MARINE AQUARIUM. 117 



appearance. Mr. Ilibbcrd, in his "Rustic Adornments," 

 savs " I am very partial to pipe-fishes, not for their ac- 

 tivity, for they are lazy, dreamy creatures, but for their 

 queer performances — they are the antipodean acrobats of the 

 Aquarium. They sink down slowly to the bottom, and 

 there poise themselves in perpendicular attitudes, remaining 

 motionless for some minutes, either on the tail or on the 

 head, after the fashion of an 'indiarubbcr brother.' Indeed, 

 they assume every possible attitude except the horizontal 

 one ; and, like the buffoons on the human stage, get laughed 

 at for their pains. The other day I was amused to see a 

 frne specimen of Syngnathns acus proceed slowly and solemnly 

 fluttering, as he went, his useless dorsal fin, and dropping 

 his head beside a waving frond of Rhodymcnia, left his 

 tail to swing over, till he brought himself to an angle of 

 about forty degrees, where he remained for several min- 

 utes immovable, like one of the brothers Seigrist thrusting 

 himself out from la perc/ic. Will M. Seigrist stand head 

 downwards on the floor at Drury Lane, aud poise himself 

 unsupported at forty degrees, and then, swing his body to 

 and fro, bring himself head upwards to a similar angle ? I 

 commend the pipefishes' performance to the whole tribe of 

 mountebanks, as a great hit if they can accomplish it. In 

 a very small tank the pipefishes aro rather unhappy ; they 

 want plenty of room." 



Mr. Gosse speaks of the suckers as good fish for the 

 Aquarium; and of which there are fourteen species, seve- 

 ral of them living in fresh water. There is one marine 

 species quite common with us, and is to be seen exposed 

 for sale in New York markets in autumn. This is the com- 



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