®ie ifoa3 ies' Ifioral iaaliinet cm3 Pictorial Home ftamjiaiiiQiu 
the same fragrance to them that anything decayed has 
to you. 
If you arrange your-rock work into an arch, under 
which the fish can pass, it will have a charming effect, 
and if crowned with an old mill, with a large wheel, 
it will he still prettier. It can easily he made out of 
mossy hark. Some persons place an aquarium against 
a window, for the purpose of better viewing it, hut it 
is a mistake ; to see it to advantage, you should look 
with the light, not against it. Besides, it will cause 
a small microscopic plant—the spores of which are in 
all water fit for aquaria—to grow on the glass next 
the window ; and, if not soon removed with a sponge 
swah, will he difficult to get off. This small plant, 
which resembles green tissue paper spread on the glass, 
will bother us in spite of all we can do, sometimes, no 
matter where the aquarium is placed; if it does, pro¬ 
cure a few water-snails, and they will keep it off. 
Florists, also, usually keep a good selection. In my 
tank I have cyperus alternifolius, calla, the ornamen¬ 
tal grasses, acorus var., and isolepis, with some com- 
Iputuai} 
HINTS ON AQUARIA. 
BY AN AMATEUR. 
An Aquarium gives a lovely and picturesque appear¬ 
ance to a collection of flowers, either in a hay window 
or conservatory. The constant evaporation of the wa¬ 
ter will also help keep the air moist and pleasant, for 
luxurious “ Flora” to revel in. 
They are rapidly coming into favor with all lovers 
of nature, and, I think, deservedly,-for there is nothing 
more pleasant than to study the habits of the finny and 
amphibious tribes. The beautiful golden carp proudly 
gliding’round their pretty home; the voracious little 
newts fighting as for dear life for some morsel of 
food; or the sun-fish darting at some reckless fly, or 
playing “ hide and seek ” among the plants and rocks, 
will entertain old and young for hours. 
Popular error terms a tank of water, containing fish, 
etc., an aquarium. In Europe it is called aqua-viva-! mon water-cress, and a swamp fern. A Japanese 
rium, which is really the correct 
name, as aqua signifies water, 
and vivarium animal life. The 
ancient Romans called a tank of 
water, kept for household pur¬ 
poses, an aquarium. 
The principle of an aquarium 
is this : Plants, when submerged 
in water and exposed to the ac¬ 
tion of light, emit the oxygen ne¬ 
cessary for the maintenance of 
animal life, and the fish return to 
the plants the carbon also ne¬ 
cessary for their 
welfare. Thus, you 
see, if you get 
plants enough to 
supply the fish 
with oxygen, and 
fish enough to 
supply the plants 
with carbon, the 
aquarium will he 
perfectly self-sus¬ 
taining, the water 
will become as clear 
and sparkling as if 
filtered, and will 
never re quire 
changing, except 
to replace that which evaporates 
Design for a Summer House. 
If it is cloudy, and aquatic, called valjsneriff spiralis, is said to give off 
the fish continually come to the surface for air, there more oxygen than any other plant, but I have never 
is cither too much or too little vegetation or animal succeeded in obtaining: it. In a collection of fish, gold- 
life. The only remedy is to change the water, and ex- fish should predominate, as they have a rich, sparkling 
periment until the forces are equalized. But it is not appearance. Newts or lizards, turtles, etc., should he 
alone necessary that the two forces should be equal; in the collection for variety ; but the rock-work should 
you may have too much of both; in this case animal project above the water, to give these amphibia a 
life is again jeopardised. You may ask, “ How are breathing and resting-place. A. M. K. 
we to know when we get enough of either, or both, in 
the tank i” This is altogether a matter of experience. 
No rule can be given, for some species of fish exhaust 
STIMULANTS FOR PLANTS. 
Your correspondent, Mrs. M. J. S., in this month’s 
more oxygen, and supply more carbon, than others. Cabinet, thinks me somewhat obscure on the subject 
So too with plants, some liberate more oxygen and of stimulants. The sentence she refers to, in the arti- 
take up more carbon than others. I average one fish cle on hanging baskets, has, or should have, quotation 
to about two gallons of water, which I think is about marks, as I quoted it from an article in the Cabinet 
" of March, 1873. “ Liquid manure, about the color of 
^Gold-fish will live- for months without food, but weak coffee, is a good stimulant, but rather strong for 
their stomachs become concave, which gives them a Roses and Verbenas; very good for Ivies, Geraniums 
deformed appearance; therefore, always feed them with and Heliotropes.” Stable manure is here specified; hen 
fish-wafer cracker crumbs, or the white of an egg, i manure is considered much stronger, I believe; prob- 
boQed hard, but never allow any to remain, for it has ! ably the lady referred to used it too strong. Again, 
in the Cabinet of August, 1872, it is stated that" He¬ 
liotropes are high livers, and delight in frequent water¬ 
ing with liquid manure.” A correspondent in a late 
number recommends for a Heliotrope, affected as Mrs. 
L.’s is, to pour boiling water on soot (proportions not 
stated), let it stand twenty-four hours, then apply to 
the plant once a week. 
I have been thus particular to quote my authority 
for these statements, because I have had no experience 
myself with Heliotrope; indeed, my entire floral expe¬ 
rience dates hack only a few months; consequently, 
I feel a little hesitation about making any statement 
of the kind entirely on my own authority, particularly 
as most of your correspondents have had an experience 
of many years. All that I do know, I have learned 
from the Cabinet and from “ Window Gardening.” 
Indeed, I have pored over the volume for 1873 so much 
that almost every page, notwithstanding the great care 
that-1 have taken of them, is in two pieces. 1 was 
very much disappointed in Henderson’s book on Flori¬ 
culture, almost all of it being taken up with accounts 
of his greenhouse operations, the amount of money he 
made, etc.; but Window Garden¬ 
ing I consider perfect; also, 
“ Daisy Eyebriglit’s” book, which 
contains a good deal of informa¬ 
tion in small compass. I was de¬ 
lighted to find directions for treat¬ 
ment of Amarantlius Salicifolius 
in a late number of your paper, 
as I have several seedlings which 
I should like to bring to perfec¬ 
tion. The only specimens that I 
have seen were in the Zoological 
Garden, Philadel¬ 
phia, last summer. 
Vick mentions in 
one of Ins' cata¬ 
logues, a specimen 
raised by one of 
his customers upon 
poor soil, which 
grew to the height 
of nine feet nine 
inches, and meas¬ 
ured twelve feet in 
circumference, near 
the ground, raised 
in Baltimore. Per¬ 
haps the Amara - 
thus flourishes best 
in poor soil. Can you, or the correspondent above 
referred to, tell me what kind of soil best suits it"? 
Since writing the above, I find the following, also in 
Vick’s catalogue: “ A subscriber used her manure wa¬ 
ter on Geraniums and Heliotropes, and, instead of 
forcing them to flower, it caused the leaves to turn 
brown. The liquid must have been too strong. Care 
must be used in giving manure water to pot plants, 
because all is confined near the roots; while with 
plants in the garden, this is not the case. Rich food 
and rapid growth is not always favorable to the pro¬ 
duction of flowers.” Mrs. W. J. Taylor. 
Plants Wanted for Fernery. —Will some of our 
“band” have the kindness to send Ground Nut and 
Golden Thread for a fernery; haven’t seen any since 
my childhood; as they were then two of my loves, 
think they would greatly enhance amiability. Have 
nearly all kinds of Geraniums, Yellow and Pink Oxa- 
lis, Single White Oleander, which I will exchange for 
these. Mrs. John Marshall. 
Wellesley, Mass. 
