The Aquarium (Gosse)/Chapter 11
THE FOUNTAIN AQUARIUM.
CHAPTER XI.
Let us visit the caves of a miniature ocean,
The gorgeous sea-flowers and worms to behold:—
Actinia, rose-finger'd, ever in motion;
Phyllodoce, liveried in emerald and gold.
No music is heard in these silent recesses,
Save such gentle notes as the Eolids utter;
But fair Aphrodite waves gem-spangled tresses,
And Scallops, like butterflies, merrily flutter.
Here a Sun up the crystalline pathway is clambering,
Blood-hued as his rival who sinks in the west;
Bright Stars in their devious courses are wandering,
Where the Blenny peeps forth from her well-woven nest.
These forms from the sunny South surely have wander'd;—
Anomia the pearl of the orient mocks;
Bold Dragonet, jewel-mail'd, hoists his tall standard,
And crimson-clad Labrus darts under the rocks.
How softly the feathery sea-groves are waving!
Their plume-tufts of purple, and scarlet, and green,
The pure and clear element gently is laving;—
While tiny swarms merrily sport them between.
How glorious, O Lord, are thy works of creation!
How fit to abase us, and humble our pride!
Not alone would we gaze with devout admiration,
But adore thee, obey thee, and love thee beside!
PRACTICAL INSTRUCTIONS.
This Chapter is like the postscript of a lady's letter; though placed last, it contains the most important part of the volume. I intend it to afford such assistance to those who intend to keep marine animals and plants, as my experience and inquiries enable me to furnish and therefore I shall arrange the details in such an order as shall be most easy of reference.
THE ΝΑΜΕ.
A neat, easily pronounced and easily remembered, significant, and expressive term is so advantageous, that it is worth taking some trouble to select the best. For the subject of this volume some have chosen the word Vivarium, and I have myself occasionally used it. The only objection to it is that it lacks distinctness of signification. It literally means any inclosure in which living animals are kept; and the ancients used it to signify a park, a rabbit-warren, and a fish-pond; indeed, I am not sure whether our word "warren," is not "Vivarium" Saxonised. Thus it is quite as applicable to the whole Zoological Garden as to any particular house, yard or tank in it.
To avoid this indefiniteness others have used the term Aqua-vivarium. The objection to this is its awkward length and uncouthness, which render it unsuitable for a popular exhibition or domestic amenity.
I have adopted the word Aquarium, as being free from the objections which lie against the other two, while it possesses the neatness of the former, and the definiteness of the latter. The term had already been in use among the botanists, to designate the tanks in which aquatic plants were reared; and the employment of the same term for our tanks is not forbidden by the character of the service to which they are put, since this is not an alteration, but only an extension. The growth of aquatic plants is still a most important and pleasing feature of our pursuit, and the addition of aquatic animals does not at all detract from the appropriateness of the appellation. Let the word Aquarium then be the one selected to indicate these interesting collections of aquatic animals and plants, distinguishing it as a Freshwater Aquarium, if the contents be fluviatile, or a Marine Aquarium, if it be such as I have made the subject of the present volume.
THE TANK.
Form and Size.—No exact rule can be given for dimensions, because so much depends on the room or place for which the Aquarium is intended, and on the taste of the proprietor. I have given in detail (See p. 101, ante) the size of my largest tank, which probably is as large as most private persons would care to have. I have two others agreeing with this in all respects, except in dimensions, the smallest being (in the clear) 15 inches long, by 12 inches wide, and 12 inches deep. This is a very neat and pretty object for a parlour-table.
In a window with a recess, the tank may be made to fit the whole breadth; which has a good effect.
If a cylindrical form be preferred, it can be obtained without any material but glass in the construction; but there is a limit as to size. I procured from Mr. A. Pellatt's establishment one, of the largest dimensions they would undertake to blow for me, viz. 12 inches in diameter. If attempted of greater size than this, the risk increases very rapidly; as they are liable to break in the manufacture, and also at any moment even after they have been some time in use. Mine, though not free, as I was warned, from the same danger, has hitherto survived more than a twelvemonth's service. The height may be chosen according to taste, as the risk does not depend on this, but on the diameter. Mine is 10 inches high. I cannot commend this form; it is mean and inelegant; and as it is a blown vessel, the sides are not truly cylindrical.
For a conservatory, to which an Aquarium would form an appropriate accessory, a vase-like form might be adopted. If the outline were octagonal, the objects in the interior would be visible through the plate-glass without the distortion caused by unequal refraction, which is a great objection to vessels with curvilinear sides. But in such a situation, the chief point of view would be from above the surface of the water; hence the depth should be comparatively small, and the sides might recede, so as to increase the width upwards.
Covering.—Within an inhabited room, or wherever there is much liability to dust or soot, as there is necessarily every where in cities and large towns, the Aquarium must be protected by a cover. This may be made of fine muslin, or, which is better, of plate or sheet-glass, according to the dimensions required. The latter may simply be laid over the top of the vessel, allowing the escape of gases under the edge. It should be occasionally lifted for a moment, to allow of a change of the superincumbent air:—the necessity of this will be manifest, from the close smell which is perceived on lifting the cover, especially if there be many sea-weeds in the Tank.
Aspect.—The free access of light to the plants is indispensable, and therefore that situation is the best where the sun's rays fall most freely on their leaves. It is beautiful to see the thousands of tiny globules forming on every plant, and even all over the stones, where the infant vegetation is beginning to grow;—to see these globules presently rising in rapid succession to the surface all over the vessel, and to see this process going on uninterruptedly as long as the rays of the sun are uninterrupted.
Now these globules consist of pure oxygen, eliminated by the vegetation under the stimulus of light; and as this is the vivifying principle of animal life, the importance of the process will be readily acknowledged. The difference between the profusion of oxygen-bubbles produced on a sunny day, and the paucity of those seen in a dark, cloudy day, or in a northern aspect, is very marked.
Yet there is one caution required. In summer the heat of the solar rays is very great, as well as their light; and if the vessel be small, and the volume of water very limited, it will become tepid in the midday sun, and the animals will be killed. Hence in a fierce summer day, it will be desirable to interpose a curtain of muslin, oiled-paper, or ground glass, which will break the full power of the rays, without greatly interfering with their illumination.
Cost.—On this point a hint or two, the record of my own experience, is all that I can give. If an Aquarium of considerable dimensions be required, one of unusual form, or much ornamented,—regular professional estimates must be taken. But the following statements may be of use to some. The Tank which I have described in page 101, 24 by 18 by 18 inches, cost me £3. 10s.; the small one of the same form mentioned above, 15 by 12 by 12 inches, was charged 21s. The sides of the former are of plate, those of the latter sheet glass. These prices are barely more than the actual cost of manufacture. The cylindrical 12 inch glass from Pellatt's cost 10s. 4d. Glass covers for these three tanks, cut to shape, were 10s. more.
THE PREPARATION.
Your Aquarium being brought home, fixed in its intended situation, and properly seasoned, the next thing is to fit it up as a dwelling for its living inhabitants. Two or three points may be noticed here.
Artificial Rocks, Corals, &c.—When the two longer sides only of the Tank are of glass, the two ends being made of slate, the latter should be veiled, by being made to imitate the irregular projections and ledges of rock, which may be done in a very picturesque manner. For this purpose, Roman, Portland, or other cement which hardens under water, should be employed; the slate must be faced with this, which while plastic may be fashioned into the semblance of rock. Pieces of branching corals may be set in it, if the effect of such accessories be thought desirable, and cavities may be formed here and there, into which the fragments of stone that support growing sea-weeds may afterwards be dropped, so that the tufts may droop elegantly from the mimic cliff. A more elegant way of appropriating branching corals, is to make a broad foot of cement to them, plunging the base of the branch in it while soft; these, when the cement has hardened, will stand on the floor of the tank like trees, and imitate more perfectly the mode of growth of the arborescent madrepores.
Whenever cement is used, it will be absolutely necessary to allow it to remain in water for at least a month, in order to soak out the free lime, before it be introduced into the water which contains animals. The water in which it is soaked should be frequently changed, and as long as any prismatic scum appears on the surface, the cement is unfit for use. I have known a whole consignment of animals killed in one night from a neglect of this precaution.
The Bottom.—As very many marine animals burrow, and as the observation of their proceedings is very interesting, they should be provided with the means of gratifying their inclinations. For this purpose a layer of sand should be put on the bottom of the tank, which may vary in depth from one to three inches. If sand from a sea-beach can be readily obtained, it is the most suitable; but the next best is coarse river-sand, such as the Thames sand commonly sold at the stone-wharves of London for building purposes. It should be well washed, until the water runs away clean: fresh water will do very well for this, but it must be drained off before the sand is put in. What is called silver-sand, and the common yellow earthy sand, sold in the shops for scouring, are not at all suitable, as they will tinge the water after any amount of washing, the former with lime, the latter with ochre.
Small pebbles or fine gravel, likewise well washed, may be used to vary the bottom with the sand.
Masses of rock, of dimensions suitable to the Aquarium, should be put in to afford shelter and concealment to such animals as like the gloom. To afford this in the highest degree, a flat piece may be set, like a table, or cromlech, upon two or three upright blocks; or two tall pieces may lean against each other, forming a rude arch;—care being taken, whatever arrangement be chosen, that the masses stand with stability. It is of little consequence what sort of rock is selected,—limestone, sandstone, granite, conglomerate,—but the rougher, and the more full of cavities and angles, the blocks are, the better will be the effect.
Water.—The purity of the water is of great importance. In London, sea-water may be easily obtained, by giving a trifling fee to the master or steward of any of the steamers that ply beyond the mouth of the Thames, charging him to dip it in the clear open sea, beyond the reach of rivers. I have been in the habit of having a 20 gallon cask filled for me, for which I give a couple of shillings.
The vessel in which it is conveyed requires attention. A cask is the best, if a considerable quantity of water is required; but it is absolutely indispensable that it should be either new, or at least that nothing injurious should have been previously contained in it, such as spirits, wine, chemicals, acids, &c.; since no soaking will prevent hurtful qualities from being communicated to the water. Even the bungs ought to be new; I knew an instance in which a consignment of animals was lost, from no traceable cause, except that the water-cask, which was quite new, had been stopped with a bung, which had been previously used in a jar of some chemical solution; yet the bung had been, as was supposed, thoroughly soaked and cleansed. If a cask of fir-wood can be procured it is preferable: the wood of the oak, of which wine-casks are usually made, gives out tannin or gallic acid, to the contained water, which by its astringency converts the animal integuments into leather; if the water on coming out of the cask has a brown tinge, without interfering with its transparency, this is suspicious. If you cannot get any other than an oak cask, let it be well seasoned for two or three weeks before it be used, by filling it with water (fresh or salt), changed every day.
For smaller quantities of water large jars of stoneware are the best, being free from every objection arising from liability to taint or tinge. Both casks and jars can be easily sent by railway to any part of the kingdom; and pure water will not spoil by delay.
THE STOCK.
I have already entered into particulars concerning the modes of collecting both plants and animals, and need not repeat what may be found in the early pages of this volume. A few additional observations, however, occur to me.
Plants.—What are the most suitable plants for an Aquarium? Not the Oar-weeds or Tangles (Laminaria); for though young specimens have an attractive appearance, they will not live long in captivity; they presently begin to decay, and slough off in slimy membranous shreds, filthy to look at, and hurtful to the living creatures. The Fuci live pretty well, but their sliminess and ugliness are fatal to their pretensions. From the Red and the Green Orders we must make our selection.
Of the former these will be found good. Rhytiphlæa pinastroides, the Polysiphoniæ, Corallina officinalis, Delesseria alata, Chondrus crispus, Phyllophora rubens (this, especially when dredged from deep water, is one of the very best), the Griffithsiæ, and some of the Callithamnia.
Of the Green weeds Codium tomentosum does pretty well, and affords food for some Mollusca that will eat nothing else. The Cladophoræ are good; Bryopsis plumosa, a most elegant little plant, flourishes in confinement; and Ulva latissima is probably the best of all sea-weeds for our purpose, and is one of the most easily procured on every shore.
The pieces of rock to which the plants are attached should be as clean as possible. All adhering sponges, in particular, should be carefully scraped off, unless they are wanted for immediate examination; as they are sure to die, and corrupt the soil and water with sulphuretted hydrogen, a most nauseous and noxious gas, which turns everything black with which it comes into contact.
Animals.—Of the animals which thrive best in an Aquarium (speaking, of course, only from my own limited experience and observation) the following may be mentioned. The small Sticklebacks (Gasterosteus), which are marine as well as fluviatile; the Grey Mullet; the Blennies and Gobies; the Wrasses; and the Rocklings, among fishes. Of Mollusca the Aplysia, the Periwinkle, the Chitons, the Scallops, and some of the sand-burrowing Bivalves, as Venus, Pullastra, &c. A specimen of Gastrochæna modiolina I kept many months, though under most trying circumstances. Of Crustacea, Eurynome, Portunus puber, Carcinus mœnas, Ebalia, Corystes, the Paguri, Porcellana platycheles, the Crangones, the Palæmones. Of Annelides, Pectinaria, the Sabellæ, the Serpulæ, Pontobdella muricata. Of Zoophytes, the Madrepores, and all the Actiniadæ.
The following are interesting, and may be preserved for a considerable time, but are rather more precarious. Among fishes, the Sea-scorpion (Cottus); the 15-spined Stickleback; the Butterfly Blenny; the Spotted Gunnel; the Suckers; the Pipe-fishes. Among Mollusca, all the Nudibranch, and most of the Tectibranch species; the Naticæ, the Cypræa, the Purpura; and many Bivalves; the Cynthiæ, and Ascidiæ. Among Crustacea, the Pisæ; the Portuni; small specimens of the Lobster; Athanas nitescens; the Hippolytes; Pandalus; Gammarus; Idotea. Among Annelides, the Terebella; Aphrodite aculeata; and the Planariæ. Of Echinoderms, the Cribella, Palmipes, Asterina, Asterias, Echinus and Cucumaria.
Procuring Specimens.—By far the most interesting mode of acquiring your stock, is the collection of them by your own personal research. But as this is not in every case practicable, we must have recourse to professional aid. My friend, Mr. William Thompson, of Weymouth, proffers his services in this line; and as he is a gentleman of scientific acquirements, as well as great local knowledge in marine zoology, and as he has laid himself out for this object, I am certain no one is better fitted to supply what is most suitable for either public or private Aquaria, on reasonable terms. The preceding pages will be some guarantee for the riches of Weymouth Bay.
Transmission of Specimens.—Both plants and animals should be forwarded to their destination as soon after they are collected as possible; but, if they are detained, they may be kept in pans of sea-water, exposed to the light. The vessels, however, must be protected from heavy rains, as the admixture of a large quantity of fresh water would be fatal to both plants and animals. Should much rain have fallen on a vessel containing specimens, it should be carefully tilted, so as to allow the fresh water, which, from its less specific gravity, will be lying on the surface, to run off without mingling with the other. If this be well done, most of the collection, at least that portion of it which was nearest the bottom, may be preserved.
Living sea-weeds may be transmitted to long distances without water. I used to employ a tin box, enclosed by a basket. At the bottom I placed a layer of refuse weed, the common Fucus serratus, freshly gathered, and quite wet. On this bed, I laid the growing specimens, arranging the pieces of rock so as not to shake about and injure the plants, until the box was nearly full; over all, refuse weed was again laid, filling up all hollows, and so pressing the whole when the box was shut, as to prevent any motion of the stones. The specimens arrived in the best condition, even the delicate Delesseriæ being uninjured.
Many animals may be forwarded in the same way. The Mollusca, many of the Echinodermata, several of the Crustacea, and all the Actiniæ are transmitted with more ease and less danger thus than in water. A handful of loose weed, wet with sea-water, to keep a moist atmosphere around them, may be thrown into a canister or jar, and the animals placed in among it. The vessel should not be filled, nor should any pressure be allowed on the animals; the weed too, though fresh, must be plucked, as pieces of rock would be injurious to the more tender animals.
Fishes, however, many Crustacea, most of the Annelida, all Medusæ, and the more delicate Zoophytes, require to be sent in sea-water. I sometimes used wide-mouthed jars of stone-ware, with watertight screwed tops, several of which may be packed in a hamper; at other times a large 12 gallon zinc pail, protected by a wicker case, with a screw lid, of which the central part was perforated with minute holes; at others, four small zine cans, of square form, with perforate tops, fitted into an open box, like case-bottles in a wine-hamper. All of these modes answer well; I know not to which I should give the preference; except that for Fishes the large pail is decidedly the best. If heavy stones or oyster-shells, very rich in Zoophytes and Annelides, be required, a common cabbage-net may be suspended from the lid of the pail in mid-water; the stones or shells, being put into this net, will be kept from injuring themselves or their neighbours by banging about upon the bottom.
The more brief the period during which the specimens are in transitu the better. Hence they should be always forwarded per mail train, and either be received at the terminus by the owner, or else be directed "To be forwarded immediately by special messenger." The additional expense of this precaution is very small, and it may preserve half the collection from death through long confinement.
The packages should be opened immediately on arrival; several bowls, pans, &c., should be ready, each half-filled with sea-water. The water in the vessels just received should be carefully dipped or poured off, and the specimens placed one by one in the bowls. Thus you will not only see which are alive and healthy, and which are sickly or dead, but the weeds, shells, &c., will be rinsed from the sediment, which has been abraded during the rattling of the specimens in travelling. The specimens can afterwards be deposited in the Aquarium, their permanent home.
Should any of the more delicate animals appear, much exhausted, they may often be restored, by a prompt aëration of the water around them. This is most readily effected by means of the Syringe, as I shall presently describe.
GENERAL DIRECTIONS.
The Aquarium is then established. The water, which at first is somewhat turbid, becomes in the course of a day or two clear and crystalline; the plants expand their feathery tufts in beauty, and the animals begin to take possession of their holes and corners, and to find themselves at home. But you must lay your account with the loss of some specimens; some will certainly die in the course of the first twenty-four hours, others in the first week. But those which survive the first ten days may be considered as pretty well established.
It is during this period that the grand trial of the experiment usually occurs. There is generally a large amount of animal matter attached to the sea-weeds, shells and stones, which are received from the sea, such as minute Annelida, Mollusca and Zoophytes: very many of these creatures are already dead, or die immediately; but being too minute to be detected and removed in detail, they decay, and presently contaminate the water. The first symptom of this is a slight dimming of the crystal translucency, which if unchecked soon increases to a milky whiteness, accompanied by a fetid odour, and terminates in the death of the whole animal collection.
Purification.—As soon as this begins to be perceived, the whole water should be drawn off by means of a siphon, without disturbing the sediment, into pans, into which for the present, the plants and animals may be put. The Tank should be wiped out and rinsed, and then the water should be filtered back into it. This is a very simple process: a funnel (if of glass, earthenware, or gutta-percha, the better) is placed over the tank, with a bit of sponge pushed lightly into the top of the tube, so as to allow the water to run through in a narrow thread-like stream Replace the plants and animals, reserving those pieces of rock, or those shells, which look suspicious, which may be kept in a bowl of water by themselves for a few days, till their state appears more fully.
This process of bringing every drop of the water into contact with the atmosphere, is an effectual remedy for destroying the tendency to putrefaction; as the animal fluids and solids held in suspension enter into combination with the oxygen of the air, and form the pure innocuous gas called ozone. The result will be that the milkiness will rapidly disappear; the water will assume a transparent clearness, which will in all probability be permanent; the plants will thrive, and the animals will be lively.
Occasional Death.—It will still be needful to exercise a watchful supervision of the collection. It must be remembered that both the animals and plants are not in their natural circumstances, and that a certain amount of violence is done to their habits. Death, which spares them not at the bottom of the sea, will visit them in the Aquarium; and hence the vessel should be occasionally looked over, searched, as it were, to see if there be any of the specimens dead. If the plants show the orange hue, already spoken of (See ante, p. 25), they must be taken up, and the diseased parts cut clean away. Dead animals must be at once removed, or contamination will soon result. The eye will soon recognise the individuals, and will miss the familiar forms; but you must not too hastily conclude that an animal, which you have been accustomed to see playing about, is dead, because you have not observed it for some days and cannot find it. Probably it has secreted itself in some corner or crevice, whence it will emerge in a day or two. Still such a circumstance should excite your vigilance.
Instruments.—For removing dead specimens or the like, a pewter spoon bent up to a right angle, with the shaft tied to a slender stick, is very useful. You can, if you please, make a more elegant affair of it. Two or three simple sticks or rods, some of them widened, spade-like, at the end, are also useful for pushing the specimens to any required point. And one or two small nets made by stretching a bit of lace or muslin over a ring of wire, fastened to a rod, will serve to catch and lift out such animals as you wish to transfer, for examination, or any other purpose, to another vessel. As a general rule, however, they should be disturbed as little as possible, and never handled.
Artificial aeration.—Although living and healthy plants will educe and throw off, under the influence of light, oxygen, in sufficient quantity to maintain in health a given number of animals, yet the artificial admixture of atmospheric air with the water may be employed as a valuable auxiliary. I have used it with marked benefit; often having revived animals thereby, which, from the exhaustion of the water, were apparently in a dying state. Its utility as a means of maintaining the purity of the water is still more obvious; since, as I have more that once had occasion to observe, it is by the frequent and successive presentation of the particles of water to the air, that the animal excretions which they hold in suspension, become chemically changed, and deprived of their putrescent qualities. This is what takes place in nature. By the perpetual dashing of the waves against the shore, and especially against the ragged rocks, an immense quantity of air becomes entangled, in the form of minute bubbles, which by the various currents are diffused through the sea, and even carried to considerable depths, before they rise to the surface and become dissipated. Thus the violent agitation of the sea is a powerful agent in its purification.
One of the simplest modes by which this object can be effected, is the drip-glass. I have been accustomed to suspend over the Aquarium, a perforated bell-glass (I think it is called a bee-glass) of suitable size, into the orifice of which a bit of sponge may be pushed, or a cork drilled with small holes. The cord which suspends the drip-glass passes over a pulley at the top of the window, so as to be raised or lowered at pleasure. Every morning sufficient water from the Tank is drawn or dipped off, to fill the drip-glass, which is then hoisted to its full height. The contents run out in slender streams, or in a rapid succession of drops, which, passing through some four or five feet of air before they reach the Tank, become effectually purified.
The same purpose may be more efficiently accomplished at a slight expense, in a manner which would greatly augment the elegance of the Aquarium. In the engraving placed at the commencement of this chapter, I have represented a Fountain-Aquarium, a form of the invention particularly suitable for a conservatory or hall. It needs but a vessel fixed, as a reservoir, at some distance above the level of the Tank, in a higher story for example, whence a supplying tube may descend, and passing beneath the floor, ascend through the foot of the vase, to the surface of the water. All the visible portion may be easily concealed among the rock-work; while from the extremity a jet would play, proportioned in force to the weight of the supplying column, or, in other words, to the height of the reservoir above the surface. It would be needful to make the apparatus of some incorrodible material;—gutta percha, for instance, for the tube, with a nozzle of glass;—as metals would be acted on by the sea-water, and form noxious oxides. The water might either be carried up to the reservoir, or pumped up by an obvious extension of the apparatus.
Such a modification would doubtless be as efficient as it would be elegant. The constant, or at least, frequent dissemination of the water through the air would keep the whole volume in agreeable coolness, as well as maintain its sparkling clearness and purity.
Evaporation.—If the Tank remain habitually uncovered, or protected only by a coverlid of muslin, daily evaporation will soon reduce the volume of the water, and increase its specific gravity. The pure water alone rises in vapour, the various salts held in solution, remaining the same in quantity, though the water should be reduced to half its original bulk. It is therefore needful that additions of pure fresh water (not sea-water) be made from time to time, to replace the loss by evaporation. Distilled water is of course the best, but, practically, river-water will answer perfectly well. The time and quantity of these additions ought to be regulated by a hygrometer, the specific gravity of the sea-water being maintained at about 1027, which is the average density of the waters of the Atlantic. A tolerable approximation to accuracy, however, may be made, by marking on the vessel the surface-level at first, and always maintaining the same level. A glass cover greatly prevents loss from evaporation, as will be manifest by the condensed moisture on it, especially after a cold night.
Cleansing the sides.—Though a few Periwinkles, as already observed, will keep down the accumulation of green confervoid growth on the sides of the Aquarium, they will not do their work so regularly as to prevent an unsightly appearance. Hence, about once in a month, it will be well to take a stick with a bit of soft, clean rag tied on the end, and rub off the greenness. It is easily accomplished, as the adhesion to the glass is very slight; but care must be taken, not to disturb the animals or plants more than can be helped; and also not to remove any spawn that may have been laid on the sides of the vessel.
The accumulation of the green deposit, however, on the rocks and stones in the Tank, must not be cleared away, but be cordially welcomed. The spores of the Green Algæ, thus profusely scattered, soon form, all over the bottom and on all projections, a tender growth, which gives off oxygen-bubbles in astonishing numbers, conducing immensely to the health of the animals. As soon as this begins to assume a woolly or downy appearance, the success of the Aquarium may be considered as no longer problematical; fronds of various species will now develop themselves, and attain their full dimensions; and all that will be needful, is to keep them within moderate limits, by an occasional plucking of the more vigorous among them, or a diminution of their luxuriance.
Again I bid farewell to my courteous reader. Again we have had fellowship together in tracing some of the wonders of an Almighty Hand, but how much remains unexplored! "Lo! these are parts of his ways, but how slight a whisper is heard of Him! But the thunder of his power who can understand?" (Job xxvi. 14.)
"Yes! as a drop of water in the sea,
All this magnificence in Thee is lost:—
What are ten thousand worlds compar'd to Thee?
And what am I then? Heaven's unnumber'd host,
Though multiplied by myriads, and array'd
In all the glory of sublimest thought,
Is but an atom in the balance weigh'd
Against thy greatness; is a cypher brought
Against infinity! What am I then? Nought!
"Nought! But the effluence of thy light divine,
Pervading worlds, hath reach'd my bosom too.
Yes! in my spirit doth thy Spirit shine
As shines the sun-beam in a drop of dew.
Nought! But I live, and on hope's pinions fly
Eager towards thy presence; for in Thee
I live, and breathe, and dwell; aspiring high,
Even to the throne of thy divinity:
For Thou hast deign'd to link thyself with me!"
FINIS.