The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1877-02-07
LAnIBERTyILLE n j. WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 2. 1870

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or the articles are very much endangered Jn
the future, Bridget, SEQ that no more such &C.
cidents happen from the same or similar
cause.
khave seen large pedestaled dessert vase
made upon pattern more suitable to thu uso
Of Aquaria than those Of the globnlar form
Perhaps the pattern after which tho most of
our pedestaled goblets arc made would ans
ver more points IN the economy Of an Aquari-
nm than any othef simple vase with wlicI,
we are acquainted
For my own use, have had two Aquaria
arranged In boxes made of wood and glass.
The bottom Is plank about fourteen inches
wide and three feet long, into which four
posts eleven inches high are mortised near tho
corners and one about the middle on each
side. The posts are secured at the top by a
narrow railing. The spaces between the bot
tom, the posts and the top railing are occu-
pied by window glasses. This pattern Ger.
tainly is not SO attractive, but it suits mo
very well.
Perhaps should not omit saying that I
have found 1t necessary in order to secure the
ends of the plank from checking and warp
ing. to pass through each end strong bolt
with good nut kept well frightened up.
In an Aquarium Of this size can be kept a
great number of objects in very thrifty con-
dition, and with very little trouble. Select
ing vase or box, is only the beginning only
the first step--in organizing an Aquarium
The most handsome vase that art can pro-
duce unless properly stocked will prove but a
place Of fatal torture to the objects therein
placed. e i
! will not venture to advise as to the best
way to proceed in organizing an Aquarium,
but will in manner as brief as consistent,
set forth the way in which have gone.
Having painted the woodwork and given it
plenty Of time to harden, covered the bot
tom of the box with rich earth to the depth
of an inch or more, in order that such plants
as intended to place herein may have place
to root and something upon which to feed.
This dirt l covered to the depth of about a
half inch with clean sand from the river.
This is expected to be Il protection against
the agitation that will otherwise attend the
| hNu 40 VIC hohCo uttCuipb w OuIFOW Ats Dt-
sides the clearly appearance Of the sand adds
not little to the beauty Of the institution.
Upon the sand may be strewn a stratum OF
cleanly washed pebbles Agaiust these the
fishes delight to rub, in order to clean them
selves. Pebbles may be regarded as almost in
dispeusable to the well being of many kinds
of fishes, and perhaps there are none adapt
ed to Aquarium life that are not the better OF
their presence. Into the dirt near Que end Of
the box, / carefully placed upon the first day
of September the roots of . Japonica lily. It.
leaves we're yet nndoveloped. Near the other
end of the box into the dirt placed the roots
of some trout grass, which did not expect
to survive long, nor did it disappont my ex-
pectations. | then took from stagnant
pool by the side of the road that happened
to pass every day, small piece If partly de-
cayed hemlock plank, covered with slime,
which slime by the way is a kind of Thai
logenous plant which grows very abundantly,
in almost all stagnant pools in this latitude.
Having divided this fragment OF half rotten
hemlock plank placed q piece in each box
One of the boxes now being placed near tho
back window of my office, the other in the
front window of the same apartment, | filled
them almost full of spring water, and placed
in each a fish about three and half inches
long. At the end of about five days it was
perceptible that the lily was growing, and the
Thallogenous plants were multiplying some
what, so that few were seen adherent to the
woodwork in favorable sites.
Two more small fishes were nov added to
each Aquarium. AT the end Of five days more,
the vegetation seemed to be thriving SO well,
that two more fishes were added to each box
And in proportion as the vegetable matter
grew, in that proportion animal life was in
trodnced until at the end of October, each
one of the Aquaria contained two redfins,
two dace, four mnnows. two sunfsh, two
funduli, two clubs, two darters, two Suckers
two mud.suckers, two roach, two catfish, two
silver-fns, four mussels, and six Holsters or
crayfish. Subsequently, into the box in the
front window were introduced, two large
bull-frogs, together with as many tadpoles.--
Until late in November the water of this
Aquaria was not changed. But 1t this time,
some material noxlous 10 the nSneS ana 100
sters somehow became added to the water Of
one Of the boxes, and before observed 1t, all
most all the animals it contained were either
sick, or dead. The water was then carefully
drawn off with a cyphon, the box made as
clean as possible without removing the dirt
and plants by the addition aud withdrawal Of
water, then filled with clean spring-water, and
the animals replaced. Since this change both
plants and animals seem thrifty.
II lis common occurrence, that visitors to
the Aquaria ask, why do you have those old
dirty sticks in these boxes. To this it Is an
swered, these old sticks are not dirty. And If
these old sticks were removed, the fishes
would soon all die. These old sticks and the
slime that you see growing thereon, purify
the water for the fishes. Besides, many of
these fishes eat this slime, as cows and sheep
cat grass. In fact this slime is a vegetable
of simple organization, to be sure--that lives
upon such material as is constantly emitted
BY fishes in the common processes of life. A
fish placed in a limited quantity of perfectly