281 



SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



[Dec. 1, 1865. 



FISH TATTLE. 



The MiGBATiON of Eels.— During a couversa- 

 tioH upon the habits of certain fish, my informant 

 mentioned that on the top of a cotton miU, owned 

 by a friend of his, was a large water-tank, and at the 

 bottom another. These were always kept filled with 

 water for the purposes of the factory. The tank at 

 the top requiring to be cleansed, was emptied, when, 

 lo, a number of eels were found in it. How did 

 they get there ? None could tell. In the lower 

 tank they were always kept, but not in the upper. 

 However some time afterwards the mystery was 

 solved. The walls were wet on one side, from a 

 leakage in the upper tank, and up these moist places 

 eels were observed wriggling from the bottom 

 vessel, until they attained the top of the lofty 

 building, when they precipitated themselves into the 

 upper tank. — Charles Strange. 



The Sand-LxVUIvCE, the Hermng, A^^D the 

 SiiELT {Ammodytes luncea, Cliipea Ilarengus, and 

 Osmerus eperlanus). — ?.Ir. P. H. Gosse, at page 113 

 of his recently-published book, "A Year at the Shore," 

 says that he can vouch for the Sand-Launce '"' making 

 a very attractive tenant of an aquarium, tcJiere it loill 

 live a consiclerahle time." I am glad to hear this, 

 because, with the tolerably complete arrangements 

 of the Hamburg Aquarium, I have been unable to 

 get it to live for more than a few minutes, or an hour 

 or so, or, in one instance, in a perfectly dark and very 

 shallow stream of water, and running strongly, for a 

 day and a half. I have tried on several occasions, 

 the last time being a fortnight ago, when I received 

 from Heligoland twenty nice specimens, iu an eight- 

 gallon vessel of sea-water. On opening the can, the 

 lish were swiuuuing about in perfect health, ap- 

 parently, and I thought that if so many lived iu that 

 quantity of fluid during a ten-hours' voyage iu warm 

 weather, I should have a good chance of preserving 

 them alive when distributed by twos and threes in 

 tanks in perfect condition, and with streams running, 

 and containing from twenty-five to one thousand gal- 

 lons' capacity each, especially if I took care, as I did, 

 that the temperature and specific gravity of the water 

 in which the fish travelled were exactly the same as in 

 my tanks. But it was all in vain : the creatures took 

 an impetuous rush and a wriggle through the aqua- 

 ria, and turned up dead, some almost instantly, and 

 some a little later, with the exception of the 

 one I have mentioned, and which lived thirty-six 

 hours. Can any one, therefore, give me actual dates 

 of the times in which the Launce has been kept in 

 the aquaria, together witli a statement of all the 

 circumstances under which the conservation was 

 managed ? Did the Launce eat anything, and if so, 

 what? Did they, or it, burrow in sand in the 

 aquarium ? Mine did not ; they were too frightened 



to do anything. So also Avith Herrings. I have 

 received them cooped up in small quantities of water 

 after they have been a whole day on the journey here, 

 and yet looking as well as fish possibly could look ; 

 but on being placed in the aquarium, they shot wildly 

 and aimlessly hither and thither, ploughing the sur- 

 face of the water into waves with their extreme 

 speed, and sometimes even jumping clean into the 

 air, as if in pain, and then bolting into a corner and 

 dying in a very short time. So also with the Smelt. 

 They, too, have reached me alive and vrell, but have 

 behaved and died under precisely the same circum- 

 stances as the other two fishes named. It is difficult 

 to account for these things by reference to any 

 known law ; but all of these three fishes have scales 

 which are removed by a very slight touch, and their 

 bodies are of a peculiar gleaming silvery-blue colour, 

 aud they have a quivering or trembling motion of the 

 muscles of their sides, which can be plainly seen 

 through their delicate thin skins ; aud I have always 

 noticed that when these appearances exist in any 

 fish, it is difficult to be kept in confinement in an 

 aquarium. T should be glad to know why, on ana- 

 tomical grounds. Can any one please tell me? — W. 

 Alford Lloyd, Zool. Gardens, Hamburg. 



On the Management of Pebns in Cases. — 

 Do fern-cases require air ? asks a correspondent in 

 Science Gossip for October. Having had some 

 little experience in fern culture, I reply that in my 

 opinion ferns will not thrive in a small case without 

 it. Mr.lVard, I believe, thouglit that it could be dis- 

 pensed with in his cases, but I never could get my 

 ferns to iiirive unless there were some means for the 

 foul air to escape, and fresh air admitted. All plants, 

 save mosses, require fresh air properly admitted, 

 and even mosses would be better, according to my 

 notions, with a little of it ; but they can be cultivated 

 in an air-tight case, provided they are well shaded. 

 Your correspondent Mr. G. Norris also asks respect- 

 ing the soil proper for fern-cases. "What sorts does 

 he intend to grow ? Different ferns require different 

 soil. Some thrive iuthe shade, others on rocks ; some 

 in moist places, others in dry. He must imitate 

 their natural soil as well as he can ; get peat, turfy 

 loam, and small sandy stones well mixed together, 

 and fill his case with it. The best stand for a case 

 of ferns is facing the morning sun, and the bottom 

 of the case and its glass cover ought to be in two 

 different parts ; it is so much nicer for planting and 

 arranging your ferns when this is the case — a door 

 is not half so convenient. You know the glass soon 

 gets covered inside with moisture, and this moisture 

 ought to be evaporated by air ; for excess will cause 

 niouldincss to appear on the ferns. — Helen JFatney. 



