50 Aquatic Lite 
lightly planted with lallisneria and Sag- 
ittaria. Some fragments of coral have 
been strewn over the sandy bottom, and 
a fine tuffstone grotto placed in the cen- 
tre. Scrupulous cleanliness is essential 
with this, as with all aquaria. I care- 
fully remove all excess food, sediment 
and feces with a syphon. An average 
temperature of 75 degrees, Fahrenheit, 
which is that at which we maintain most 
of our exotic fishes, seems to suit it very 
well. All the way from Java, a journey 
of nearly three months, they were fed on 
scraped beefsteak. They will eat medium- 
grain fish food, but prefer Enchytre to 
anything else, except perhaps Daphne. 
Evidently the matter of proper foods is 
not a difficult one with this fish. 
In regard to breeding habits, it is prob- 
able that a nest will be hollowed in the 
cand to form a nursery for the eggs and 
young. I intend to make provision for 
this when my fish incline to propagation, 
though I do not know whether or not I 
now have both sexes. In any event, my 
collector tells me that he can secure speci- 
mens six inches long, and that the species 
is abundant in the vicinity of his port in 
Java. The vessel will arrive in New 
York next May, and should bring me a 
goodly collection of this and other fishes. 
——— ——— 
A Fisherman’s Last Thought 
From Maine comes a story of an old 
fisherman who was lying on his death- 
bed. After a few preliminary words, 
the worthy minister, who had been sent 
for, said that if the old gentleman had 
anything on his mind, it was hoped he 
would confide it to the pastoral ear, so 
that he might die in peace. 
“Well, sir,” said the old sportsman, “if 
‘| had may life to live over again, I’d fish 
more with bait and less with flies.’”— 
Harper's Magazine. 
The New York Show 
W. M. PACKER 
The Eighth Annual Exhibition of The 
Aquarium Society was held at the Ameri- 
can Museum of Natural History, New 
York City, on October 12, 13 and 14. It 
was the most successful one in the history 
of the society. The attendance was un- 
usually large, and all found it most inter- 
esting. Many species of tropical fishes, 
goldfish, aquatic and semi-aquatic plants 
were shown 1n two hundred aquaria. 
Scatophagus argus 
Mr. William L,. Paullin, of Philadel- 
phia, entered ten young Pterophyllum 
scalare. Though less than a quarter of 
a dollar in size, they were perfectly de- 
veloped, with bodies and fins like mature 
specimens. Mr. Paullin was awarded a 
special prize. 
Mr. Walter L. Brind, in one of his 
tropical tanks, exhibited Scatophagus 
argus and Terapon jarbua, the latter spe- 
cies never having been previously shown 
in this country. The entry won a special 
prize. 
The five silver cups offered by the So- 
ciety were awarded as follows: 
Mr. A. A. Phillips, Brooklyn, cup for 
best display of goldfish, cup for best de- 
veloped young goldfish hatched this year. 
(Concluded on page 56.) 
