76 
THE NEW YORK AQUARIUM JOURNAL. 
"W. S3. Editor. 
NEW YORK, MAY, 1877 . 
The New Yoke Aquarium Journal will be pub¬ 
lished monthly at the Aquarium, corner of 35 /A 
Street and Broadway, New York Ciiv. 
Though intended for distribution among the 
patrons of the Aquarium, the Journal will also be 
forwarded for one year, by mail, or delivered by 
carriers to any address on receipt of one dollar, which 
sum is a mere nominal one, since it includes postal 
charge and expense oj mailing and delivery. 
All communications should be addressed to W. 
C. COUP , corner 3 5 th Street Sf Broadway. 
With the present month the New York 
Aquarium enters upon the second half year of 
its existence. Opening as it did in the Fall, 
and at a time when the severity of our cli¬ 
mate soon sealed up the lakes and rivers with 
ice, and compelled even our sea shore fisher¬ 
men to abandon their calling for a season, 
it is a fact worthy of notice and commenda¬ 
tion that there has been no lack of attractive 
exhibits in the Aquarium tanks. Now, how- 
„ ___ 
^obtaining fiuii * 
fjo^Wmultiplied, a 
word by way of apology and promise may not 
be out of place. 
We take it for granted that among the host 
of satisfied visitors an occasional grumbler 
may have gained an entrance and departed 
with a shake of the head and a dissenting 
voice ; and to such a one we have a word of 
honest inquiry. In the first place, my dear 
sir, are you aware that of all created crea¬ 
tures the fish is the most delicate and sensi¬ 
tive to change of place? Moreover, has 
it never occurred to you that owing to the 
constant activity of their lives, and the wide 
range of their natural domain, they are of 
all creatures the most sensitive to any such 
confinement as is required by an imprisonment 
in the Aquarium tanks ? Then granting the e 
readily demonstrable facts, is it not due to 
the manager of such an undertaking as this, 
that you have the wisdom to commend what 
is already accomplished, and the patience to 
await the result of future efforts ? 
After the great labor and expense attend¬ 
ant upon the construction of the Aquarium, 
there comes the choice of important and 
skilled assistants ; the establishment of dis¬ 
tant stations, and the organiz ition of expedi¬ 
tions and collecting parties. These arduous 
endeavours over, the work of the season has 
but begun. The fish must be transported to 
and delivered at the Aquarium. It is not 
enough that the direct :r of some distant 
station inform the manager that such and 
such a fish has been captured and awaits his 
orders, tut at once, and with no loss of time, 
must the captured fish be started on its jour¬ 
ney. And during this trip never for an 
instant can it be neglected ; an attendant 
must constantly be engaged in aerating or 
changing the water, the temperature also 
being carefully regulated. Should the cap¬ 
ture be a large one, such as a shark, whale 
or devil-fish, care must be taken lest it thrash 
about till it effects self-destruction ; or, if it 
be a rare selection from the Bermudas, the 
possibility of storms must be provided for, 
and, as colder latitudes are reached, some 
plan must be used to prevent a too rapid 
fall in the temperature of the water. And, 
when at last the entrance of the Aquarium is 
gained, every preparation must be made so 
that the new arrival shall not be too suddenly 
submitted to any unfavorable changes. 
Then comes the question of food ; only so 
much shall be given as the fish will eat, lest 
the rejected portions, sinking to the bottom, 
may decompose and poison the water in which 
the fish are to live. 
And so we might continue directing atten¬ 
tion to the difficulties of classification and 
arrangement, the skill and artistic taste 
needed to display each creature to best ad¬ 
vantage, and finally the continual regulation 
of the complex system of circulation so that 
no fish may die from need of air. 
All this and more, let it be remembered, 
had to be accomplished, before the opening of 
the Aquarium in October last, yet the ques¬ 
tion of continued supply would have been, in 
spite of a ll these difficulties, an e asy one, but . 
at liat-a. Sck$$®T 
all nets were up, the fish of the coast had J 
sought deeper waters, and the lakes and 
rivers were ice-bound and barren. Nothing 
remained, therefore, but to so nurse, watch 
over and guard the treasures already pos¬ 
sessed, that they should become acclimated 
and at home in their new quarters. How 
well this was done a brief review of the cata¬ 
logue and guide will determine. Here we 
find that in the face of all these discourage¬ 
ments the New York Aquarium during the 
first six months of its existence—and Winter 
months at that — has presented a display 
exceeding in variety and interest many of the 
collections in the long-established aquaria 
abroad. Witness the whale, sharks, salmon, 
both young and old, the beautiful anemones 
and star-fish, the ugly but curious sea-ravens, 
skates and anglers, the proteus, hell-bender 
and axolotl, and last but not the least, the 
Japanese ling-tsing-yu and kingiyo. Toge¬ 
ther with these are the beautiful fish from 
our fresh water lakes mentioned elsewhere, 
and with them a full collection of minor, but 
equally curious varieties of the finny tribe. 
Let it be remembered also, that in addition 
to this display of fish, the manager of the 
Aquarium has never failed to add some 
special novelty, such as the divers, the trained 
seal, the microscopic display, together with 
the musical concerts and scientific lectures. 
If we have been prompted to thus com¬ 
mend the manager of the Aquarium for his 
efficient services, the story has also a signifi¬ 
cance to be heeded by the public; and this can 
be comprehended by a single suggestion. To 
be maintained such an institution must be ap¬ 
preciated—to be appreciated it must be seen- 
LING-TSING-YU. 
A glimpse at the new arrival—Ling-Tsing- 
Yu — is all that is needed to inform the visitor 
of its origin. None but the Japs could raise 
such a grotesque looking beauty, and, having 
raised it, none but a Jap could christen it 
with such a name. Those familiar with the 
raceful beauty, the Kingiyo. whose form is 
the reseia- 
blance in many particulars between it and its 
rival, the Liug-Tsiug-Yu. Whether these 
mystical three syllables, when interpreted, 
mean the “big-eyed-fish,” we will not venture 
to affirm. Certain it is, however, that in 
addition to the long wavy tail which is the 
special adornment of the Kingiyo, we have 
the extra wonder of the projecting eyes, 
which have caused this fish to be called in 
plain English the Telescope Fish. 
The Ling-Tsing-Yu is a species of Golden 
carp. Its body has all the bright colors of 
the gold-fish, and adds to this the wonder of 
the triple tail, and the still greater wonder of 
the eyes. These latter are mounted on stalks 
projecting from the sockets, as shown in the 
figure, and are the result of breeding and 
culture. Although the Kingiyo was our first 
love, the still greater wonder now on view is 
a sign that the manager of the Aquarium 
means that each succeeding conquest in the 
realm of Neptune shall be greater than the last. 
