of displays of aquatic life has begun to be realized. Now many architects and interior decorators include them in their plans. This is true not only of country places but of many of the newest city homes. Certainly there is no easier and cheaper way to keep some living thing about the house. The care of the balanced aquarium amounts to so little that it may be practically disregarded.
"The cost of the vessel depends entirely upon the wishes of the person who is filling it. It may be an ordinary fruit jar with a wide mouth or a glass tank costing $20 or more. The simplest tanks cost about $1 and are of something more than one gallon capacity. They may be had either rectangular in shape or globular. For an eight gallon tank of domestic glass I have paid as little as $2.50. The main essential is to have a tank perfectly tight and clean, with no paint or other injurious material to contaminate the water.
"To begin with, the water should be as pure as the water we drink. The bottom should be covered with pebbles and sand to the depth of two inches with the plants rooted in it. There is a great variety of aquatic plants that may be had at a cost of from 10 cents to half a dollar a bunch. Of them all fanwort is the most valuable. Hornwort, water starwort, tape grass, water poppy, willow moss, milfoil and a number of floating plants such as lemma, duckweed, salvinia, hydrocharis and hyacinth are among the most important varieties. If one has lived long enough on any water course in the country to know these plants, taking them from their native soil and transplanting them to the sand of the aquarium is a simple matter.
"The most important occupants of the aquarium are the fish, and great care should be taken not to put in too many for the size of the tank. The basis of the balanced aquarium is one fish, say three inches in length, to each gallon of water. If your tank holds five gallons of water you could not make a well balanced aquarium by putting ten fish three inches long in it. If the fish are smaller the number to the gallon can be very greatly increased.
"Gold fish or golden carp are the most popular stock for an aquarium, and the common varieties can be had for ten cents each. This price means the best fish of these varieties. If there is more money to be spent I would advise purchasing some of the really marvellously colored Japanese varieties.
