OCEAN GAEDENS; 



gleaming with nmisual dyes^ — metallic aznre, and 

 silvery crimson — ^r^dll dart and glide in our tropic- 

 tempered tanks, as in their own tropic ocean, for 

 our delight and gratification. We are now entitled 

 to expect from science, that it shall exhibit to us the 

 wonders of the tropic deeps, as it has shown us the 

 glorious plumage and yelyet-spotted furs of the 

 denizens of its terrestrial forests. 



This is, in fact, the only thing that remains for 

 us to do, in making a fitting popular display of 

 the wonders of Nature, in order that we may surpass 

 the doings of the ancients in that field of popular 

 instruction and gratification. 



Even in the days of Cyrus, we learn from the 

 graphic Xenophon and other sources, that every 

 eastern satrap had his ^^paradises," in which the most 

 curious animals of distant regions were preserved 

 in a state of liberty, and in a manner suited to their 

 natures, either for the sport of hunting or for the 

 curious gratification of the eye. 



The Romans, long before they had attained to 

 the material wealth of the modern nations of 

 Europe^ had exhibited to the people of their capital 

 all the noblest animals of Asia and Africa. Even 

 the Giraffe and the Hippopotamus were familiar 



forms to the Eoman populace ; while, with the 



no 



