308 



THE lOUNG NATURALIST. 



base. The right side has the spots margined 

 with yellow and a pale fringe. The fore 

 wings are quite normal. — John E. Robson, 

 Hartlepool. 



ASSISTANT NATURALISTS. 



J. P. SouTTER, Clyde Terrace, Bishop 

 Auckland. All branches of Botany ex- 

 cept microscopic. 



John A. Tate, 6i, Merlin Street, Liverpool. 

 Inhabitants of the Aquarium, Terrarium. 



Dr. Ellis, ioi, Everton Road, Liverpool, 

 Coleoptera. 



W. H. Bath, Manor Villa, Sutton Coldfield, 

 near Birmingham. British Macro Lepi- 

 doptera. Will name specimens sent by post. 



(We shall be glad of additions to these lists. 



Any one communicating with the above will 

 please enclose stamped directed envelope 

 for reply, or stamped directed label for 

 return of specimens. 



MY MARINE AQUARIUM. 



By J. Osborne. 



You have frequently made room for my 

 odd jottings on Natural History, and I have 

 been induced to write on the present subject 

 from the reference to fresh water aquaria, 

 ' in the 'article " Pity the sorrows of a poor 

 Natural St." Though as a lad I had col- 

 lected birds eggs, and had been fond of 

 " gathering up the shells on the sea-shore," 

 I had made no study of any branch of 

 Natural History, and had no scientific 

 knowledge of any kind. When aquaria first 

 became the rage. I was smitten like other 

 people, and as Hived near the sea.it seemed 

 fitting that I should have a marine aquarium. 

 I had a small globe in which gold fish had 

 been kept, and in this I made my first 

 attempt. I could not, of course, wait a 

 single day, after I had taken the disease. I 



had no knowledge on the subject, nor was 

 I acquainted with any one who had, but 

 with pail and basket set off for the rocks. 

 My globe held about a gallon and a half, 

 but I had not the slightest idea how many 

 animals this water would contain. My 

 main idea was to get all I could. I had a 

 hazy sort of notion that sea-weeds were 

 needed to keep the water sweet, so I took 

 with me a hammer and chisel to break off 

 some weed-covered fragments of rock. Two 

 or three pieces covered with green weed 

 were procured, and one piece studded over 

 with small barnacles. These were arranged 

 on a sandy foundation, so as to leave some 

 secret recesses into which a crab or other 

 animal could retire. Then I put in my live 

 stock. A periwinkle or two, one limpet, a 

 " dog-crab," a small hermit crab, and the 

 fish, which were two kinds of eels, one dark 

 in colour and the other much lighter. The 

 rock-work was so arranged that it just 

 reached the surface of the water. It had 

 rather a muddy look — the water cleared 

 slowly, and I went to bed without seeing 

 any more of my new treasures. Next morn- 

 ing the water was clear, the paler eel was 

 dead, the crab was sitting on the top of the 

 rock-work, which had settled down some- 

 what during the night. It was twiddling As 

 " feelers " at the surface of the water, and 

 perched upon its back was the hermit crab. 

 It never struck me that they were there 

 because there was not suf&cient oxygen in 

 the water. The water was drawn off through 

 a syphon, the stones re-arranged, and the 

 remaining live stock replaced. The next day 

 was Sunday, and the crab was dead ; but the 

 dark coloured eel, driven from its retreat by 

 hunger, was prowling about the barnacle- 

 covered rock, and whenever it got a chance, 

 would seize one of the projected hands and 

 tug away till it got the unfortunate animal 

 out of its shell. Long I watched it, but if I 

 made the slightest movement it was off to 

 its retreat, to emerge again after a time. 



