66 



FEESH-WATEE AQUABIA. 



the aquarium-keeper, as far as lie is concerned, ought to he 

 grateful for its appearance here, for not only is it one of the 

 very hest plants for the tank, hut also in its tangled masses, 

 much interesting animal life is almost sure tp he foimd. Its 

 leaves, varying from dark to light green, according to age, are 

 three or four in a whorl. They are minutely serrated, and are 



to he found in shape from 

 roundly ovate to oval-oblong; 

 and in them the oyolosis may 

 easily be seen under the micro- 

 scope. In this country the 

 plant — as the female flower is 

 only found as a rule — increases 

 chiefly by budding and not by 

 seed. The male flower has 

 been discovered, it is said, 

 growing on long tubes some- 

 what similar to the spiral 

 stalks of the female flower of 

 the Yallisneria. The stem of 

 the Anacharis is long, round, 

 transparent, and very brittle, 

 the smallest portion of which, 

 as long as it contains a whorl 

 of leaves, will send out roots 

 and grow, in a comparatively 

 short time, into an entire mass. 

 It wiU flourish either floating 

 in the water or planted in the 

 soil at its bottom ; however, 

 its specific gravity is so great 

 that it very frequently sinks 

 from its own weight. From what has already been said, it 

 wiU be readily gathered that the Canadian Water-weed is 

 very hardy, and an excellent producer of oxygen. It will 

 never die if it is carefully pruned of all decaying branches. 

 The snails and some of the fish wiU eat it ; and swans and even 

 horses are said to be fond of it. Indeed, the birds are useful in 



Fig. W. Canadian "Water-weed 

 (Anachams Alsinastrum). 



