298 FANCIERS’ 
JOURNAL AND POULTRY EXCHANGE. 


Guinea pigs, in my opinion, have notasarulereceived their 
due from naturalists and writers upon the subject. They are 
generally dismissed as being pretty and so forth, but destitute 
of intelligence and other attributes necessary for qualification 
as ‘‘pets.’”? One writer (I believe the Rev. J. G. Wood), 
says they ‘‘make little noise.” If this be the rule all mine 
have been distinguished exceptions; the irrepressible little 
creatures knew the step of their feeder as well as their friends 
and companions the Rabbits, and would set up such a chorus 
of squeaking as quite to place them outside the category of 
dumb animals. They resemble the housewife’s ‘‘ black bee- 
tles’’ in the inappropriateness of their name, inasmuch as 
the former are not beetles, and their color is by no means 
black (it is sometimes white), and our little friends are not 
pigs, and do not come from Guinea. To such an extent is 
their restlessness carried that their young run about and eat 
on the very day they are born, the precocious little animals 
boasting as good a coat and eyesight as their parents. I 
will not trespass upon your space further than to say that I 
have found them as intelligent and interesting, apart from 
their usefulness as ‘‘scarecrows,’? as any of the numerous 
pets I have kept, but this, I imagine, was more owing to a 
little kindness and good treatment, which brought out their 
good qualities, than to any special happiness in the choice 
of specimens; nevertheless, I have never yet seen one to 
equal my original little friends, Toby and his spouse Topsy. 
—Journal of Horticulture. 

_- 
(For the Fanciers’ Journal). 
THE AQUARIUM. 
Or all the ornamental and instructive additions to a 
drawing-room the aquarium takes the lead. Unlike many 
other pets, the fish of an aquarium never sleep. They are 
always visible; for, dwelling in a house with glass walls, 
they are allowed no place for concealment. Nothing can 
be more amusing than watching a newt and a young cat- 
fish fighting over a worm; the shiner darting hither and 
thither like a flash of silver light, searching for food; and 
the more sober sunfish standing under a piece of stone, or, 
if there be none, in the centre of the tank amidst whatever 
of plant life may have been used in making this artificial 
home of these little oviparous creatures. 
Being such a truly aquatic arrangement, having aqueous 
soil, aquatic plants, and aquatile inhabitants, we recommend, 
as a new idea, that all aquarium adornments be henceforth 
sacred to Aquarius, the water-bearer of the skies; and all 
who desire to learn the habits of aquatic animals and insects, 
shall seek out in the Zodiac the time and place of the great 
aquarium of the starry palor. 
There are several forms of aquariums, the globe and tank 
form being the most common. We give the following direc- 
tions for arranging and stocking an aquarium: 
Fill the bottom of the globe or tank with bar-sand to the 
depth of several inches. On the top of this place quite a 
number of middling sized pebbles; the pebbles and sand 
should be thoroughly washed before used, so that any saline 
or other impure matter secreted in them may be dissolved. 
The next thing in order is to obtain plants for supplying 
the animal life in the aquarium with oxygen for respiration. 
These plants you can get from the nearest brook ; the smaller 
they are the better they answer the purpose. Plant them 
in the sand, fill the aquarium one-fourth full of water, and 
put in the rock work. A very nice kind may be made as 
‘stone, so as to make a bridge. 

follows: Take two flat pieces of stone about four inches in 
length ; set these firmly in the sand, at equal distances from 
each side of the tank or globe; upon them place a large flat 
Rocks scattered about the 
bottom, so as to form little caverns, &c., will greatly enhance 
the beauty of the aquarium. 
Now, let the tank or globe remain undisturbed for a week ; 
at the end of this time, if the vegetation flourishes, the glass 
will be covered with a green scum. To destroy this, intro- 
duce a number of water snails; get these from brooks and 
ponds, as river snails are so ravenous that they will destroy, 
not only the green scum, but the plants also. If snails can- 
not be procured, fresh water mollusca of any kind, except 
large muscels, will answer equally well. As soon as these 
little seavengers have devoured the impurities, remove them 
all, except two or three to keep the water clear and fresh 
after the fish have been introduced. The aquarium is now 
ready to receive its occupants. 
Fisu.—Shiners can be found in any little running brook; 
sunfish delight in deep still pools, and there also young perch 
and roach are generally to be found; young catfish abound 
in muddy ponds, near and connected with a river or ereek ; 
stickle-backs lurk under stones and river-weed ; young pike 
are in the shoal water, near the shore of a mill pond; min- 
nows may be found in any stream of running water; by 
probing among the stones of a rivulet you will occasionally 
come across a redfish; gold and silver fish you will have to 
purchase. 
REpPriLes.—Newts and a large species of pollywog make 
their home in most every duck pond; water lizard are gener- 
ally found under a clod of damp earth, near a brook, while 
a smaller kind lurk under the stones of any tiny stream. 
Insgects AND CrusTacEA.—The water beetle and cramp 
bug are indispensable additions, as is also the fresh water 
shrimp and the brook lobster. 
If a large number of fish, &c., are desirable, they should 
be introduced into the aquarium one at a time, and at long 
intervals. If the fish seem not well supplied with oxygen 
that is, if they rise to the surface of the water and gasp, 
some of them should be immediately removed, as this con- 
dition is caused by overcrowding. The water should be 
changed only when it assumes a turbid appearance. 
The best food for the fish is small balls of flour and water, 
or, better still, milk, mixed to the consistency of putty, with 
an occasional angle worm. Feed once or twice a week, not 
oftener. A great treat to them is little black tadpoles or 
pollywogs; these they will devour with great relish. The 
great fault of beginners is overfeeding. Always remove 
from the water the scraps they do not devour. 
Paut Loatc. 
><> + _____—_- 
(For Fanciers’ Journal.) 
TO TRAP OLD BIRDS WITH YOUNG. 
AFTER you have found a nest containing young birds, put 
them, nest and all, within a common “ figure-four trap ;’’” 
set this at the foot of the tree in which you found the nest, 
with the bait-stick directly over the nest and its contents. 
The old birds, attracted by the cries of their young, will 
enter the box, perch upon the bait-stick, and, of course, 
spring the trap. When you have caught one parent bird 
remove it, and set the trap in the same manner for the other. 
The old birds and their young had better at first be placed 
in aroom and allowed their liberty for a few weeks, until, 
