The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1900-09-30
NOTES OF THE AQUARIUM.
some or TINE LATELY RECEIVED
ADDITIONS TO ITS STOCk.
Tur les From Porto Rico. ard One fourd In n
Fi'hing steamers Paddle Hox-A Harbor
seal and a yellow Eel-Htw some Of the
OIhcT artatufes There Are GettInE On.

fi,hing steamers Paddle BoN-A Hnrbor
seal and a yellow Eel-H,w some Of the
Other Creatures There Are Getting On.
Capt. T.. +. Dwyer OF tho American steam
ship Ponce has lately presented 10 the Aquarium
three sea turtles from Porto Rican waters of a
species not hitherto seen here. They are about
II foot In length and tine specimens.
The Aquarium has received as a gift from
Louis won Bcrnuth a handsome young harbor
seal, which came ORIGINALLY from the New Hamp-
shire coast. whence came also, Nellie. tho har-
Dor seal that has 50 long been an Aquarium
fayorite. Ncllie's former companion in the
harbor seal pool passed some months ago over
20 the seals happy hunting waters, since which
Miss Nellie has been alone. She gave to the
newcomer a prompter welcome than she had
ever before extended to any new seal when
Il was first placed In the pool with her, admit
ting this one into friendly relations almost
from the start. The two have ever since been
good friends. with Nellie still remaining queen
of the pool. The little one is very tame rs well
as active. 1t climbs the platform at the end
Of the pool with Nellie at feeding time and
tug, at the trousers leg Of the man who feeds
them. II Il n handsome, graceful little creature
with the seals beautiful eyes.
Lately received, a gift from Capt Al Foster
of the fishing banks steamer Angler. Is a mall
green turtle, found the other day in one Of that
vessels paddle boxes. II has been placed
temporarily IN the COL of the loRgcIhead tur-
ties. The big loggcrhead in this Tool IL really
a big fellow five feet or more in length, and
weighing three or four hundred rounds The
little green turtle was drop ed into the turtle
POOL at one end. while the other two, the giant
and the smaller lOggcrhead, which II a loot
and a halt OF. so III length, we're down al lho
other end When the little green turtle WAS
dropped into the water there, the two logger
heads turned their heads TO look, precisely as
"a human being might turn TO look over. his
shoulder at something coming along behind
him. And then the smaller Of the two logger
heads swan down. the ~pool,-.WhiCh Is twenty.
of the green turtle, as though TO look II over
and see what it was, 1henit swan back whence
it had, come, TO the other end. And then u
Of the newcomer, looked II over again, ara
then once more went back. Later, IN the
course Of their moving about in the Iool. The
giant loggcrhead and the little green turtle
met. The big fellow fipred one of IFS great
fliplers up and down % the, water, by the etge
of the little ones shell, and nosed about with
il, powerful beak OF course this may oil
have been Just chance. but it looked as though
the big one was looking the little one over and
making w its mind what 70 do. And there
was some fear that the big fellow might deciGe
to Kill and eat the lite one, which i could
easily do. for its head il as big a. the little ci'Cn
turtles whole body. and 1t could take IL IN lust
IA IA whale would take ~ a whale boat; but II
the loggerheads and the little green turtle
commonly keep apart and the green turtle can
easily keep out Of the way If he wants to, Tor
About as odd as anything that the Aquarium
has had Is an eel which was given 10 II recently
by,ihe skipper Of a Fulton Market fishing smack;
with its body Of q bright, light yellow in color,
with motilings 81 brown, that being the color.
also, Of this curious eels dorsal fin.
Among things brought in lately by one Of
the Aquarium's own collectors there ere now
here a number Of small decorating crabs, the
! familiar and NAt TnnTNpIIplE HTRufnTas TINT
decorate the top Of their shell with threads ~
marine plants, which, they place there SEEM
TO make themsely es invisible. and so to protect
them from their enemies. When IL has al
tanned maturity ara l9rEe sze ne crab ceases
curving legs II looks then like an enormous
spider and it relies then upon its size and ac-
tivi,y 20 keep other creatures at a distance;
It would seem as though II might, for that.
safely rely upon its appearance. But in It's
youth the decorating crab, does wonderful
things. II plants upon its back, to be held
there in a sticky glue which it secretes. bits
and shred, Of marine plants, commonly plac-
ing them near the front q the shell. above
which they rise like the feathers or other adorn-
ments on the front Of a woman's hat. II be-
gins to do this at a very early, age. Little
decorators, a quarter TO half nm inch in dinmeter
have been taken with bits Of plants sticking
to them; the little creatures had already he
gun 10 ndorn themselves. Red plants the
decorating crabs arpcar 10 use the most, br'
they take bright. green, too. and other colos
ard various kinds IF plants, decoralors have
| AfflI NtlNhA'h AIAN lNh Hl'Ai Al''' EA''lA~ v al =
and ~hrcd~ Of a. many n five kinds OF marine
veg tatlon.
When il is very young and small the deco
rator casting on its old shell 10 make way for
the now one sheds II at FREQUENT intervals:
tho very little decorators would shed twice
in a month. the sheldiugs being less and less
frequent ~ the crab grows olCer and big ger.
! When the decorator has come 10 bc quite a
crab and 50 a. 20 carry uf1u its shell tho hits
of plants that it may place there for a Longer
time. these plants may grow norc or less there.
When II does shed is sholl. Al whatever stage
g t4. .ut trout . glalZ .f gYrur.. usisI 10
whatever Of plants may he left
upon H. lhcsr sheddinCs, with the pla,t
scraps upon them, may drift about and he
lost or DESTROYED II one should lodge IN some
vlaCe who're II would remain undiSturhed bY
The tides, the bits Of plants uIon i might then
~prOut ny and grow into a considerable bunch
Of vegetation
Of other late arrivals the new green moray
from Bermuda which came early in Settem-
her. is doing finely II doesn't eat. by any
means, a. they would like 10 have II: as n mat
ter Of fact this green moray, since il has been
at tho Aquarium, now nearly a month, has
eaten but once or twice. and very scantilv
AZ that. at either meal But for all that IL
still remains lively and active Meantime
the old green moray that was shown, here for
over q year, seen 10y hundreds Of thousands
of people and a great attraction until rs place
i'm the exhibition tank was taken by this
younger and more attractive specimen, lies
IN q reserve tank in the corridor at tho rear
Of the exhibition tanks, old and feeble.
~ Illustrating how circumstances or c%nviron-
rlCnt may change or modify habit, might lie
cited the case Of another fish that was, received
| Nv WV aNifNNNNNAN 'NNAN ~ ~ NN|N . AllNN Nv lux
a little pilot FISH that was taken with a hook
and line on the fishing banks and brought
here, placed In the tank with the shark that Is
shown behind glass True 20 the instinct Of
it, species the little pilot made strnight for the
shark, and for two weeks II stuck to II closely.
swimming for most OF the time close to the tin
! Of the sharks dor-al I'm, leaving that station for
Il. food when that was dropped into the tank.
aud sometimes dropping to the bottom Of the
tank to rup itself, but Away coming back
near to the shark and commonly to its station
by the sharks dorSal I'm, - that the shark and
il were iusCr arahlC But they are not so row,
and this would appear to show that the pilots
finding IT, food, a. II does, In close proximity
to the shark il lives on the crumbs and scraps
that fail from tho sharks tablets the com
trolling thing that in nature keeps the pilot
fish IN tho sharks company Here something
tells IL that II doesn't need to follow the shark
for that, the food comes from another source,
and the pilot l. governed accordingly You
might see now the shark headed one way in
one section Of IL double tank, and the pilot,
independent n can be. heading the other
way In the other section, and the pilot will now,
a. many Of the fishes do, come up 10 the top
for it, food when the food Is dropped into the
tank. and come TO that corner Of the tank az
which it is commonly dropped into the water.
A Mouse Catching Flies.
From TIC Baltimore sun.
CANRRIDCE. Md. Sept. 26-In Cambridge
G,,pIot aftarp.pp MANY p.opla mara rr,,,h