40 FISH CULTUEE. 



them. As taps are apt to clog if there be any"- 

 sediment in the water, once a week fix a loose 

 india-ruhber hose on to the nozzle and let a strong 

 stream of water rmi through into a pail as waste 

 for about a quarter of a minute ; thus filth will be 

 got rid of and a fair run provided. If this is not 

 done the stream will diminish by degrees without 

 perceptible cause, and then perhaps on a sudden 

 will burst forth, bringing a mass of dirt and col- 

 lected sediment with it, which will not benefit the 

 ova. To the part of the tap which comes through 

 on the inside of the cistern attach a short india- 

 rubber hose, carefully cleaned and sweetened, and 

 float this to within three or four inches of the top 

 of the water, (when the cistern is full, remember,) and 

 if there be any sediment it soon begins to settle 

 and to leave the surface water, which is the most 

 aerated of all of course, tolerably clear. Nevertheless 

 there is hardly any unfiltered water which does not 

 contain a sediment of some kind, and therefore it 

 is always advisable to employ a filter. This, how- 

 ever, need not be a very formidable affair. A large 

 earthenware pot provided with a hole on one side, 

 near the bottom, from which projects a short pipe, 

 and filled with a mixture of the finest gravel and 

 sand thoroughly cleansed does very well. I have used 



