September 21st.—Two live craw-fish.
September 22d.—One live craw-fish.
September 25th, 27th, and October 8th.—Each one full-grown live mouse.
November 15th.—This gluttonous frog ate two-thirds of a white perch and
November 17th.—Died of a fit of indigestion.
But so celebrated had the frog become on account of his pluck and voracious appetite, that his obituary was published in several papers.
Craw-fish are very mischievous; they pull up the plants, upset the rockery, nip the ends off the fishes' tails, crack the mussel-shells, pull out the inmates and devour them, squeeze the caddice-worm from his little log-house, and, in fact, are incorrigible mischief-makers. But, from that very fact, I always keep one or two small ones. The other inhabitants of the aquarium soon learn to dread the pincer of these fresh-water lobsters, and keep out of the way. Tadpoles are always an interesting addition to an aquarium.
Pickerel and gars should be kept in an aquarium by themselves.
Pond-bass make very intelligent pets. I once had three hundred of these little fellows, perfectly tame. Down in one corner of the cornfield I found two patent washing-machines, the beds of which were shaped like scow-boats. These old machines were fast going to ruin, and I readily gained permission to use them for whatever purpose I wished; so, with a hatchet, I knocked off the legs and top-gear; then removed a side from each box, and fastened the two together, making a tank about four feet square. The seam, or crack, where the two parts joined, was filled with oakum, and the whole outside was thickly daubed with coal-tar. The tank was then set in a hole dug for that purpose, and dirt filled in and packed around the sides. Back of it I piled rocks, and planted ferns in all the cracks and crannies, and also put rocks in the centre of the tank, first covering the bottom with sand and gravel. After filling this with water and plants, three hundred little bass were introduced, and they soon became so tame that they would follow my finger all around, or would jump out of the water for a bit of meat held between the fingers. Almost any wild creatures will yield to persistent kind treatment, and become tame. Generally, too, they learn to have a sort of trustful affection for their keepers, who, however, to earn the confidence of such friends, should be almost as wise, punctual, and unfailing as good Dame Nature herself.
Gold-Fish versus Bass.
One of the same bass, which I gave to a friend of mine, lived in an ordinary glass globe for three years. It was a very intelligent fish, but very spiteful and jealous. My friend's mother thought it was lonesome, and so, one day, she brought home a beautiful gold-fish-a little larger than the bass-to keep it company. She put the gold-fish in the globe, and watched the bass, expecting to see it wonderfully pleased; but the little wretch worked himself into a terrible passion, erected every spine upon his back, glared a moment at the intruder, and then made a dart forward, seized the gold-fish by the abdomen, and shook it as a terrier-dog shakes a rat, until the transparent water was glittering all over with a shower of golden scales. As soon as possible, the carp was rescued; but it was too late. He only gasped and died. The vicious little bass swam around and around his globe, biting in his rage at all the floating scales. Ever after, he was allowed to live a hermit's life, and he behaved himself well. At last the family went away for a couple of weeks, and, when they returned, the poor little bass lay dead at the bottom of his globe.
It might be well to state, before finishing this article, that common putty, after being exposed to the action of water, is very apt to soften and crumble away, or drop off in large flakes. Painting it will not prevent this. In New York, and I suppose other large cities, the aquarium-stores keep a substance which they call aquarium cement. It looks like red putty, but I have found that it withstands the action of water admirably. For fifty cents enough can be purchased to cement a large aquarium; but for the benefit of those among my readers who live out of the cities, the following receipt from the receipt from the Scientific American is inserted.
“Aquarium Cement.— Linseed oil, 3 oz.; tar, 4 oz.; resin, 1 lb.; melt together over a gentle fire. If too much oil is used the cement will run down the angles of the aquarium; to obviate this it should be tested before using by allowing a small quantity to cool under water; if not found sufficiently firm, allow it to simmer longer or add more tar and resin. The cement should be poured in the corners of the aquarium while warm (not hot). This cement is pliable, and is not poisonous."
CHAPTER VI.
HOW TO KEEP AQUATIC PLANTS IN THE HOUSE OR FLOWER-GARDEN.
IN GATHERING plants for your aquarium you will undoubtedly see many much too large for your purpose, and yet so beautiful that you naturally desire to keep them. Some water plants are extremely lovely and all of them odd when seen growing anywhere but in their accustomed places. Water lilies growing in the midst of a lawn will be sure to excite surprise, and cat-tails flourishing in a conservatory will be a novelty. Yet it is a comparatively simple matter to rear these and other aquatic plants in your house and garden.
Water-Lily.
Select a spot in your flower-bed and make an excavation of sufficient depth to set a water-tight barrel in, so that the top of the barrel will be even with the surface of the ground. Set the barrel in and fill the earth around. In the bottom of the barrel put about eight or ten inches of black pond-mud; plant the water-lily roots firmly in centre of mud. Fill the barrel with water, being careful to pour it in gradually, so as not to disturb or displace the mud. Figure 54 shows a cross-section of ground and barrel. Everything being then as it is in the natural or wild state, the lily will flourish and bloom, adding a beautiful and curious feature to your plat. Supply fresh water only as the water in the barrel evaporates.
Cat-Tails.
Cat-tails are of graceful form and make a pretty background. At the nearest marsh dig up a bunch of good healthy ones and plant them in some of their native mud in a water-tight box or pail. Set the box or pail in the earth. A cover of plank, with a round hole in the centre for the cat-tails to come through, should be put over the top and covered with the sod. Half an inch of water over the surface of the mud in box or pail is all that is necessary. (See illustration, Fig. 55.) Figure 56 shows how cat-tails may be disposed of in-doors, or where it is inconvenient to make room for them in the soil. A very unique and effective floral arrangement may be made by grouping pot-plants around them.
CHAPTER VII.
HOW TO STOCK AND KEEP A MARINE AQUARIUM.
THE first introduction of the aquarium revealed another world and its inhabitants: a world of enchantment, far surpassing any described in the "Arabian Nights" or fairy tales; a world teeming with life so strange that some of it we can scarcely believe to be real.
The marine aquarium has laid bare secrets that have been locked in the breast of the ocean for ages. Through the crystal sides of the tanks are now shown living animals, of forms so lovely and delicate as to remind us of the tracery of frost-work. We can behold in the transparent waters fishes circling about, with distended fins that resemble the gorgeous wings of butterflies; and we can see, glancing here and there, other fish, the glitter of whose glossy sides dazzles us and is as various in hue as the rainbow. The rocks at the bottom are carpeted with animals in the forms of lovely flowers!
The remarks in regard to the form and general construction of fresh-water aquariums will apply equally to marine tanks. The best form for the latter is the shallow vessel with a slanting false bottom, described in a preceding chapter and illustrated by Figures 51 and 52.
If you have a common rectangular tank, such as can be purchased at any aquarium-store (Fig. 50), it may be rendered inhabitable for marine animals by making a few improvements. Four tall glass panels admit too much light; therefore give the outside of the glass a coat of green paint on all but one side, leave that clean and transparent to serve as a window, through which may be observed the interior and its occupants. The rockery or arch that is to occupy the centre of the aquarium should be cemented toge
ther with marine cement. Although this is not absolutely necessary, it is the best plan, and prevents many accidents. The following receipt I cull from the Scientific American:
Cement for Marine Aquari.—Take 10 parts, by measure, litharge, 10 parts plaster-of-Paris, 10 parts dry white sand, 1 part finely powdered resin, and mix them when wanted for use into a pretty stiff putty with boiled linseed oil. This will stick to wood, stone, metal or glass, and hardens under water. It resists the action of salt water. It is better not to use the tank until three days after it has been cemented.
The arch may be built out of clean cinders or ragged and irregular stones; an old oyster-shell with its rough side upper-most can be used as a top-piece. To make the arch steady and not liable to upset, the bottom should be composed of rather large flat stones.
Cover the bottom of the aquarium to a depth of an inch or more with sand from the beach. Procure the salt water from the ocean itself, and if possible obtain the supply some distance from shore. In no case must you dip the water for your aquarium up from the mouth of a fresh-water stream or muddy creek. If the tank is narrow and deep, fill only about one-third of it. Let the water stand in the aquarium for several days before introducing the plants. Select the bright algae or sea-weeds that you find attached to small pebbles; the stones will of course sink to the bottom of your aquarium and keep the plants in an upright and stationary position. After all is arranged to your satisfaction, choose a place for the location of your tank where there will be light enough to plainly see its contents and cause little bubbles of oxygen to collect and rise from the vegetation. A window facing the north or northeast is the best situation. When you observe that the plants are in a thriving condition, and that a new vegetation has apparently sprung spontaneously into existence, carpeting the rockery and sides of the glass with green, then and not until then introduce the animals. Be very careful not to overstock the tank. Remember, no matter how bright and pleasant a room may be with one or two persons in it, the atmosphere of that same room will become foul and heavy in the presence of a large crowd, and if the ventilation be insufficient, headache, dizziness, and death will ensue, as was the case in the terrible Black Hole of Calcutta. Unless you want to make a miniature "black hole" of your aquarium, do not overcrowd it. Let the water have light, but no sunshine. Put a glass cover over the tank to keep out the dust, but let the cover fit loosely enough to allow a free circulation of air. The glass top-piece will in a measure prevent evaporation. If, however, any water is lost from this cause, recollect that the salts contained in sea water do not evaporate, and consequently the tank may be replenished with fresh water equalling the amount evaporated. Beware of the hot summer months. I have always found it more difficult to keep the water pure during July and August than any other part of the year. Do not allow smoking in the room where your aquarium is, as the foul atmosphere taints the water. I once lost almost all the inhabitants of a thriving marine tank, by allowing a party of gentlemen to smoke in the room where it was standing. If you have company in the evening, the room, as a rule, will become overheated, and you should take the precaution to wrap the sides of the tank with wet towels.
The prepared food mentioned in the preceding chapter will answer for some salt-water animals. Lean beef, cut in very small bits, may be dried and kept for feeding marine pets when oysters or clams cannot be had. The clams and oysters should be chopped up very fine when used. Anemones and madrepores should be fed in quantities regulated by the size of the animals, and not more frequently than once a week. The food should be placed gently within their reach by means of a pair of forceps or some similar instrument. Crabs will soon learn to come out of their hiding-places at meal-times, and the fish will not be behind time in getting their share of chopped clam. If you have a vivarium (Figs. 51 and 52), a handful of fiddler-crabs may be kept upon your artificial beach, where they will soon make themselves at home and afford a constant source of amusement by their antics. I kept a lot of little "fiddlers" in a fish globe, and for more than a year they lived without salt water, happy and contented with a bit of damp sand to dig in and an occasional piece of chopped oyster to eat. It would be difficult to find odder or more easily satisfied pets than the grotesque little fiddlers. Each male crab has one large claw which for exercise or amusement he keeps in constant motion, only folding it up when preparing to enter his hole or scamper sideways across the sand. The pedunculated eyes of these little creatures stand up in a manner that gives them a very pert appearance.
Remove all dead animals or particles of food not devoured by the inmates, from the aquarium, to prevent the water from becoming tainted with poisonous gases emanating from the decaying animal matter. Dead vegetation, though not as injurious as dead animals, should nevertheless be removed, for it is unsightly, and makes the water turbid and muddy. No matter how foul sea-water may become, you must not waste it, for the injury is never permanent, and can soon be remedied by filtering or exposing it in earthen-ware vessels to the air and gently stirring it occasionally with a stick or piece of glass.
A filter may be made of a flower-pot, by stopping up the hole in the bottom with a perforated cork in which a small quill has been inserted, and then filling the pot half full of powdered charcoal, sand, and gravel-the charcoal at the bottom, the sand next, and the fine gravel or coarse sand on top. This filter when in use should be hung over, but some distance above, an earthen-ware dish, and the water allowed to fall drop by drop, or in a small stream, from the pot to the dish, or the filter may be hung over the aquarium, and each drop of water as it falls will carry with it into the tank below particles of the purifying, life-giving oxygen gathered up on its journey through the air.
CHAPTER VIII.
HOW TO COLLECT FOR MARINE AQUARIUM.
NEAR high-water mark, among the sea-weed and drift that have been washed up by a storm, is a veritable curiosity shop, and one well worth inspecting, but most of the animals to be found in this heterogeneous mass of drift, shells, plants, and pieces of wreck are either badly injured or dead, and, though many valuable specimens may here be obtained for the cabinet or museum, it is not a good place to find living, healthy animals for the aquarium.
If you are going on a collecting tour in search of living objects you must go prepared for a good rough-and-tumble time among slippery stones, muddy bottoms, or grimy old docks and piers.
You should wear no clothing that you care to preserve. Salt water will ruin shoes, so put on any old pair that will protect your feet from the shells or sharp stones; if the shoes have holes that let the water in, console yourself with the thought that the water can run out the same way. In fact, you must be prepared for a slip-up in the mud, or a good ducking in the shallow water, where the bottom is often so slippery that it is hard to wade far without involuntarily sitting down once or twice. After you have rigged yourself out in "old togs," next equip yourself with a basket to hold upright some glass preserve-jars or a lot of wide-mouthed bottles; then, armed with a small hammer, an old case-knife or trowel, a dip-net made of coarse bagging or fine mosquito-netting, you are ready for any game from a lobster to the minute little crustacean found among the algae.
You should time your excursion so as to be on the hunting-ground at extreme low tide. As soon as you reach the beach wade right into your work; look under the stones, scoop up the sand or mud with your net from the bottom of all the pools left by the tide, examine every promising-looking bunch of sea-weed, and before the tide comes in you will have material enough to stock forty aquariums. When you reach home sort out your specimens, discard all weak and sickly animals, and put the healthy ones in flat earthenware dishes of salt water, where they may be examined at leisure, and the proper ones taken out and put into your aquarium. In the mud and sand between the tides, or in the shallow water at extreme low tide, live many curious creatures.
If you should discover among the dirt in the bottom of your dip-net some queer-looking tubes, preserve them carefully, for they may contain some of those odd and
often brilliantly colored marine worms. The inland boy, who is accustomed to see only the unsightly angle-worm, has no idea what really beautiful creatures some of the marine worms are. See, for instance, there is something in the mud that looks like a drop of blood. Put it in a plate of salt water and watch how one by one it begins to put forth its tentacles until its whole appearance is changed. This is a worm with a long scientific* name, which you may learn by and by if you become interested enough in your recreation to make a study of it.
Do not neglect to collect a few barnacles for your aquarium, and you will find yourself amply repaid for the trouble you found in detaching them from their native posts or rocks, when you see them each put forth an odd hand-shaped member, opening and closing the numerous long, slender fingers as if the animals inside the shells were grasping for something in the water, as, indeed, they are, for it is by this means that the little hermits in their acorn-shaped houses obtain their food.
For collecting in deep water, dredges are used; these are described among the summer sports, page 73.
Footnotes
* Polycirrus eximius.
Summer.
CHAPTER IX.
KNOTS, BENDS, AND HITCHES.
THE art of tying knots is an almost necessary adjunct to not a few recreations. Especially is this true of summer sports, many of which are nautical, or in some manner connected with the water.
Any boy who has been aboard a yacht or a sail-boat, must have realized that the safety of the vessel and all aboard may be imperilled by ignorance or negligence in the tying of a knot or fastening of a rope.
With some, the knack of tying a good, strong knot in a heavy rope, or light cord, seems to be a natural gift; it is certainly a very convenient accomplishment, and one that with practice and a little perseverance may be acquired even by those who at first make the most awkward and bungling attempts.
The American Boy's Handy Book Page 6
