Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-07-14

- ROUPS of children. with some
mothers and aunts and a ia
Their here and there are stand
ing or slowly shutting to and
fro in a long. dim, echoing sub
terranean gallery. Along the sides OF
this gallery are fifteen large and heavy
plate glass windows. behind which on
three sides are rough rock walls. These
windows are full Of clear, bubbling water.
The floors are of white sand and pebbles.
Sunlight shines down through the top and
brilliantly illuminates the water Hun
dreds Of fish Of many families are swim
ming. resting, feeding, sleeping in this
water.
The place is a hallway, below the street
level in the fish commission building in
Armory Square. It is dismal old struc-
ture. ilI-suited to the purposes for which
used, and its location is isolated from
tides OF travel; still. a good many people
find their way to it. Some tourists stray
ing eastward from the Smithsonian In
stitution, the old National Museum or the
Army Medical Museum, drift in. Many
Of these say it is the most interesting
place in Washington. But that is a mat
ter Of opinion. The long gallery and
fish-filled, glass-fronted tanks have come
ium. 1t was not designed as public
exhibit, but as a place for the close OBJ
servation OF fish habits by fish students.
Thenature Ioveror the naturalist will find
there much to claim his interest. There are
large and small-mouth black bass. crap
PIES blue and silver: garpike, like ami
mate torpedoes. and yellow perch, with
vertical bars-all clearly exhibited within
an inch Of ones eye In one tank are
sturgeon sharklike looking creatures
gray and purple. There are land loo ed
salmon, silver shot with black; brook
trout whose notified skin is pink. silver
or brown, according to the angle of the
light; rainbow trout with horizontal rain
bows on their sides; Atlantic salmon,
steel-11ead trout, Chinook salmon, la<e
trout golden trout, hog chokers, yellow
tail striped mullet, f1lefsh, pighsh, striped
bass, big white perch and pretty little
pinfsh
sheepshead, big, slow-moving fellows.
with markings Suggestive of the tradi-
tional convict suit, stare through the
glass window at YOU These are not all the
varieties of fish on exhibition at this ma
tional fish show.
Among the features that cause most ex-
clamation from and the longest stops by
visitors are the toadfsh monstrous
looking things like horned toads. with
the coloring Of rattlesna re; a sea tur-
tie, an awkward fellow. always working
hard to get some place where he seems
to find It impossible to go, and long.
thick eel.
Unorthodox Gardens.
WASHINGTON has sunken gardens and
5" hanging gardens in addition to the
large acreage of those that are on the
level. The sunken gardens are at the
north front of the Treasury and the
State, War and Navy buildings. The
Treasury garden is in two sections, be-
ing bisected by the broad paved way that
leads to the front doorsteps of the big
pile This description applies also to
the garden Of the tr-department build
ing. The Treasury's double garden is
fenced with a stone balustrade and an
iron gate and four steps lead from the
court plaza Of the Treasury into each
half OF the garden.
The Treasury's sunken garden is not
the brilliant summer spot it once was.
Rare roses. violets and lilies bioomed there
once. Before Secretary Shaw left WASH
layton he had the Towering shrubbery re-
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