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The Gulf Weed. 



The remarkable algae known as 

 gulf weed {Sargassum bacciferum) 

 was first discovered by Columbus, 

 and has for ages been floating up 

 and down in midocean, occupying 

 the position still that it did in the 

 times of the earliest navigators. 

 It is never fruitful except when at- 

 tached to land within the area of 

 the Sargasso Sea and the Gulf 

 Stream, as at the Bermudas, yet 

 it flourishes with vigor. The pres- 

 ent geographical distribution is 

 very strange. The Sargasso 

 plants are about the oldest of sea- 

 weeds, and seaweeds were among 

 the first productions of vegetable 

 life. At present sargassum occurs 

 in vast floating beds in the warm 

 waters of all the oceans, and as 

 the marine connections between 

 the different localities are now 

 closed to intercommunication by a 

 barrier of icy water which it is im- 

 possible for the plant to pass, the 

 distribution must have been effect- 

 ed previous to the beginning of 

 the glacial period, which Mr. Croll 

 puts at over 200,000 years ago. 

 It is, therefore, thought probable 

 that the Indian Ocean was the 

 primary habitat of the gulf weed, 

 and that the plant is a survival, in 

 health and vigor, of the marine 

 vegetation of a period as remote 

 at least as the Miocene epoch. 

 This theory of the intercommuni- 

 cation of oceans in equatorial lati- 

 tudes during the Miocene period 

 agrees with the views expressed 

 by Mr. Alexander Agassiz. — Scien- 

 tific American. 



Origin of Phosphate Beds. 



Professor E. T. Cox, formerly 

 State Geologist of Indiana, and 

 who for many years past has made 

 a study of the phosphate beds of 

 Florida, shows conclusively the 

 fallacy of the prevailing belief that 

 they have resulted from shell de- 

 posits. He says that with the evi- 

 dence before us, of causes now in 

 action that produced the immense 

 deposits of guano on the islands 

 off the rainless coast of Chili and 

 Peru, the islands of the Caribbean 

 Sea, and elsewhere where the drop- 

 pings of numberless birds are con- 

 verted into guano, both pulveru- 

 lent and rock-guano, it is not nec- 

 essary to construct strange theo- 

 ries to account for the phosphate- 

 deposits in Florida. Unlike Peru, 

 the climate here was humid, and 

 washed out of the guano the solu- 



NATURAL SCIENCE NEWS. 



ble salts, leaving the insoluble 

 phosphate of lime. 



The isolation of the deposits, 

 their occurrence in detached pock- 

 ets of greater or less extent, as 

 well as the conformability of the 

 phosphate-rock to the very jagged 

 surface of the limestone on which 

 it rests, all point to the bird origin 

 as guano. — Medians' 1 Monthly for 

 August. 



Hints About Making an 

 Aquarium. 



One of the most fascinating 

 means of studying the life of the 

 ponds and brooks is by keeping 

 an aquarium. If you have not 

 looked into the subject, you would 

 be surprised to see how many and 

 what curious animals and plants 

 will inhabit even a small aquarium. 

 Though one may not care for sci- 

 entific study, he can hardly fail to 

 be interested in watching them, 

 and he must thereby learn much 

 of their life, with its droll and its 

 tragic side. 



In this paper I shall try to des- 

 cribe the preparation and care of a 

 small fresh water aquarium. Of 

 course the first thing is to procure 

 the tank which may be of almost 

 any shape that pleases you. One 

 with curved surfaces should be 

 avoided, as the curved glass will 

 distort everything inside. The 

 most desirable shape as that of a 

 rectangular box about twice as 

 long as wide. One twelve by 

 twenty-four inches is convenient, 

 though one a little larger is prefer- 

 able. The glass should be clear 

 and free from irregularities and 

 bubbles, with the bottom and cor- 

 ner posts of iron. Care should be 

 taken that no metal surface is ex- 

 posed to the water. The bottom 

 and posts may be painted or cov- 

 ered with cement. 



In preparing the aquarium for 

 occupation, the bottom should 

 first be covered to the depth of an 

 inch or two with fine sand. This 

 should be previously cleansed by 

 washing it several times in clean 

 water, and pouring off the dirty 

 water each time. Spread the clean 

 sand evenly on the bottom and 

 cover it by a layer of rather fine 

 gravel. The pebbles should be 

 about the size of peas. No earth 

 should be put in, as it is continu- 

 ally being stirred up, rendering 

 the water muddy. If the tank is 

 large enough, some small stones 

 may be loosely piled up in the cen- 

 ter or at one side, furnishing a 

 shelter for the fish. For filling 

 the aquarium, well water is just as 



good as spring or brook water, ex- 

 cept possibly for the fact that the ! 

 latter usually contains more plant i 

 and animal life. 



We come now to the point of 

 stocking our aquarium. What ; 

 shall we put into it? In the first 

 place, we must have some plants. 

 For an aquarium thirty inches long 

 a clump of "arrow head" (sagit- 

 taria) will not be too large. This 

 is one of our native aquatics 

 which is common in almost every 

 swamp. It grows in shallow wa- 

 ter in clumps much like those of 

 the calla. As in that, the leaves, 

 raised above the surface of the wa- 

 ter, are shaped like an arrow head. 

 During the summer it sends up a 

 slender stalk, bearing a loose clus- 

 ter of very fragile white flowers. 

 In planting sagittaria or any simi- 

 lar plant one should make a place 

 for it in the sand, spread its roots 

 out and cover them over with sand 

 and gravel. It seems to thrive 

 under these conditions. 



A cultivated plant of great value 

 for aquaria, because of its hardi- 

 ness and its vigorous growth, is 

 that known as "parrot's feather." 

 This grows without rooting firmly 

 in the sand, and most of the leaves 

 are borne on short branches, which 

 rise above the water. The leaves 

 are very finely divided, bearing 

 some resemblance to a feather, 

 and suggesting the common name. 

 This can probably be procured 

 from the more prominent florists. 



Floating plants are useful and 

 pretty in an aquarium. Of these 

 one of the best is the "bladder- 

 wort" (utricularia). This can 

 probably be found in most parts of 

 the country. The largest species, 

 such as Utricularia vulgaris are the 

 best. They may be distinguished 

 by their finely divided threadlike 

 leaves, and by the numerous blad- 

 ders which they bear. These blad- 

 ders are themselves of very great 

 interest, for each is a little trap by 

 means of which the plant catches 

 various minute water animals. At 

 the throat of the bladder there is 

 a tiny trap-door opening inward, 

 and the inquisitive intruder finds 

 that, once inside, there is no es- 

 cape. The bladders also serve to 

 float the plant. All the leaves are 

 submerged. The flower stalk 

 rises above the smface of the wa- 

 ter and bears a raceme of pretty 

 flowers, bright yellow in most of 

 our species, rich purple in one or 

 two. 



The "water milfoil" {niyriophyl- 

 lum ) is another good plant for the 

 aquarium. It looks much like a 

 vigorous utricularia without the 



