CHAPTER IV. 



COLLBCTING EQUIPMENT. 



j F course/ it adds greatly to the interest of cabinet or 

 other aquaria if the various specimens can be ob- 

 tained personally from their native waters. Fish 

 generally should be carried from place to place in well-con- 

 structed bait-cans; and it is wise, if possible, for this purpose 

 to procure a can which has a mechanical contrivance for 

 aerating the water within it. In such a can, fish may be trans- 

 ported great distances without injury. If, however, a can 

 without such a contrivance is used, it should be so made 

 that the water does not readily splash out of it, and the 

 splashing thus confined within the can goes a long way 

 towards aerating the water and supplying the fish with the 

 necessary oxygen. The can ought not to be more than three- 

 quarters full of water. Of the many very useful bait-cans 

 which have been from time to time invented, two may be 

 referred to here, viz., one recommended by the late Mr. Frank 

 Buckland in his " Natural History of British Fishes," 

 and the other patented by Mr. Basil Field, and manu- 

 factured by Mr. H. Bowcombe, 2, Yictoria-road, HoUoway. 

 The former is a German invention, and though Mr. Buckland, 

 while speaking highly of this can, says that he engaged a 

 tinman to construct it, he omits to mention that workman's 

 name and address. The latter can is shown in Fig. 33. The 

 perforated zinc interior (D) is lifted whenever a fish is 



