The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1897-05-01
THE HOME.
An AQUARIUM.

amusement to the children, and is in ltSell
pretty ornament, especially if kept near
the window plants The simplest is single
gold fish in glass globe of water, winch
should be changed every day. Others more
elaborate are tanks with aquatic plants
growing in them and stocked with more than
one kind of fish. Harper's Round fable tells
how to manage one of these properly. Few
tools are required. A little hand net thai
can be bought for few cents, OF made fol-
even less out OF a bit of wire and small
piece of mosquito netting, is useful fol
catching the fish or shells without putting
your hands into the water. A pair OF wood
en- forceps, like glove stretcher, will be
found most convenient for nipping off bits
of decaying plants or for catching obJecta
that may have accidentally fallen into the
water Glass tubes of various sizes are also
useful. If you want to catch any small OBJ
iect in the water with the tube, place the
tube in the water with our finger over the
hole in the top. Until your finger is removed
the tube will remain full of air. Place il
over the the bit of refuse or whatever it is
you want to catch, remove our finger, and
the water will rush in, carrying the object
with 1T into the tube, which should then be
closed at the upper end by placing youl
finger over it as before. A glass or hard rub
Der syringe is necessary with which to
aerate water thoroughly at least once a
day, and oftener if possible. Fill the sy-
ringe, hold it high above the tank, and then
squirt the water back again. A long piece
of India rubber tubing which may be used
as siphon is necessary for the purpose OF
cha he Mata in, ie
evident that something has gone wrong.
Ii a green film begins to gather on the
side of the tank that is most exposed to the
light it should be cleaned away every day,
and the sides of the glass polished careful
~. A small piece of clean sponge tied on
the end of a stick viii answer the purpose.
IL the scum is neglected and left to accumu-
late you will find it almost impossible to re :
move it from the glass even by hard scour-
ing.
1t is best to have only small fish in your
aquarium, and for this reason trout are not
desirable. Goldfish and minnows are very
good, and the common little sunfish OF
pumpkin seed'' is excellent.
You must keep careful watch over the fish
in your aquarium, and if any one of them
appears to be sick he should be removed at
once very gently, with the hand net, and
placed in fresh water, where he will often
recover.
Certain varieties of snails live well in
fresh water, and will be found useful in
clearing away the green film that is almost
certain to collect on the side of the glass
but you must be careful or they will devour
your plants as well; and if your tank is very
small it is hardly worth while to keep
them.
You must be careful not to overstock YOUR
aquarium, for your fish will not thrive if
they are overcrowded. Remember also
that heat aud dnst are fatal to your pets.
The water mu st be kept clean and cool at
alitimes, and all foreign matter and every
moved Immediately.
Hints to Ho usekeepers.
In packing away white furs or robes OF
children's.w cloaks for the summer scat
ter .pieces of white wax among them. 1t
will help to keep them..from turning yellow.
A.nicew ay is to roll them in pieces of cot
ton or linen made very dark with bluing be-
fore putting them into their boxes.
When a dose of unpleasant medicine is
necessary, particularly with children, its
disagreeable taste may be almost wholly
concealed if peppermint candy is taken just
before the medicine. This is better plan
than taking something after the dose.
An agreeable method of changing the at
mosphere in an invalid's room is to pour
some good eau de cologne into soup plate
and set fire to it. The cologne will make a
pretty flame and impart delightful. re-
freshing odor to the air.
Loops for hanging up garments are always
wearing out and breaking, particularly with
children's cloals and coats. To make a
serviceable loop cut strip of kid from an
old glove, roll in it piece of coarse string,
and sew the edges of kid neatly together.
This loop, fastened securely to garment
will stand any amount of pulling without
wearing or breaking.
Salt brightens and cleans the carpet
beautifully, but it absorbs moisture and
rusts the tacl1s AS long as there is any salt
left in the carpet and it is extremely diff
cult to sweep it all up, just SO long will
there be moisture collecting.
In cooking rhubarb do not peel; wash the
stalks carefully and-cut in nice pieces. with
the skin left on. 1t cooks tender as rapidly
as the rest of the stalk, gives fine flavor
as well as that pretty pinkish color that is
one of the features of rhubarb rightly
ooked.
After broth has been carefully SKINNED
an still little atoms of grease appear over
the surface, lay piece of brown paper over
the top and the grease will cling to it,
After handling substances that leave a
disagreeable odor upon the hands, If mus
tard water is used it will be found a most
efficient deodorizer.
To remove the taste of new wood first
scald the vessel with boiling water; then
dissolve pearlash or soda in tepid water,
adding a little lime and wash the vessel
thoroughly with the solution. Scald it
again with hot water and rinse with cold.
To prevent the icing of cake from run
ming down the sides, double piece of oiled
paper three inches wide ana pin it closely
around the cake, letting the band come a
half inch above the cake in this way a
cake may be frosted evenly and with a
thick layer to its edge Do not remove the
band of paper until the icing is thoroughly
dry.
In some cases stings are relieved and
cooled by the use of diluted pure vinegar.
re sting should be removed by pressing on
tile skin with the hollow end of q watch