world, decided to do this splendid 

 thing for the people among whom they 

 lived. 



San Francisco and California are also 

 to be congratulated upon having as one 

 of their great institutions the California 

 Academy of Sciences, which is doing so 

 much for science and education in the 

 land. 



The name of Steinhart will ever be 

 honored and revered by the thousands 

 who will daily visit the Steinhart Aqua- 

 rium, where they will, through observa- 

 tion and study, receive entertainment and 

 instruction regarding the varied and in- 

 teresting forms of aquatic life which 

 will there be displayed. 



Marine Aquaria 



Concluded from page 157 

 twice daily this little garden-like pool is 

 thoroughly scoured by the tides, a condi- 

 tion we cannot hope to reproduce unless 

 we live quite close to the sea, and the 

 work entailed in carrying sea water 

 would soon dampen the ardor of the 

 most enthusiastic. I recently saw some 

 delightful exhibits of marine life main- 

 tained by this means. One of the Ger- 

 man settlers in New Ireland took great 

 pleasure in keeping, in large glass basins, 

 specimens culled from the ocean close 

 to his bungalow, but the water was 

 changed daily, and new life introduced 



by native labor — a luxury which cannot 

 be enjoyed in White Australia. 



Apart from large and expensive ap- 

 paratus, such as is installed in public 

 aquaria, our endeavors to maintain a 

 marine aquarium must be on a very mod- 

 est scale. The tanks must be quite shal- 

 low, so that a large aerating surface is 

 presented ; they must admit a minimum 

 amount of light in order to retard exces- 

 sive vegetable growth, which is much 

 more active than in fresh water, and 

 during warm weather provision for arti- 

 ficial aeration must be made. The 

 aquarist also must be content with 

 smaller and fewer animals than he would 

 introduce into fresh water tanks. The 

 chances of success are greatly enhanced 

 if quite half the total quantity of water 

 in the tank is kept in absolute darkness, 

 but with free access to the lighted part 

 so that circulation of the water is pro- 

 moted." 



The address was illustrated with ap- 

 paratus and blackboard drawings, and 

 the president mentioned that he had 

 maintained a marine aquarium for seven 

 years, during which period the water was 

 not changed, fresh water only being 

 added to replace loss by evaporation. The 

 correct density of the water was assured 

 by testing with a salinometer, or by ob- 

 serving a pair of specific gravity bulbs, 

 one of which floated and the other re- 

 mained at the bottom. Any change in 

 the relative position of the bulbs would 

 indicate that the salinity was incorrect 

 and required to be adjusted. As an indi- 

 cation of the success of the installation, 

 it was mentioned that pipe-fishes and 

 sea-horses had bred in Mr. Waite's aqua- 

 rium. — Herbert M. Hale, Honorary 

 Secretary. 



A man does not amount to much unless 

 he can prove it. 



