278 TRESH-WATER AQUARIA. 



bunch of healthy Worms, free of mud, will soon be ready to 

 be dropped into the aquarium, where those which are not 

 immediately devoured by fish and other animals will live and 

 thrive imtil their turn comes, at some future day, to furnish 

 a meal for their fellow-captives. 



I believe, from experiments which I have made, that these 

 "Worms may be easily bred in confinement, either in a large, 

 shallow tank, or in such a vessel as an ordinary washing-tub, 

 sunk a foot or two in the ground of a garden. The bottom 

 of either tub or tank should be covered to the depth of about 

 Gin. with mud taken from such pools as those in which these 

 animals are naturally found. The water above the mud in 

 the receptacle prepared for the Worms should not be more 

 than 6in. nor less than Sin. The most convenient way, how- 

 ever, to insure a constant supply of these very useful animals 

 is to place a quantity of them in a natural pool in the neigh- 

 bourhood (if not already there), and there they would be 

 almost sm'e to breed successfully. 



A small hand-net, made of strong muslin or milk-straining 

 material, of about 4in. in diameter, is very useful for taking 

 the Worms from their native waters. The net should be thrust 

 into the mud a little beneath the red patches, and the 

 Worms and mud so obtained may be conveniently carried 

 home in an ordinary can and treated in the manner already 

 recommended. 



I have written at some length concerning T. rivuloruin, 

 because it is so exceedingly useful for feeding fish and other 

 carnivorous animals of the aquarium; because it forms one of 

 the most suitable foods for the fry of trout and salmon ; and 

 because it is not likely, if not devoured immediately by the 

 inhabitants of the tank, to die and corrupt the water. In 

 conclusion, however, I venture to warn novices in aquarium 

 matters against using either dead or unhealthy Summer 

 Worms. 



Leeches are by no means uninteresting in an aquarium. 

 Some of them are handsomely marked, and others are more 

 or less graceful swimnaers. As they are carnivorous and 

 greedy, they should be kept in a tank entirely given up to 



