OR, THE HOME-CULTURE OF FRESH-WATER PLANTS. 
a stationary barge, where they occasionally congre¬ 
gate in large numbers, lying one over the other. 
This state of torpidity becomes so complete in the 
depth of the winter, that they may be taken by the 
hand without making any attempt to escape. 
The Flounder may be placed either in a fresh or 
salt water tank, as he frequently ascends our rivers, 
sometimes not finding his way back to the sea. 
His singular action in swimming is so distinct from 
that of the kinds of fish more frequently observed, 
that it forms an agreeable variety in the Aqua¬ 
rium. It is from its peculiar action when swimming, 
near the bottom, that the Swedes give this fish 
the name Flundra , from which the English name is 
derived. 
Another kind of swimming action may be ex¬ 
hibited by the introduction of an Eel or two to the 
collection, care, however, being taken not to over¬ 
stock the colony; for it is said that two small fish 
and as many aquatic plants are enough for each 
gallon of water. The sharp-nosed Eel (.Anguilla 
acutorostris ), and the broad-nosed species ( A . lati- 
rostris ), are equally common. Eoth belong to the 
Lamprey tribe, Cuvier’s Murcenidce , or eel-shaped 
fishes. The specimens selected should be small, as 
large ones have been known to devour small-sized 
61 
