TREASURE-HOUSE OF THE GULF STREAM 



..)/ 



AN OCTOPUS IN ONE OF THE MIAMI AQUARIUM TANKS 



The octopus is a source of fascination to most people in spite of its repulsive appearance. 

 It has a large, ugly head, a fierce-looking mouth armed with a pair of powerful, horny jaws 

 shaped much like the beak of a parrot, and topped with two diabolical eyes set close together 

 that can send forth a demoniac glare when angry. The grotesque head is mounted on a 

 somewhat oval body from which radiate eight arms usually united at the base by a membrane. 

 The arms, or tentacles, are provided with rows of suckers with which to clasp and cling to 

 its prey with uncanny strength and quickness. The octopus has the faculty of instantly 

 changing color before the very eyes, and is constantly doing strange and weird things, which 

 always attract the attention of the passer-by. 



Twice fish figured importantly in our 

 national life. The inland stranger who 

 visits Boston may smile at the "sacred 

 codfish," which is so conspicuous in the 

 decoration of the State House ; but a 

 study of the Bay State's early history 

 will impress every American with the 

 major part fishing played in the industrial 

 history of his country. Moreover, the 

 prominence of fish food in the conserva- 

 tion program that helped toward a glori- 

 ous victory in the World War is a matter 

 of recent memory. 



THE ECONOMIC SIDE OE THE STUDY OE 

 MARINE FAUNA 



Now there is not only the food prob- 

 lem urge to impel scientific study of fish, 

 but many other fish products, such as 

 cod-liver oil, menhaden oil as a linseed- 



oil substitute in paint manufacture, seal 

 oil for miners' lamps, and the possibilities 

 of fish guano as fertilizer, fish meal as 

 cattle food, shark skin for leather, and 

 fish oil for glue, to warrant a closer 

 scrutiny of the industrial uses of fish. 



Popular interest and industrial possi- 

 bilities are two reasons why humanized 

 geography is such a compelling subject. 

 The Miami Station not only will afford 

 visitors an opportunity of getting a bird's- 

 eye view of the little-known life forms 

 of ocean depths, but it will offer unique 

 opportunity for scientific observation and 

 study of these sub-sea citizens. 



It is difficult to transplant and keep 

 alive the denizens of the warm seas, for 

 they do not take kindly to the colder 

 waters of the north ; therefore, to exhibit 

 them successfully, not only must clear 



