THE NEW YORE AQUARIUM JOURNAL. 
5 
THE NEW YORK AQUARIUM. 
In a letter from Mb. W. 0. Coup which ap¬ 
pears elsewhere, the writer, as General Man¬ 
ager of the New York Aquarium, gives to our 
readers and the public a brief history of the 
movement which has resulted in the estab¬ 
lishment of this institution in our city With¬ 
out again referring to the difficulties which 
have been overcome, and the numberless ob¬ 
stacles which have at last been successfully 
removed, we will enter at once upon the wel¬ 
come task of guiding the visitor through the 
Aquarium and describing its novel and at¬ 
tractive features. 
On approaching the building the novice in 
Aquarial matters might be prompted to ques¬ 
tion its architectural design, since the roof of 
the building appears too low in view of the 
extended area its walls inclose. Instead, 
however, of this being an architectural defect, 
it is in truth an essential feature, since the 
proper lighting of the tanks could only be 
accomplished by this form of construction. 
On being admitted to the interior, the visi¬ 
tor, should it have been his good fort' ne to 
visit any one of the famous European Aquaria, 
will be at once engaged by the novel and at¬ 
tractive appearance of the main hall. 
Standing upon an elevated platform he 
looks out upon a graceful pavilion, the roof 
of which is supported by columns of rustie 
work, most tastefully designed, while curtains 
of rustic tracery extend from column to col¬ 
umn, the lower edges forming arches beneath 
and beyond which appear the fronts of the 
great marine and fresh water tanks. A rustic 
bridge in the distance affords a rare outlook 
from which a complete survey of the pavilion 
may be made. Below this bridge and ex¬ 
tending beyond it to the Southern limit is a 
beautiful pool enclosed in heavy rock work. 
This is to be the home of the sea lions, while 
in front of the bridge and occupying the cen¬ 
tral space is-a circular tank thirty feet in di¬ 
ameter and composed of great panes of the 
clearest plate glass, the crystal curves being 
only interrupted by the needed iron work 
frames. In this tank will be found the whales, 
or in their absence other great fish equally 
interesting and attractive. Descending from 
the bridge and entering upon our round of 
observation we shall 
first be attracted by a 
low wall of masonry 
which is found to en¬ 
close a second pool of 
crystal water, in which, 
now swimming in 
graceful curves below 
the surface, and now 
basking their odd 
shapes in a sloping plat 
form designed for their 
special use, are the 
seals, the most intelli 
gent and fascinating of 
all the inhabitants of 
this water world of 
ours. Having now ex¬ 
amined these three iso¬ 
lated features we start 
on our tour of obser¬ 
vation beneath and 
behind the ivy grown 
and rustic arches. 
Pushing aside the dra¬ 
pery which is needed 
to shield the tanks and 
their occupants from 
all direct light, we 
move down a long cor- 
i dor flanked on one side 
by the rustic walls 
and hanging drapery 
and on the other by a wall of water. The 
first talk encountered as we enter from the 
south is that designed to contain the sharks. 
This is sixty-five feet in length and as we 
stand in front and view the hideous forms 
and yet graceful movements of the impris¬ 
oned monsters, it is as though we were walk¬ 
ing through a channel in the sea. As the 
glass which composes the fronts of this and all 
the other tanks is an inch or more in thick¬ 
ness there is no occasion of dread, although 
its purity and clearness leaves the observer 
‘.n doubt as to whether the water itself is not 
within reach. The light which illumines these 
tanks is all admitted through skylights from 
above and at night by an continuous series of 
gas jets. Passing along this extended front 
-we come to an'angle which opens out to the 
left a still more extended vista. Here is an¬ 
other wall of crystal one hundred and fifty 
feet in length, which is divided into rock 
lined caverns, each division contain such fish 
and sea forms as can be trusted in each 
other’s company. The beautiful angel fish 
and all his brilliant finned companions from 
tropical seas ; the salmon, blue fish and 
skate, the venomous sting ray and the robber 
crab, while here in a secluded nook is a veri¬ 
table water garden with its blossoms of ane- 
monies. Along the pebbled bottoms, lobsters 
and turtles stride and creep, and above all 
come down, as if from, the clouds, jets of 
crystal air bubbles. We have now reached 
the lower limit of this sea walk and an at¬ 
tendant admits us by a narrow doorway to a 
place behind the scenes. It is here, after all, 
that the greatest wonders are to be found, 
since from this point alone can we be led to 
comprehend the true nature of the great 
work here accomplished. Heavy brick walls 
enclose the reservoirs, into the front of which 
we have been gazing. Peering over the edgie.4 
of these we see the fish sporting below while 
crystal jets of water flow from an extended 
line of pipes, and beneath the gas jets, if it be 
night, give forth a weird reflection from the 
surface of the water below. It is here also 
that we discover that the crystal wall we have 
seen fronts a series of tanks, so constructed 
that from the center to the opposite ends an 
incline is made which secures an active cir¬ 
culation of the water. At a future time we 
shall undertake a special description of the 
construction of the larks and demonstrate 
the value of the system here adopted. 
Let us now return to the main hall and de¬ 
scend to the engine arid pump rooms, which 
region is the heart of this beautiful sea won¬ 
der. Here we find shut out from sight a 
great sunken reservoir filled with the purest 
seawater obtained from apoint beyond Sandy 
Hook and conveyed to its present receptacle, 
but by the aid o'-' a vessel and then by great 
movable tanks. This water is drawn from the 
"eservoir by means of pumps composed solely 
of vulcanite or hard rubber, which substance 
is chosen as the only one which may be 
brought in contact with salt sea water with¬ 
out contaminating it For the same reason 
all the pipes for the delivery of the hundreds 
of crystal streams we have already seen, is of 
the same material, and it is estimated that in 
this single building there are now in position 
nearly four miles of rubber and iron piping. 
As we return to the pavilion above we > ass 
another glass-walled reservoir, in which the 
fresh water, designed for lake and river fish, 
is allowed to settle and become pure and crys- 
taline before it is started on its circuit through 
the tanks. 
Being again in the pavilion we are at¬ 
tracted by a beautiful ar ay of smaller tanks, 
which stand on tables, and are so arranged as' 
to admit of a careful survey and study of the 
forms and habits of the occupants. 
Should the visitor be now weary with his 
wanderings he can rest in the main pavil¬ 
ion, or turn aside into the gentleman’s re¬ 
ception room, and while indulging in a 
quiet segar review and make a record of his 
observations. If. however, the guest is 
prompted by what he has seen to avail !::■ > 
self of spccsftl privileges- to - h e oonig - a- sfc nt .;.. 
of nature, as well as an observer, the library 
and laboratory are at his service, restricted 
only by the assurance that he is engaged in a 
work of legitim a’e scientific lesearch. In 
this effort he will also be aided by an exam¬ 
ination of the process of fish hatching and 
culture, for which full provision has been 
made in the main hall. 
An agreeable duty would be omitted were 
not the writer’s attention especially directed to 
• the strictly artistic appointments of the Aqua¬ 
rium. In addition to 
the marked effort 
v'hich has successfully 
been made to secure to 
the main pavilion all 
that art could do to 
introduced with the in¬ 
tent to graiify the eye 
render it attractive spe¬ 
cial features have been 
and ear of the connois¬ 
seur. The series of 
statues which break the 
front of the columns 
have been carefully se¬ 
lected and arti tically 
arranged, while the 
music will be fur¬ 
nished by one of our 
leading musical con¬ 
ductors, Mr. Dodworth. 
This much for the 
New York Aquarium us 
it appears to the visitor 
during a hasty survey. 
What it will be when 
he has leisure to study 
its vast resources in 
detail, may be readily 
comprehended, n o w 
that the way has been 
opened and the paths 
marked out. 
