1884.] 
THE AMERICAN GARDEN. 
153 
P® 
HOW TO KEEP GOLD FISH IN HEALTh7 ’ 
III i-oply to this inquiry wo quote from 
Pease's Leathered /rocW the following • 
1. Cover the bottom of the aquarium with 
clean, coarse sand to the depth of about ono 
inch and a half. Avoid fine sand and soil. 
2. Insert the plants with a stone over each 
bunch, to prevent their disturbance by the 
fish. 
•3-. -In- a fow days, Avheu the plants show 
that they are thriving, by the production of 
oxygen bubbles, put in the fish, not before. 
4. Beware of the common fault of putting 
in too many fish, and bo careful as to the 
admission of sticklebacks, injurious insects, 
etc. Some beetles are very destructive to fish. 
5. ' Never give the fish bread. In good con¬ 
dition they require no feeding; but a piuch 
of dry-fish food, broken into minute pieces 
with the finger and thumb, is good for them. 
They are very fond of it, and will soon tiike 
it from the fingers when called. If forgotten, 
no harm will follow. 
G. Do not let the aquarium remain in a 
strong sunshine or glare of light; a position 
between two windows is tlie best. If in a 
window, the light should be regulated with 
the blind or frosted glass. 
7. In addition to the rooted plants, it is 
well to have a few of the round-leaved water 
plants floating on top. 
The water in my aquarium has not been 
changed for twelve months ; I simply add a 
little from time to time to make up diminu¬ 
tion by evaporation. If fhe fish remain near 
the surface, gasping for air, it is a proof 
either that the aquarium is overstocked 
with fish, or that the plants are not growing 
healthily, some of the foregoing rules being 
broken. It is well to have a few water snails 
in the aquarium. A sponge fastened to a 
stick will sufi&ee to cleanse the interior sides, 
leaving the side next to the light imcleansed 
whereby the light is qualified. Once fairly 
started, there is no fiu’ther trouble what¬ 
ever. 
HOW BIEDS LEAEN TO SING. 
A Wren buUt her nest In a box on a New 
Jersey farm. The occupants of the farm¬ 
house saw the mother teaching her young 
to sing. She sat in front of them and sang 
her whole song very distinctly. One of the 
young attempted to imitate her. After pio- 
eeeding through a few notes, its voice bioke 
and it lost the tune. The mother recoin- 
meneed where the young one had failed, 
and went very distinetly through wit t e 
remainder. 
The young bird made a second attempt, 
commencing where it had ceased be ore, 
and continuing the song as long ^ 
able, and when the notes were again os , e 
mother began again where it had s oppe 
and completed it. Then the young one re 
sumed the tune and finished it. 
This done, the mother sang over the whole 
series of notes the second time wi 
precision, and again the young one a emp e 
to follow her. The wren pursued the same 
course with this one as with the fiis > 
with the third and fourth. This 
peated day after day, and severa 
■day, until each of the birds becam P 
songster.— Holden's Bird Magazine- 
THE VALUE OP LAUQHTEE. 
I-augli Iiicj'rlly wlillu life is here, 
li'or (Icatli cuts sboi't all liuiglitcr- 
Laugli all tliy life, and leC tlic tear’ 
Conic, If It will, lioroaftcr. 
More lauglitcr In tlio world would bring 
Tlio “touch of natiirc” nearer- 
Good-will will llourlHli -ncatli its wing. 
And man to nuiu bo dearer. 
No time like now; the future lies 
A darkened road before us. 
So let thy laughs oiil,weigh thy sighs. 
And merry bo thy chorus. 
Wo know that man is prone to tears. 
And bom an hen- to sorrow; 
But what’s the use of doubts and fears 
Of wb.at nuay bo the morrow 1 
The evil of to-day, wo rend, 
Sufllcient is for keeping; 
So laugh away, let naught impede. 
And give a truce to weeping. 
MARKET ITEMS. 
THE BUSINESS OUTLOOK. 
Although several small houses have failed 
within the past fow days, a better feeling is 
gaining in business circles. 
Fruit aud grain crops are both very 
promising, and the outlook for the future is 
indeed encoiu-aging. The real injury done 
by the Wall street failures is very slight in 
legitimate business eii-eles. 
The prospect for a good fall trade was 
never better, aud the opinion seems to be 
general among jobbers that this will be the 
ease. A good will is half the battle ; and, if 
manufacturers aud jobbers will it, their 
hopes will be realized. The farmers always 
do their duty. 
INCUBATION vs. THE HEN. 
There is a great demand for early chickens, 
and in large cities they find a ready market 
at from fifty to sixty cents per pound; but to 
get these high prices, they must be hatched 
in February, March, and April, and as hens 
are not sittingly inclined that early, they 
must be hatched in incubators. 
“I have two incubators, holding 480 eggs,” 
says a correspondent. “ They are a complete 
success; being cheap, and so simple that any 
one can handle them. 
“I have 212 hens, and from them and the 
incubators I have sold, since March first, 
$1428 worth of chickens and eggs. I run 
my incubators the year roimd, and thinlc 
there is no more iirofitable business.” 
SOUND vs. UNSOUND FRUIT. 
Now that the pickling and preserving season 
is approaching, ladies should watch the mar¬ 
ket, and, of all things, remember that to “ do 
np” nnsomid fruit and vegetables is a foolish 
waste of time, money, and a damage to health, 
especially in cholera year.. More than usual 
care should bo exercised in the selection of 
fruit, especially for children. 
At all times, during the season for it, fruit 
is cheap, and it is poor economy which, for a 
few cents less, purchases that which, when 
eaten, endangers health aud bfe. 
BANANAS. 
The Banana has come to be almost a 
necessity in thousands of families to whom 
it was unknown a few years ago. They are 
fried and served as an enlric ; pies are made 
of them, with a delicate upper and under 
crust, with plenty of sugar and a suggestion 
of spieo, but when sliced thin and mixed 
with chopped Pineapple, or with chopped 
Oranges, they are simply delicious. At 
breakfast they are served by removing the 
skin, cutting the Bananas in two pieces 
crosswise, and piling them on a pretty china 
or fancy plate.— N. Y. Market ./oicrnal. 
INTELLIGENCE OP THE ORIOLE. 
On the western side of Central Park, very 
near One Hundred and Third .street and 
Eighth Avenue, stands a row of Elm trees, 
difficult to approach on account of a heavy 
growth of iSyringa bushes around them. On 
a branch of one of the trees, about sixteen 
feet from the ground, a paii- of Baltimore 
Orioles set to building a nest a few weeks 
ago. They chose the extreme end of the 
bough, with evident intention of making it a 
hazardous experiment for any bird-nester to 
attempt to molest them. But, in their excess 
of caution, they apiieared not to observe 
what the few persons whose eyes were keen 
enough to see the fii-st labors of the little 
architects saw—that the branch was much 
too slender to support so large a nest as an 
Oriole builds. 
When the nest was about two-thirds fin¬ 
ished, the birds saw their mistake. The 
branch had bent so low that it was getting 
perilously near the grass. Work was at once 
stopped, and the builders sat close together 
for a long time, aud seemed to be discussing 
the situation. Finally, they flew side by side 
to a bough about fifteen inches over the one 
on which their nest was, and, leaning over, 
inspected the distance. They seemed to be 
satisfied, aud, though it was growing rapidly 
dusk, the birds flew away in opposite direc¬ 
tions. In the morning, it was found that 
they had firmly secm’ed then’ habitation, and 
prevented the branch from bending lower, 
by passing a piece of white string, which 
they had foimd somewhere in the park, over 
the upper bough, and fastening both ends of 
it seem-ely to- the edges of the nest. The 
building then went rapidly on, and the 
Orioles are now engaged in hatching their 
eggs. Very few persons have seen the nest, 
and there is a fair prospect that their skill 
and ingenuity will be soon rewarded by a 
brood of young Orioles. 
The Baltimore Oriole is a very intelligent 
bird, but a New-Tork ornithologist, who saw 
the nest, said he had never seen an achieve¬ 
ment quite equal to this one before. He 
says the art of knitting fibers or strings 
together is well knomi to many birds. Tbe 
Weaver-bird of India builds its nest out of a 
large, strong leaf, which it stitches together 
at the edges, making a compact and closely- 
adhei'ing fuimel.— Hew-York Sun. 
A GIGANTIC PLANE-TREE. 
Professor Virchow recently exhibited at a 
meeting of the Berlin Medical Society, pho¬ 
tographs of a gigantic Plane-tree, growing in 
the Island of Cos, under the shade of which 
Hippocrates is said to have held medical 
consultations. The tree now stands in the 
market-place of Cos, on the east side of the 
island. The branches, which spread over 
nearly the whole of the market-place, are 
supported by marble pillars. 
