72 



THE FAMILY AQUARIUM. 



is a notable little swimmer, and withal, although his shape 

 does put us in mind of the monster of the Nile,'' an inof- 

 fensive, light-hearted animal, who gambols his time away 

 in the happiest possible manner. Some of the Tritons are 

 nicely colored, are vividly marked about the tail and under 

 parts of their bodies, and have bright laugh-like, glittering 

 eyes. 



It would be as well to keep the cover on the tank in 

 which the Triton is confined, for he is as adventurous as he 

 is lively, and when permitted, will extend his explorations 

 into the room itself, crawling about in places to which he 

 can find access without the slightest regard to ladies' 

 nerves or the delicacy of the occasion. 



As the Tritons feed upon the minute parasitical insects 

 that injure aquatic plants, as well as upon ordinary earth 

 worms (of which they are fondj, they are really useful, as 

 well as comely, in the Aquarium. Besides this, they go 

 through no less than nine different stages of being from 

 the time of their first appearance from the egg, before they 

 perfect their physique and accomplish their mission in the 

 world, and every stage presents us with some novelty 

 worthy of an idle hour's consideration. 



There are three kinds of Tritons, but our allusions have 

 chiefly reference to the smallar kind, which has a smooth 

 skin, and in summer is a full rich grey on the back, spot- 

 ted with black, while he is of a fine orange color under- 

 neath, enriched with large prettily-formed spots of crimson, 

 and has a remarkable fin-like crest running the whole 



