1870.] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
225 
An Aquarium. 
Haying said something about the construction of 
an aquarium as a household ornament and a means 
of home instruction, a few hints as to its manage¬ 
ment are necessary. It was stated last month 
that most plants that 
grow partially or wholly 
submerged would do. 
Every pond or deep, 
quiet stream will furnish 
several. The one shown 
in figure 1 is the Mer¬ 
maid-weed, ( Froserpina - 
ca,) which is frequently 
used, though it is not a 
true aquatic. It grows 
in shallow water, and its 
submerged leaves are di¬ 
vided, as shown in the 
engraving; hut later in 
the season the upper 
portion grows above the 
surface, and the leaves 
then developed are so 
different in shape that 
they would not be rec¬ 
ognized as belonging to the same plant. An¬ 
other very common plant is the Water Stanvort, 
( Callitriclie,) figure 2. Its floating tuft of green 
leaves looks very pretty, but the portion below the 
surface is not so pleasing. One will soon find What 
plants flourish best and look best. When the 
aquarium has been in 
operation for some 
weeks, the glass will be¬ 
gin to look dim, and it 
will be found that a 
green film lias covered 
it. This green film is a 
growth of microscopic 
plants, and while it in 
no wise interferes with 
the healthy condition of 
the tank, it is annoying, 
as it obstructs the view 
of what is going on 
within. Snails are useful 
in keeping this growth 
in check, and they also 
consume decaying vege¬ 
table matter. It is well 
to have a good supply 
of snails, as they require 
very little oxygen, and are excellent house-cleaners 
and scavengers. They crawl along the surface of the 
glass with their broad foot expanded, as shown in 
figure 3, and keeping in motion they usually destroy 
or prevent the troublesome green film. If the 
snails do not prove efficient, the glass may be occa¬ 
sionally cleaned by rubbing it 
with a swab. There are two 
or three species of snails to 
be foimd in streams and 
ponds. They will all answer 
in the tank ; but if either is 
found to destroy particular 
plants, it should be rejected 
in favor of the others. 
Mussels, or fresh-water clams, are useful, as they 
strain out much impurity from the water. We 
have already cautioned against introducing too 
many fishes. Those that are kept, as well as other 
animals, will require feeding about 
twice a week. Small shreds of 
raw beef are generally used, and s 
when gold-fish are kept, small 
pellets of bread may be given. Fig. 4.— snail. 
Whatever food is used, all uncousumed frag¬ 
ments should be removed, otherwise they may 
produce trouble by their decay. A small net at¬ 
tached to a wire will be found convenient to re¬ 
move objects from the tank; and a glass tube long 
Fig.2. WATER STARWORT. 
enough to reach the bottom will be useful in re¬ 
moving uuconsumed food, etc. Close one end of 
the tube tightly with the finger, immerse the other 
end of the tube and bring it directly over the ob¬ 
ject to be taken out; remove the finger from the 
upper end and the water will rush into the tube, 
carrying with it the piece of meat or bread; 
close the tube again with the finger and it may be 
lifted out with its contents. In a properly man¬ 
aged aquarium the water will remain for an indef¬ 
inite time without the necessity for changing; but 
sometimes from neglect or accident it will become 
impure, and must be exchanged for a fresh supply. 
---«»-«- I —-— 
The New Baby and Its Mother. 
BY FAITU ROCHESTER. 
There is not much to do for such a wee thing. 
Just let it live, and not torment it with unnecessary 
fussing. It is to be supposed that some mother¬ 
ly woman has washed and dressed the babe, and 
now for a week I would not repeat the process. 
Let it lie and sleep as much as it likes, quiet and 
warm. Its head should be lightly covered at first, 
but gradually accustom it to sleep with its head 
uncovered. It is not fair to keep it Inside its moth¬ 
er’s bed in such a way that it must breathe impure 
air. Let the air of the room be as fresh as possible 
without being uncomfortably cool; and keep the 
room quiet and pleasant. 
Away with all doses ! In all ordinary cases, Na¬ 
ture is equal to the emergency, and all we have to 
do is to give her a fair chance. Pumpkin-seed tea, 
molasses and water—nonsense! The maternal 
secretion has just the purgative properties required, 
what little there is of it, and usually baby needs 
nothing more. To be sure, it cannot be called 
milk—that does not come until about the third day, 
and this is a period of some danger to the mother. 
About this time danger from “broken” or “bealed 
breast” begins. As “an ounce of prevention ” of 
this terrible condition, let the mother be very tem¬ 
perate in her eating, and especially in drinking, 
from the child’s birth until the flow of milk is fairly 
established. Simple gruel, plain pudding, bread 
and vegetables, and (not very sour) fruit are best. 
Meat, milk, eggs, and warm drinks, had better be 
let alone, for a week, at least. If the baby can de¬ 
pend upon its mother at all for food, there is no 
danger of there being too little at first; there is 
more danger of too much, and if this is not all 
drawn away, the least cold taken may produce 
most agonizing results. Do not mistake the swol¬ 
len glands for milk, insisting upon drawing away 
what is not there. Be very gentle. Hard rubbing 
is not good. Leave the matter to baby as much as 
possible. If the danger seems very great, applica¬ 
tions of camphor have a tendency to keep back 
the flow of milk. I don’t like the idea of ex¬ 
posing the tender olfactories of a new-born babe to 
such powerful smells, and I would be very careful 
to wipe the tincture away with a cloth wet in warm 
water before nursing. If you have a good nurse it 
would be better, perhaps, to sweat the inflamed 
parts with warm water ; but the danger of taking 
cold is so great that it is not safe to try to treat 
one’s self. I know camphor to be an excellent thing 
for reducing the swelling, and I suppose it is the 
most common “ old woman’s remedy.” 
You thought it another old woman’s notion when 
I advised you not to undress baby for a week—eh ? 
No. I was astonished when my doctor gave me 
that advice about my first baby. I would have had 
it stripped and bathed daily, from the first; but 
common sense and sympathy have made me feel 
that there is no necessity for so much "handling, 
and that it is really an interference with Na¬ 
ture’s healing operations. If this healing is slow, 
it may be best to put off the dressing for a day or 
two longer. In this matter, something depends 
upon the band. It is cruel and unnecessary to draw 
it tight, but a loose baud will not stay in place un¬ 
less properly made—with two small gores to make 
it fit under the bowels. Some “ new-lighty ” peo¬ 
ple disbelieve in bands altogether, because calves 
and kittens do not wear them! But nature does 
more for the little brutes than she does for the ba¬ 
bies of modern mothers. If our babies, like little 
kittens, needed no clothing at all, it might be safe 
to leave them without bands or plasters. I know 
one woman who used a plaster instead of a band, 
with success, but it seems to me more objectiona¬ 
ble than a well-made baud. Calves run no risks 
from hard crying or improper handling. Let me 
give patterns of the band and wrapper described in 
the Agriculturist for Nov. of last year. I wish now 
to' recommend them more strongly than ever. 
Both garments should be made of soft flannel. 
Straps on the band are hardly necessary for a child 
less than a month old, and in ordinary cases the 
band may be left off at that age. If the child cries 
a good deal, or catches whooping cough, it is 
probably best to make new bands, and keep them 
on, fastened rather loosely, and kept in place by 
the straps. The flannel wrapper takes the place of 
the usual linen shirt and waisted petticoat, afford¬ 
ing a more easy and comfortable covering for the 
whole body. The outer wrapper, or dress, may 
button all the way down the front, but the flannel 
wrapper will be warmer to open only half-way down. 
All the buttons used 
should be flat and thin. 
I fancy that much of the 
complaining made by 
very young babes is 
about their clothing, be¬ 
Fig. 1.—BAND. 
cause it is too tight or too stiff, too warm or too 
cold, or too unequally distributed. Babies are the 
sweetest and cunuingest playthings in the world, 
but oh ! they are so much more than that! Their 
healthy development is of the first importance. 
With regard to bathing, consult cleanliness. Usu¬ 
ally babies seem to need a daily bath, after the 
first few weeks, until they' are several months old; 
and nearly all little children who enjoy a child’s 
natural right of playing in the dirt, need daily ablu¬ 
tions in summer. More than one of my acquaint¬ 
ances have confessed to me that they believe their 
children have been injured by too much bathing, 
carried beyond the requirements of cleanliness, 
with an idea of invigorating the system. Those 
who advocate dipping young babes into tubs of 
cool waterforthe purpose of toughening their con¬ 
stitutions, should be good-naturedly told that 
“ calves and kittens are not treated so 1” Warm 
water opens the pores of 
the skin so as to increase 
the liability of taking 
cold; but the water used 
at first had better be 
slightly warm, and 
should never be so cool 
as to shock the little 
one. Gradually lower its 
temperature, as weeks 
pass, until it feels com¬ 
fortably cool to your 
elbow. Your hand is no 
certain guide. Water that feels warm to the hand 
may be decidedly cool to the elbow. 
If the babe cannot have its most natural food, 
the best substitute is the milk of a new milch cow, 
weakened with warm water (soft, if possible), three 
parts water to one of milk, at first. Gradually in¬ 
crease the jiroportion of milk. It may be sweet¬ 
ened with a very little white sugar. Perhaps the 
next best thing is Graham gruel; make a thiu, 
smooth paste with sifted Graham meal and cold 
water, and stir it into boiling water; let it boil two 
or three minutes, stirring it well. Add a little 
milk or fresh cream, if you have either. No sea¬ 
soning is necessary, so do not put in sugar. My 
little ones were very fond of this; I began feed¬ 
ing it to them when the time of weaning drew near. 
Before this I did not feed them anything, or not 
before the teeth began to appear. When a tiny 
tooth has worked its way through, I think it is 
quite the fair thing to give it a crust to gnaw ; but 
the practice of giving all kinds of food from the 
table seems to me very unreasonable. Good “bread 
and milk ” is one of the best staples of a weaned 
baby’s diet. Fresh apples, scraped with a spoon, 
are wholesome and very welcome to most babies. 
