424 Notices of Books, [July, 
places as Ceylon, Mauritius, Labuan, near Sydney, in the West 
Indies, &c., and if placed under suitable management could not 
fail to yield a rich harvest of valuable results. Are there no 
wealthy men at home or in the colonies able and willing to 
follow the example of that true “ merchant prince ” who defrayed 
the expense of the great Penekese Aquarium ? 
In the next chapter Dr. Taylor enters upon the “principles of 
the aquarium,” which he recommends as a feature in private 
houses valuable as a source of comfort and enjoyment to invalids 
and sedentary persons, as a means of cherishing a love for 
natural history and as a means of moral education for children. 
This latter function it fulfils by neutralising that fondness for 
indicating pain and death which is unfortunately so deeply rooted 
in the English nature. The author maintains that a fresh-water 
“ aquarium properly constructed and peopled with proper in- 
habitants gives very little trouble indeed.” He cautions 
beginners against the common error of overstocking their 
aquaria and of exposing them to an excessive amount of light, 
the result of which is the development of a green film of Algce 
over the glass and over the water-plants. A well-balanced 
aquarium does not require a frequent change of water. In suc- 
ceeding chapters an account is given of the amphibians, fishes, 
insecdts, and plants best suited for stocking a fresh-water tank, 
and an especial and interesting section is devoted to the 
“ aquarium as a nursery for the microscope,” or rather for 
microscopic objedts. 
The author then turns to the construction and management of 
salt water or marine aquaria, which present undoubtedly greater 
difficulties, and require to be on a larger scale, but which, on the 
other hand, offer a much wider scope. 
The work must be pronounced to be clearly and ably written, 
well and abundantly illustrated, and will doubtless draw in- 
creased attention to aquaria, and thus render them more service- 
able to science. 
