AQUARIA. 

 Rev. G. C. B. Madden, B.A. 

 [^Concluded.] 



A GREAT object, both for the preservation of colour as well as for 

 the comfort of the inhabitants, was to lurnish the tanks with rocks 

 and sea-weed. The formation of a natural rock with background 

 which would enable the fish to be clearly seen was a great difficulty. 

 Small pieces of rock were bedded in a groundwork of cement and 

 piled up, but the leakage was great and the effect bad. At present 

 all is beautiful ; the background of each tank is apparently formed 

 of huge storm-beaten boulders, that strike one with wonder ; yet 

 these seemingly mighty rocks are made up of chippings of stone, 

 jointed together with cement. Nobody would suspect this, and I 

 doubt if the old lobster, who sits in his comfortable hole, has any 

 idea but that he is still under the shade of the old granite walls where 

 he was born. 



Next perhaps in interest we notice the massive plate glass fronts 

 to the tanks — the largest are 1 inch thick, 5 feet high, 3 feet broad, 

 yet at first breakages were very numerous, until a better system of 

 framing the ponderous fronts was found out. 



Illumination formed a perplexing point, and is not yet quite as 

 good as it ought to be. Too much light causes a rapid growth of 

 confervas upon the rockwork and glass, which needs clearing away. 

 The light in too many cases falls upon the front glass, and thus they 

 are formed into veritable mirrors, revealing the outside beauty, but 

 concealing the inside ; the light wants to fall through the top of the 

 water on to the background of the tank, and then I doubt not every 

 corner would be visible, and the inhabitants become distinct in every 

 motion, and not as they now are, shadowy mists. A greatly to be 

 desired object has not yet been attained, viz : the growth in any 

 quantity of sea weeds, a few of the green and red sea-weeds have been 

 put in, but there is as yet no healthy growth, and the larger fuci and 

 Laminarice have so far quite baffled the attempts of curators. It is to 

 be hoped that in course of time this may be obviated, and that the 

 marine vegetable world may be displayed to the eager eyes of the 

 observant public. No more lovely picture could be imagined than 

 that of a large tank, whose rock-work, back, a>nd sides were more or 

 less clothed with waving forests of living sea-weed, among whoso 

 recesses multitudinous shoals of finny inhabitants disport themselves, 

 N. >S., YoL. III., Oct., 1877. 



