Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1871-03-22

Dinner over, we repair to the sitting room,
where on Il pretty stand rests an aquarium, a
circular glass vessel about fifteen inches in d-
ameter.
In the center grotto, formed of stalactites,
sustains at the waters edge a messy island, on
which Lizards recline at will, and the small ones
do so most OF the time, they fear the rapacious
NAV of the ever wakeful fish Plants, some
growing entirely below the surface of the water,
and some rising gracefully above it, serve the
double purpose of sustaining life within, and
adding grace and beauty to the scene.
With these few words we introduce to you the
home of our tinny pets.
At the present writing they consist of silver,
gold, sun, rock and catfish, all caught by their
posSessOr, excepting the rock.tsh, which sue
cumbed to Il hook bated with silver.
A sharp whistle brings them to the side of
the aquarium in eager expectancy of good din
ner.
Imagine them, in all their brilliancy of color,
the goldfish, with his red and golden sides gilt
tering in the sunlight with every movement of
his body; the little silver fish, not so brilliant,
but still beautiful, as the ever changing light
chances from their lustrous coat of scales; and,
before all for beauty, the sun-fsh, with his GRIM
son spotted gills, the color and beauty of the
rainbow reflected from his lustrous body.
We feed our fish twice week. A few crumbs
of cracker, flies and shreds of meat suffice. Our
little friends are growing impatient, and seem
| to call for dinner. A crumb of cracker thrown
| in produces grand rush from all sides. The
sun-fish retire, as they prefer more dainty food,
and the goldfish gobbles up the morsel Ma
poeon he has been named from his propensity
for gobbling up anything that is lying around
loose. A larger shower of crumbs sets all in
motion. See them now, nibbling and pushing
at the food, some setting it from the mouth OF
more fortunate neighbor, and then a race
around the pond to reeapture the prize; some
standing on their heads and nosing among the
a stray
into their mouths, separating whatever of food
it contains, and giving forth the residue in a
little cloud. Here come the rock-hshl We
must not forget themt they arc new to us yet,
and we hardly feel that we have made their acc
| quantance; but here they come, swimming like
graceful log, long and narrow, with full sup
| ply of fms, and rounded tail unlike their negh=
| bors who one and all rejoice in the convention
| al fish tail. When at rest, and with only por-
| ton of their heads visible behind the central
rock work, they look like snakes, They keep
mostly OF the bottom, and as they land so
| they lie for quite a whilej if head down, all
| right. Do not fancy they are always sluggish,
| for they can dart through our pond switteF than
| any of the rest,
A few shre1s Of meat thrown in create quite
a futter, and our sun fish are not slow TO secure
| the lions share; friend Snap seems fully aliyo,
| snap Is the smaller and most brilliantly marked
| of the two sun ash, and considers he has a
special right TO q certain side Of the pond, leay=
| ing the corpulent Nap to himself, either on the
ground that bis size alone protects him, or that
| friend Nap, like his namesake, will some day
| light upon young antagonist that will quickly
bring him to grief, though he now abpires to
rule the lake. How the small fry scatter when
be makes at them with his little mouth open,
ready to take bite from their silyeFy sides.
Snap loves meat, and more than all loves flies,
and having deY0uEed Ill he can lay teeth upon,
| and chased even his own mate TO remote quar-
tiers, he Is returning through the central grofto,
and even now stands at his self-apponted place,
] and seems to say "rcady for more dinner"
We take q fiy Dy the wings so rs TO expose 1t
to his view, and before we get It to the surface Of
I the ,ter he seems TO say, II know what's com,