The Bon Homme County independent. [volume] (Tabor, S.D.) 1904-1913, 1905-07-13
DINNER Time At
A GREAT AQUARIUM
Over 1000 Submarine Cap.
tives In the New York
institution.
REPRESENTS 2is SPECIES
Nearly 5000 People Are on Hand
Daily TO Watch the Feeding
OF This Enormous
Collection.

ST. Louis Republic: The New York
Aquarium just now In one OF the city's
most popular and interesting show
places. over 1000 submarine captives.
representing 2i3 different species OF
various sizes. strange and unfamiliar
In shape and brilliant In coloring. dis.
port themselves In the 100 wall tanks
and spacious floor pools. forming n
never-changing panorama OF dtcp-sea
life. the largest to be seen anywhere In
| the world.
Nearly 4.t54 daily. or. In round num-
bers. 1.s25.770 persons the last year.
passed through its doors to study and
| view these live wonders OF nature. The
attendance In probably not eQualed by
any other institution In the world. The
present director. Mr.. c. IL. Townsend.
has carried on important scientific re-
searches for the government. especially
In the fishing and fur sealing Indus
| tries. He Ii recognized as the leading
authority on these and kindred sub
| jects relating to marine life.
Two years ago the aquarium was
| turned over to the management OF the
New York Geological society. Many
| Innovations have been introduced,
which now afford the most palatial and
up date home for exhibiting fishes
| In existence.
One OF the busiest places I'm the
/ aquarium which IL not generally seen
| by visitors IL the fishes Kitchen. Here.
| from morning until the middle OF the
afternoon the steward In kept hard at
work preparing the daily menu for the
4 vast crowd OF piscatorial boarders. All
OF the food Is first class. and Ii kept
| fresh and cold In n large Ice chest, and
/ when ready for use In placed In var
/ ious tin receptacles. Several attend
ants devote the best part OF the after
noon TO serving out the rations.
The food Is varied TO suit the size OF
| the specimen. and consists OF beef
(sliced. chopped or minced), liver. fish
| (cod and herring mostly) and clans.
! All the fish In the markets are headed
and eviscerated before US. The cod and
1 herring are halved. the backbone deftly
removed with one sweep OF the knife.
The rest OF the flesh is cut into strips
81 different lengths. In summer
great deal OF live food. such as min
nows. marine angle worms. small crabs
/ and crustaceans. such as sand hvppers,
In used. being better for the collection
/ In general. In winter marketable food
stunts are largely consumed. A special
collector Ii kept busy the year round
toraging In adjacent bays and ocean
stocked. The average board bill for
the aauarium's guests for q month Is
500.
Some New Arrivals.
Among the chief specimens OF the
aquarium at present, from Its size az
we'll as from the fact that II IL almost
new to the general eye. Is the curious
fla. probably the only one In
captivity. The animals In their
Wild habitat nrc very shy and
cautious, disappearing Immediately
uLon approach. Owing to their pecu.
liar tropical habits. they are given spe-
cial treatment and care. such as suit
able warm temperature. between 20
and 20 degrees. for the water OF their
pool and a sufficient quantity OF nour-
ishing food. Eel grass and lettuce
leaves strongly tempt their appetite
| The former. however, In used In more
abundance when obtainable: a bucket
ful Is usually given for meal.
The manatee is'a female. eight and
one-hnlf feet long. weighing 600
pounds, and was captured by "Ailiga-
tor Joe" at Palm Beach In a large drag
seine OF extra strong manila hemp,
made for the purpose. Numerous at
tempts were made ut different times
for n month. and seven manateeA
escaped and broke through the net be-
fore one was finally obtained. The fe-
male was placed about June or the last
year I'm n tile-lined pool, twenty feet
long by thirteen feet wide. with o
depth OF four feet OF water. The latter
II renewed nightly.
The feeding OF the animal Is watched
with unusual interest by the visitors
Mr.. W. DE Nyse. with suspended
handful or eel grass, can coax the
manatee to raise her head and neck
completely out OF the water.
Seacows have n peculiar structure
having no front teeth. hind limbs OF
hip bones. but huge beaverlike tail
Their bones are said 10 be the heaviest
known among mammals. The best
view OF the creature In obtained wher
the water is drained from the pool for
tank cleaning. when the whole form IL
strikingly outlined against the white
filing. The home OF the seacow In ths
| United States IL limited TO the Indian
River lagoons OF the east coast OF Flor
ida. other species are found In various
tropical regions. In captivity they live
seldom longer than five or ak months
but the present specimen has survived
nine months.
The care and express transportation
on such a large individual Is consider
able. and almost equals It's sale value
| A huge tank was constructed and hlled
with just enough water 10 noat the
massive body.
The seahorse In probably the only
sish with prehensile tall. He uses this
In n monkeylike fashion. constantly
anchoring himself to weeds. stones and
sticks. The position OF the body 10
usually vertical. especially In swim
ming. They are found all along this
American coast. from Cape Cod &C
South Carolina. There Is. however. one
remarkable feature about them, little
known generally. Contrary to the rest
OF the animal world. the eggs while
Matching are carried by the male In n
pouch. and the young are said TO re-
turn TO this for shelter. Hundreds
probably thousands, OF baby indi-
viduals are thus transported around by
the paternal member OF the family In
his strange incubating pocket. while
Mrs. Seahorse. released OF care, roams
fancy free.
The clever maneuvers OF the two
little harbor seals from the Maine
coast. come In for great share or the
popular interest. One OF these was
phown at the Worlds Fair at ST. Louis.
They are hearty eaters, and devour