The herald., 1897-09-19

to some extent give out oxygen in it's
place, thus both purifying and vitaliz-
Ing the water. Almost any convenient
plants that grow in shallow water will
answer the purpose. II they grow
from muddy bottom, take up little
OF the earth with them; scoop out a
small hole in the sand on the bottom of
your tank, and carefully cover the
roots and mud with clean gravel. This
will prevent anything unsightly from
appearing; and the plants being rooted
in their native soil. will thrive. For a
fresh-water aquarium, the common
sagittarius-easily recognized by it's
arrow shaped Leafs a good choice.
Bulllushes are less effective and are
easily broken, but they are very pictur-
esque while they last.
CLAIMS and mussels are not vege-
tables, but they are scavengers, and a
few of them dropped on the bottom of
the tank will help keep its water pure.
Indeed, II you get happy balance be-
tween plants and animals, the water
will rarely need to be changed; yet it
is well to renew 1t occasionally, Just as
nature does in the pools and streams.
In the aquarium thus prepared you
may keep almost any aquatic creatures
that you can catch, provided they are
not too large. Besides real fish, little
crabs, or crayfish or shrimps are anus
ing stock. For salt water the sea-
anemone is very beautiful, though
rather hard to get and to keep alive.
Black snails are homely enough. but
interesting. They have a fashion of
or axv1i oft to
line on the inside of the glass, and look
like a string of beads.
In fresh water don't fail to have
few polliwogs; it is most interesting to
watch them as they gradually change
into frogs. The time to get them, of
course, is in the spring or early sum-
mer. Little-very little-turtles make
another most entertaining addition to
ones live stock; but If you let them
grow to any considerable size they
may depopulate your tank. for they
are as greedy as alligators. Let some
of the stones of the grotto come to the
surface for them to crawl up on,-or
have bit of wood or cork floating on
the water. Don't forget that turtles
are not true fishes, and need to come
out into the air from time to time.
OF course your stock must be fed
though not too often; every other day
is quite enough. In the city, fish-food
in packages is cheap and easily OBJ
tanned; but bits of raw beef will suit
most of the members of your menag-
erie just as well. The meat should be
cut up in tiny particles-smaller, II
possible, than the head Of a pin, for
some Of the little creatures-and fed
to the fish from the end of long, point
ed stick, whitfield down to about the
thickness Of a wheat-straw. 1t is de-
lightful to see them dart up and seize
the meat, and shoot away again as If
afraid you would try to take it away
from them. They soon become very
tame, and rise to the surface as soon
as they see the stick. This makes it
easy to show them off to visitors,
though one should be careful not to
disappoint them too often.
The temperature of an ordinary liv-
ing room is about right for an aquar-
ium, but care must be taken that the
water does not get excessively warm.
Most fish can stand cold much better
than heat.
In cities, all sorts of fish can be had
at all sorts of prices. If you care to
purchase. Ordinarily, If you buy little
ones, the cost is trifing. But for the
average boy the very best part of the
fun is to hunt and catch his own live
stock.
Copyright, 1897. by Bachelor Syndicate.