216 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY GENTLEMAN, January 5, 1858. 
served of keeping from contact with the water any material 
which might communicate to it soluble salts, or metallic 
oxides. But here a point arises which is of great importance, 
viz., whether soil of any kind need be used for the plants to 
root in. From long and watchful experience I can say, with¬ 
out hesitation, that mould is always injurious, and always 
unnecessary. Two or three inches of well-washed shingle, or 
small pebbles of any kind, will answer for almost every kind 
of vegetation introduced into such vessels. I at first used 
peat and loam ; the plants rooted freely in it: but there was 
such a tendency to the growth of conferva, and occasionally 
the water would produce such immense quantities of the 
sporules of the lower kinds of vegetation, that I gave it up, 
and took to sand. In this the plants did just as Avell as in 
mould; but the purity of the sand could not be constantly 
ensured; and then I tried pebbles only, and have never had 
trouble with a river tank since. Seeing how most of our 
free-growing aquatics delight in deep, rich mud, one would 
hardly expect them to find sufficient nourishment by rooting 
among pebbles only; but, with few exceptions, they increase, 
and blossom to perfection : and I should recommend all who 
keep river tanks to abolish the use of loam and sand entirely. 
I have had the beautiful Flowering Rush (. Butomus ), the 
Ranunculus, a quantity of the Water Plantain ( Alisma ), all 
the Potamogetons , and even Vallisneria spiralis , do as well as 
to flowering, and, in many cases, ripening seeds, as if grown 
in the richest soil—a fact which proves that the water alone 
furnishes them with sufficient nourishment; though the 
gradual deposit of animal and vegetable matters which takes 
place, no doubt supplies their roots with some support. 
With one or two more observations, we may quit these 
preliminaries, and enter on the more gratifying duties of the 
aquarium. Every tank, having glass at the back as well as 
the front, will look better when fitted, if a sheet of blue paper 
be pasted all over the side which is to be next the light; or, 
if that side be fitted with glass stained of a blue or green tint. 
All materials used in the construction of rockwork, should be 
Avell washed and scrubbed; and blocks of stone, on which 
animals or plants have perished, should have the remains well 
scraped off, and the surface made thoroughly sweet and clean. 
The shingle, which should be small, should be washed again 
and again, till the water ceases to become the least cloudy ; 
and a little should be reserved for a final sprinkling when all 
is finished ; and every material, in which lime is an ingredient, 
should be avoided as likely to cause turbidity, and affect the 
health of the animals. Algae, or fragments chipped olf soft 
limestone rocks, are often sold for aquaria, because easily 
obtainable : but they are decidedly objectionable; as are also 
the specimens obtained from soft reel sandstone, which rots 
away in the vessel, and forms an obnoxious sediment. 
In planting a marine tank, it will be found advisable to 
insert the blocks containing Algae, so that the actinea will not 
be likely to take up their positions on them. They arc very 
apt to cling to the fronds, and cause their decay; and there¬ 
fore some bare spaces should be provided in which to place 
them, so that they may speedily attach themselves to the 
shingle, or to bare rocks, or the glass sides. In a Waring- 
ton tank, the tufts of vegetation may be placed among the 
rockwork of the sides, and half-way up on the back, better 
than at the bottom, which should be kept as clear as possible ; 
for, though the creatures will travel about a little at first, they 
are most likely to attach themselves where placed in the first 
instance. In planting a river tank, the general effect need 
only be studied. All river plants that root or form buds at 
joints on the stem, such as Potamogeton , Anacharis , Calli- 
triche , Ranunculus , Myriophyllum , Chara , &c., do as well 
without roots as with them. You have only to take a tuft, or 
even a few sprays, tie their ends together with a strip of bast, 
aud attach a stone to keep them down. Then, holding the 
tuft in the left hand, lower it into its place, and pile a handful 
of pebbles to fix it; and so on till you have planted the vessel 
to your liking. Then shower in the shingle to make a regular 
bed. Plants that do not form joints, such as Putomus, 
NympTiecc , Alisma , &c., must have their fibrous roots spread 
out on the slate or glass bottom, and covered with a few inches 
of pebbles in the same way; and when all are planted, water 
them with a large fine rose of a watering-pot, till the water 
is a few inches deep in the vessel; after which, you may pour 
j it in without the rose without fear of washing any of them up. 
Just as there are exceptions to all rules, so there are ex¬ 
ceptions to the general use of pebbles only; and the large 
fleshy roots of Lilies, really do need soil to root in. The plan 
we now adopt with such plants, and strongly recommend to 
others, is to plant them in suitable soil in common garden 
pots, to surface these pots with fine pebbles, and sink them 
into the bed of shingle, till the pot rests fairly on the slate 
bottom of the tank. Such plants are very unsuitable for bell- 
glasses, because they require a rather deep loamy bed, and 
plenty of elbow room ; but in large rectangular tanks, they 
have a noble appearance when they spread out their fine 
foliage on the surface, and produce their gay show of flowers ; 
and by growing them in pots they can be lifted out at any 
time; and if tender, wintered safely, and the tank freed of them 
during the period when they are unattractive. Last summer, I 
flowered the Forget-me-not, the Brooklime, fine specimens of 
Water Lily, the Flowering Rush, and Alisma Plantago in this 
way, and got rid of each as soon as it ceased to be attractive ; 
but all, except the Lilies, would do nearly as well without 
soil as with it : and, as plants are so easily procurable, it 
is better to have them pretty well grown at once, than to attempt 
to raise them; though, of all those that have a jointed habit 
of growth, the merest fragment, well secured at the bottom, is 
sufficient to form a good plant in time ; and if only a small 
portion of any scarce plant can be got, it is a good plan to 
plant it in a small glass jar by itself, till it attains sufficient 
size to be transferred to the tank. 
The tank here figured is one of a new construction, introduced 
by Mr. Hall, the well-known dealer in aquaria, of 75, London 
Wall, London. It is mounted on a cast-iron pedestal, and 
