EIVEH GARDENS;

gttnmt rf

CULTIVATING FRESH-WATEK PLANTS IN AQUAKIA,

IN SUCH A MANNER AS TO AFPOED SUITABLE ABODES TO OENAMENTAL
FISH, AND MANY INTEEESTING KINDS OP AQUATIC ANIMALS.

H. NOEL HUMPHREYS,

AUTHOR OP "OCEAN GARDENS;" " INSECT CHANGES J» "BRITISH BDTTKRFI.IES
AND THEIR TRANSFORMATIONS;" ETC.

LONDON:
SAMPSON LOW, SON, AND CO., 47, LUDGATE HILL.

THOMAS HABBILD, PBIKTEB, SALISBTTBT SQUABE, FLBBT STBKBT.

v

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER I.

PAGE

INTEODUCTION 1

CHAPTER II.

DlSCOVEET OF THE PRINCIPLES OF THE AQUARIUM, AND THE

BEST MODE OP CONSTRUCTING ONE 9

CHAPTER III.

PLANTING THE RIVEE GAEDEN IN THE AQUAEIUM . . .19

CHAPTER IY.

CONCEENLNG THE CffAEACTEBISTICS OP THE PLANTS SELECTED

FOE THE AQUARIUM 30

CHAPTER V.

THE MOLLUSCA AND THE FISH 46

CHAPTER VI.
STICKLEBACKS AND THEIE NEST-BUILDING . 66

591931

LIBRARf

iv CONTENTS.

CHAPTER VII.
GOLD-FISH . . 80

CHAPTER VIII.
REPTILES FOE THE AOTABITJH . .. . . .92

CHAPTER IX.
AQUATIC INSECTS, ETC. . .101

LIST OF PLATES,

PLATE I.

A GLASS AQUARIUM:.

PAGE

Design for Planting a Circular Aquarium with Arum, Sundew,

Forget-me-not, etc • .... 21

PLATE II.

WATER LILIES.

No.

1 & 2. The Water LOy . . . NympJiaa alia, .... 25

3. The Yellow Water Lily . . Nuphw lutea 25

4. The Small Yellow Water Lily Nuphar pumila .... 25

PLATE in.

AQUATIC PLANTS, ETC.

1. Forget-me-not Myosotis palustris ... 26

2. Frogbit Hydrocharis morsus rani . 32

3. The Water Beetle .... Dyticm marginalia . . .101

4. The Larva of the Dyticus 102

5. The Lesser Water Beetle 102

6. The Lesser Water Beetle in its Larva state . 102

ri LIST OT PLATES.

PLATE IV.

FISH.
No. PAO«

1 & 2. Minnows 64

3. The Perch . . • , • 49

4. The Tench 56

5. The Eoach 58

6. The Pike „ .... 59

PLATE V.

STICKLEBACKS AND THEIR NESTS, ETC.
(FRONTISPIECE.)

1 &2. The Common Sticklebacks iGasterostem, Trachurw, \
and their Nests . . .1 and Leiurus . . . ;

3. The Water Scorpion 105

4. The Marsh Snail 47

5. The Caddis Worm 105

PLATE VI.

GOLD-FISH, WATEB SNAILS, AND VALISNEBIA.

1. Gold-Fish Cyprinus auratw ... 83

2. Valisneria Valisneria spiralis ... 40

PLATE VII.

AQTTATIC EEPTLLES.

1 & 2. The Smooth Newt . . Lissotriton punctatus . . 94

3 & 4. The Large Smooth Newt 94

5. The Water Persicaria . . . Polygonum ampUUum . . 33

LIST OF PLATES.

vii

PLATE

VIII.

AQUATIC PLANTS, ETC.

No.

1. The Arrowhead .

Saggitaria sagittifolia

PAGE

. . 32

2. The Yellow Water Iris . .

Iris Pseudacorus . .

. . 24

3. The Water Soldier

.

Stratiotis aloides .

. . 81

4. The Water Spider

Argyroneta aquatica .

. . 105

5. The Crayfish . .

Astacus fluviaMis

. . 106

6. The Tree Frog

Rana a/rborea .

. 97

RIVER GARDENS.

CHAPTER, I.

INTRODUCTION.

(Y the culture of some of our most beautiful
fresh-water plants, in glass Aquaria, many
of the wild beauties of Nature, in some of
her most pleasing and interesting aspects, may be
wrought into attractive decorations for our ordinary
living rooms, with very little trouble or expense.

But this is not the chief object of such Aquaria.
Their formation has been suggested by the dis-
covery that the growth of aquatic plants will main-
tain the water, contained in such a vessel, in a
state of purity sufficient for the healthful existence
of all kinds of animal life of which water is the
natural element. By means of an Aquarium, there-
fore, the forms and habits of fish, reptiles, and
aquatic insects may be made to develop themselves

EIVER GARDENS;

under our eyes, undisturbed by the continual neces-
sity of changing the water ; thus affording us the
curious spectacle of many phases of animal life that
have hitherto lain concealed in depths inaccessible
to the observation of the most curious observer.

I can well recollect my first longings, as a
young naturalist, to unravel the mystery of the
teeming world of life beneath the waters. The
Pictures of those days are still vivid as things of
yesterday. Perhaps more so; for later sensations
are faint in comparison to those keen first impres-
sions of nature in the days of early youth. I re-
member the eager, straining curiosity with which
I endeavoured to look down into the transparent
depths of the brooks and ponds of my native War-
wickshire, seeking to trace the outline and move-
ments of dim forms that I could imperfectly per-
ceive gliding among the tangle of rushes and Algce
far beneath the surface. But one favourite fish-
pond, in the orchard of an old house, the residence
of a distant relative, riveted more than any other
my greedy curiosity. I have lain for hours on the
grassy border of that weed-grown water, peering
between the floating leaves of the Progbit, or
"Water Plantain, into the clear brown depths be-
neath. It seemed a world full of wonders. I saw

OR, THE HOME-CULTURE OF FRESH- WATER PLANTS.

the great "Water-beetle row himself swiftly past with
his fin-like legs far below the surface — now darting
through a clear open space, and now disappearing
in the deeper shadows, or gliding away among the
undulating stems of the water weeds. I saw the
strange form of the same creature in its larva state,
but did not know it then ; indeed what could lead
me to guess that it was the infant shape of the same
insect ?

As I lay there in the early summer sun,
gathering the pink-tinged ears of the Soft-grass — of
which I afterwards learned that the botanical name
was Holcus lanata — the woolly Holcus, from the
white and downy surface of its blade-like foliage —
I turned again and again from my grassy bouquet
to my world of mystery, deep in the water; con-
tinually catching glimpses of some moving thing
that increased my curiosity to the highest pitch.
There was a certain exciting charm to a young
lad, already an expert angler, in detecting the form
of a great Jack lying suspended in midwater, en-
joying his warm noon siesta ; or in seeing a noble
Perch glide majestically past, urged forward by a dig-
nified wave of his graceful tail — and with his great
dorsal fin nobly erect, bristling with a defiant fringe
of spears, which even the voracious Pike generally

RIVER GARDENS ;

considers an effectual defence. There is, as I have
said, a certain indefinable charm, especially to a
young angler, in watching these larger and better
known denizens of the water ; hut how much more
eager is the stirred curiosity to define the stranger
forms of creatures unknown, or much less fre-
quently observed, such as the larvae of many semi-
aquatic insects, or the early stages of the Newt,
during which his external breathing apparatus, those
mysterious branchiae, appear like some parasitic
plant springing from his head. How much more
eagerly the eye follows the gem-like gleam, as it
passes, which is emitted from the air-filled globule
of the Water-spider, shooting past like an aquatic
firefly, but bearing a flame of silver instead of gold;
and then the mysteriously moving mass that con-
tains the Caddis-worm, or the strange antics of the
larva of the Gnat. These are the moving things, with
hundreds of other kindred shapes, which fill the
young imagination with elfin pictures, dream-like
as those it might embody in some dark chamber of
romance. How often did I try, frequently at the
risk of falling headlong into the deep pond, to
fish up some of the dimly-seen creatures which so
strongly excited my curiosity ! But they generally
escaped through the meshes of the little net I had

OR, THE HOME-CULTUKE OF FRESH- WATER PLANTS.

contrived ; and one which I afterwards constructed
of muslin was far too conspicuous in the water to
afford me many chances of capturing the ohjects of
my pursuit. Even when I was successful, and had
the good fortune to see one or more of these curious
inhabitants of the world of waters safely deposited in
some earthen pan or bottle, I was seldom able to
keep them many days. The young larva, disturbed
by the continual changing of the water, to keep it
fresh, died; or, when I attempted to clean it un-
disturbed, the water itself became putrid, and had
to be cast away, along with the miniature monsters I
had hoped to make my pets, and preserve for a
long time, observing and studying their evidently
curious habits and instincts. I had one triumph,
however. A strange scorpion-like creature, after
exercising its voracioiis appetite upon every other
living thing in the vessel in which I had placed it,
seemed suddenly to lose all taste for the luxuries
of the palate, notwithstanding a copious supply of
the living delicacies it was most fond of, and with
which I had taken care to furnish it at regular
intervals. It became restless, and apparently dis-
eased, and I concluded that I was about to lose
this favourite specimen as I had lost so many others.
Its uneasiness, however, took quite a different turn

EIVER GARDENS ;

to the one I expected, ending in nothing less than,
a determination to leave its native element. Had I
seen a Carp or a Tench quietly walk out of the fish-
pond and climh a tree, I could not have been more
astonished than when I saw this creature of the
water — which, with its fin-like tail and other ap-
pendages, was evidently intended for a denizen of
that element, quietly crawl up a stick which was
standing in the vessel, and emerging from the
water, remain quietly attached to the support it
had selected, at some inches above the surface of the
element it thus so strangely and suddenly quitted.
Its determination appeared the more astonishing, as
I soon perceived that its finny tail, its legs, and at
last the whole of its skin gradually hardened and
blackened, and it appeared to have shared the natu-
ral fate of "a fish out of water." After watching
it for some days, without perceiving any further
change, other matters occupied my attention and
I entirely forgot the fate of my voracious pet, which
had met such an untimely end in consequence of
rashly leaving the proper sphere of its existence.

Some little time afterwards, I was about to
empty the jar, and throw away the stick to which
the dried and hardened form of the victim to getting
out of bounds was still attached, when I thought I

OR, THE HOME-CULTURE OF FRESH- WATER PLANTS.

perceived a division in the blackened skin of the
back. As I saw that the opening widened, my
curiosity became again excited, and I determined to
watch and see if any other change would follow.
Taking a book, therefore, I sat down near the object
of my attention. I had not read many pages, turn-
ing frequently towards the remains upon the stick,
when suddenly — I shall never forget the surprise of
that moment — when suddenly, the opening of the
back was much widened, as by some sudden effort,
and the greater part of a glittering Dragon-fly be-
came plainly visible ; very quickly the whole insect
emerged from the blackened shell, spreading its
great gossamer wings to the sun, which was shining
brightly through the window.

I had, by a lucky accident — for I can hardly call
it the result of a course of observation — witnessed
one of the most extraordinary and complete of the
metamorphoses that occur in the whole range of
insect life, and was all anxiety to pursue my dis-
coveries. I was, however, baffled in all future
attempts, at that time, to extend my knowledge of
the mysterious creatures of the world of waters, and
it was not till recent discoverers have shown how
the Aquarium may be made the means of facilitating
studies of that class, combined with an elegant and

RIVER GARDENS, ETC.

delightful mode of amusement, that I resumed the
course of ohservation which had heen so long inter-
rupted by difficulties that appeared insurmountable.
Now, however, that so much has been done to-
wards smoothing the way, I have been again at-
tracted to the long neglected aquatic studies, and
snatch every moment I can spare from the literary
labours which have carried my pursuits in a very
different direction, to renew my old and ever plea-
santly remembered acquaintance with the interest-
ing inhabitants of our ponds and streams.

CHAPTER II.

/ DISCOVERY OF THE PRINCIPLES OF THE
* AQUARIUM, AND THE BEST MODE OF
tCSV-^ CONSTRUCTING ONE.

s I stated in my little essay on the
formation of a marine Yivarium (en-
titled "Ocean Gardens"), the first
clearly defined views upon the subject
of the mutual interchanges of gases
^ going on between vegetable and animal
life, by means of which the vital prin-
ciple in each was sustained, were put forth by
Lavoisier, Priestley, and Ingenhauss, towards the
close of the last century. The theories of Ingen-
hauss, especially those concerning the functions of
aquatic plants, were announced in greater detail
than those of Lavoisier and Priestley, the following
passage being found in his last essay : — " Plants
immersed in water, when exposed to the action of
light, emit an air known as oxygen." The know-
ledge of this principle is the keystone in the con-
struction of the Aquarium.

The first successful Aquaria were, nevertheless,

RIVER GARDENS ;

the result of accident rather than scientific experi-
ment, as neither the establishment of Aquaria nor
the illustration of the principles announced by
Priestley and Ingenhauss were sought, when it was
first found that fish would live longer and more
healthily in vessels in which aquatic plants were
growing, and also that the water, under such con-
ditions, remained clear without artificial aeration,
or the addition of fresh water.

Nevertheless, it is interesting to know who were
the ingenious and philosophical experimentalists
who first, while in pursuit of other results, became
the means of demonstrating that a miniature "lake"
or "ocean" could be constructed in a glass tank little
more than a foot square, exhibiting the plants and
animals peculiar to each, all maintaining themselves
in a healthy condition, as in real lakes or oceans,
without any further care being bestowed upon the
little world after its first creation.

Mr. Ward, in 1837, threw out, incidentally, the
first practical hints towards the formation of glass
vessels, whether for terrestrial or aquatic plants, in
describing the success of his attempts to grow ferns
in closed glass cases. Dr. Johnston, in 1842,
proved that sea water containing marine Algae in a
growing state, would remain pure for almost any

OE, THE HOME-CULTURE OF FRESH-WATER PLANTS.

length of time, though the experiment he was pro-
secuting was for another and perfectly distinct
purpose — that of ascertaining the true vegetahle
nature of corallines. Dr. Lankester, in his capital
treatise on the Aquarium, states that he kept Stickle-
hacks in a glass vessel with a plant of Valisneria, in
1849, which was, in fact, a true Aquavivarium upon
principles now adopted ; but he did not then an-
nounce it as a discovery, nor probably consider it as
such. Mr. H. Warrington was, in fact, the first
(in 1850) to publish, in a paper communicated to
the Chemical Society, a series of observations upon
the subject. In that essay he entered, with some
detail, into the functions assigned to plants for the
conversion of carbonic acid gas into oxygen, and the
consequent necessity of their presence for the pre-
servation of animal life, which would otherwise, by
the quantity of carbonic acid which it throws off,
become poisoned by its own secretions. He further
stated clearly that a third, or cleansing agency,
was absolutely necessary, inasmuch as certain por-
tions of plants, or the whole, having arrived at ex-
treme maturity, naturally perished, and that the de-
caying matter so produced was calculated to cause
as much injury as the superabundance of carbonic
acid, or the absence of oxygen. In fact, parts of

RIVER GARDENS;

the aquatic plants of his tank having so perished,
he found the water become suddenly impure, and
his fish die. In this state of affairs he had direct
recourse to the hook of Nature for further informa-
tion. He examined natural ponds, in which a certain
amount of decaying vegetation must necessarily be
found, yet without causing putrefaction of the water.
His next step was, doubtless, to procure por-
tions of such decaying matter, and examine its
peculiar condition. It was then, we may imagine,
that he found the remains in question covered with
"Water- snails, which, acting as natural scavengers,
were consuming the putrescent substances as fast as
they occurred, and so preventing the results which
had proved so fatal to his tank. This was his great
and original discovery. He added "Water-snails to
his tank, and the crowning element of success was
achieved. Thenceforth his miniature lake went on
as self-supporting as its great prototypes among the
mountains, all the main conditions insisted on by
the laws of Nature having been complied with.
The reading of the paper containing these interest-
ing facts, and the publication of subsequent essays
on the same subject, in the "Annals of Natural
History," must give Mr. "Warrington the honour of
being the more immediate founder of the Aquarium,

OR, THE HOME-CULTURE OP FRESH- WATER PLANTS.

in its practical form, and upon true and distinctly
announced principles.

Mr. "Ward had, it is true, described in 1849 his
success in growing marine plants in artificial sea-
water, which established another interesting feature
connected with the establishment of Aquaria, though
it had been previously proved by Dr. Johnston's
experiment. He did not, however, make any state-
ment in reference to the necessity for plants to
sustain animal life in Aquaria, leaving it to Mr.
"Warrington, who had been so completely successful
in his fresh-water experiment, to turn his attention
to the establishment of a marine tank upon similar
principles, in which he has been also more tho-
roughly successful than any other operator. Many
have since followed in the track of the pioneers
I have named, among the most distinguished of
whom the names of Mr. Gosse and Dr Badham
stand pre-eminent.

Experiments of a different class, which were in
the main pure Aquaria, had been long in operation.
Such, for instance, as the Vivarium described by
Mr Jesse, at Hampton Court, in which many kinds
of fish were kept alive and in a healthy state. This
happy result, however, was accidental, and arising
from the size and situation of the Vivarium in ques-

RIVER GARDENS ;

tion, in which plants and snails, the air-givers and
scavengers, established themselves unsought, and
the Hampton Court Vivarium assumed, therefore,
similar conditions to those of a natural pond, and
cannot, therefore, enter into the category of glass
Aquaria, such as can he placed upon a drawing-room
table; nor can its establishment be considered to
interfere with the credit of the inventors of Aquaria,
as its success was not the result of the premeditated
application of a new discovery.

The successful illustration of the principles ne-
cessary for the artificial cultivation of aquatic plants
and animals in small vessels, has been so splendidly
exhibited at the Zoological Gardens of London and
Dublin, that the taste for imitations upon a smaller
scale 'has become quite a mania. A distinguished
writer on the subject has, in fact, happily quoted a
passage from Juvenal in illustration of the reigning
fashion for Vivaria of this kind, which is exceed-
ingly apt, though the Roman satirist referred not
to little glass tanks, but to the collections of wild
beasts which were so much sought after when he
penned the passage —

" Omnes tanquam ad vivaria currant."

It only remains, in this portion of my little
work, to say something practical of the manner of

OE, THE HOME-CULT USE OF FRESH- WATER PLANTS.

preparing a "River Garden," or, in other words, a
fresh-water Aquarium. In the first place, care
should be taken that the paint and cement of the
glass tank (an article of room decoration now too
common to require description) should be perfectly
dry, and entirely free from any unpleasant smell,
which would be fatal to many of the animals, if not
even to the plants also.

The layer of earth at the bottom of the tank, it
is to be observed, is used more as a kind of anchor-
age, to retain some of the plants in their places,
than as necessary to their growth ; for the water is to
water plants what the earth is to the terrestrial ones,
and from it they take their chief nourishment. It
is better, therefore, to use only cleanly washed river
sand, a slight disturbance of which will not render
the water turbid, as when other kinds of earth are
used. Some plants, however, such as the great
"Water-lily, are found to do better with a layer of
rich earth under the sand ; but plants of that size
are more suited to aquaria on a large scale in a con-
servatory, than to a small tank at a chamber window.

In placing a few shells, or other objects on the
sand, as stays to the roots of plants that should
have a fixed position, care should be taken to select
such objects as would naturally be found in fresh-

RIVER GARDENS ;

water. Sea shells, or corals, so often used for this
purpose, have a very anomalous appearance, and de-
stroy the natural character of the whole arrangement.

The kind of water is not very material, if the
balance of animal and vegetable life, after added, be
nicely adjusted, and not introduced too profusely.
A few cautions, however, are necessary. Water
that has been boiled would not do ; in fact, fish will
live but a very short time in boiled water, because
in that operation the greater part of the oxygen has
been expelled from it. The water of chalybeate
springs is likewise unfit, as the salts contained in it
are very injurious to vegetation. River water is
best, but pump or well water will answer very well,
especially if well aerated, by pouring from one
vessel to another before used.

The water in the tank may be occasionally
aerated, also, by means of a common pair of bellows
with a piece of gutta-percha tubing attached to the
end of the pipe. A contrivance of this sort is
adapted for all the tanks at the Dublin Zoological
Gardens, with branch pipes leading to each separate
tank, so that one pair of bellows aerates the whole
series. The action of the air, as it enters the vessels
from these tubes, is said to produce a very pleasing
effect, insomuch that Dr. Ball, when he described

OR, THE HOME-CULTURE OF FRESH-WATER PLANTS.

the apparatus at the Cheltenham Meeting of the
British Association, stated that "visitors were
so fond of blowing the bellows, that the curator
found it quite unnecessary to employ attendants to
inject fresh air into the tanks;" an amusing remark
which has been repeated by Dr. Lankester.

A small hand-net is useful for occasionally re-
moving fish or other animals ; or, for more minute
objects, a glass tube, to be used in the following
manner : — If the thumb be placed tightly over the
upper end of the tube, when about to be intro-
duced into the water, and so held till its lower
end is close to the object it is wished to take out,
and then withdrawn, the water will rise into the
tube itself, expelling a portion of the air, and the
object may then be taken out along with the water
in the tube.

Experience, however, will best suggest many
such contrivances necessary to the possessor of
an Aquarium ; and as they will be of more value
when arising in the course of such experience, than
when derived from hints thrown out in this place,
I shall leave the student to make his own disco-
veries, in all mere matters of convenience ; as he
will necessarily adapt them more aptly to his own
peculiar views and wants, than one who should

RIVER GARDENS, ETC.

attempt to describe them without the special evil
to he remedied immediately before his eyes. All
that the teacher can safely do, therefore, is to make
the student thoroughly conversant with principles,
and the details will naturally follow.

CHAPTER, III.

PLANTING THE RIVER GARDEN IN THE
AQUARIUM.

HE very first plants placed picturesquely
^ in an Aquarium produce an effect so
pleasing that the trouhle of structure,
the expense of purchase, are forgot-
._ ten in a moment. The object at once
?P forms, in fact, a most exquisite orna-
f- ment for a living room, and especially
a study. The cool, fresh aspect of water is always
delightful; and the peculiar growth of aquatic plants,
straggling in graceful spiral, or in a thousand other
singular and playful forms, towards the surface and
the light, are both beautiful and interesting, espe-
cially when seen as a fish would see them, that is,
sidewise, and not from the top, or looking down
upon them indistinctly, as is our ordinary point of
view for these objects. The gentle gliding move-
ments, too, of many of the water creatures, subse-
quently to be introduced, are of a soothing and
placid character, that seem to fill the mind with a

10

RIVER GARDENS;

sweet and lulling sensation, as by a kind of silent
music. But, instead of stopping to admire the
effect of the first steps in our plantation, let us
first ascertain whether all the necessary conditions
in the preparation of the vessel have been properly
complied with.

In the first place, it should be filled with water
some days before the introduction of the plants,
and so long as any prismatic scum makes its appear-
ance at the surface, the water should be changed,
as that is a certain indication that the cement, or
other materials used in the construction of the tank,
are not, as yet, thoroughly cleansed and seasoned.
"When, at last, the water remains perfectly clear,
then, and not before, we may begin to introduce
our plants. It may be as well to observe, en pas-
sant, that the scum just alluded to may possibly
arise from some improper materials employed in
the ornamental rockwork intended to imitate the
picturesque bed of the river, on which the garden
is about to be planted. Any pieces of rock con-
taining metal are bad, as are also all kinds of dross,
such as clinkers from glasshouses, etc., and should
be removed, if found to produce the effect described.
Picturesquely formed stones, gathered from the
pebbly beds of brooks or the rocky shallows of

OB, THE HOME-CULTURE OF FRESH-WATER PLANTS.

lakes, are best. I have recently seen some very
handsome pieces, brought from Loch Erne, which
are of a beautifully mottled grey tone, that has a
charmingly cool and natural effect in an Aquarium.

If it be intended, in addition to the purely
aquatic plants, to add a few of those which, with-
out growing in the water, love to linger on its mar-
gin, a plan which I strongly recommend, then a
portion of the rockwork must be made to ascend
above the surface, as shown in the circular Aqua-
rium (Plate I.), in which two pieces of the rockery
are made to project above the water, each contrived
with cavities sufficiently deep to contain a supply
of earth for a small group of plants.

The Aquarium represented in that Plate is one
of the simplest and cheapest kind, being formed by
the inversion of a common bell-glass, which is
mounted upon a turned wooden stand of the simplest
design. One of the projecting pieces of rockwork,
the highest and driest, has been planted with a
small root of Pern, belonging to the more dwarf
and delicately foliaged kinds. The other has been
made to form the receptacle for a fine tuft of Porget-
me-not — a plant which never flourishes so luxu-
riantly as when its roots find their way into
water. Its flowers, in such a position, attain nearly

EIVER GARDENS;

double the size they do when in a drier situation,
and become so beautiful in their tender shades of
delicate turquoise-blue, enamelled with their deli-
cately small touches of white and amber at the base of
the petals, that one can fully understand how the fair
girl in the German legend longed for those growing
out of her reach in the broad shallows of the Rhine.
One can sympathise, too, with the enthusiasm of
her lover, who, endeavouring to grasp them, lost
his balance, and fell into the stream ; being carried
away by the treacherous current, still holding the
coveted flowers in his clenched hand, and flinging
them to the shore as he sunk, crying, " Vergeis
mein nicht !" — Forget-me-not ! It was the popular
name — perhaps thus acquired — which probably in-
duced one of our last Plantagenet kings, Henry V.,
to assume this pretty flower as his badge, instead of
the Broom, which had been that of his ancestors.
The name, when so taken, however, as a soldier's
motto, was no longer a love-cry, but a shout of
defiance ; and the warlike successes of that victori-
ous leader were such as to make the war-cry, " For-
get me not 1" appropriate enough when addressed
to his enemies. I was about to say more upon the
subject of the sweet little Forget-me-not and its
associations, but space forbids.

OE, THE HOME-CULTURE OF FEESH- WATER PLANTS.

The pretty plant growing with it, in the same
Plate, is the Sundew, which delights also in damp
situations. Its leaves delicately fringed with pink,
and its pretty rose-coloured blossoms, combined
with its general neatness of growth, make it a
generally desirable plant for the Aquarium, in
which, with proper care, it thrives well.

In the centre of the vessel I have placed an
Arum (Calla ^Ethiopica), a plant which always
nourishes best in water, forming a truly magnifi-
cent ornament for the borders of ponds, where I
have seen it introduced with great success. In
such situations it dies down in the winter; but
protected by a sufficient depth of water, does not
suffer from, any degree of frost, though a very slight
one is sufficient to destroy it when grown in a pot.
In the Aquarium it forms a very beautiful object.
The foliage rises like a column of some semi-trans-
parent green marble through the water, spreading
into a finely foliaged capital above ; and when the
flowers eventually shoot up from this fine coronet
of elegantly formed leaves, the effect is magnificent.
But, even before the appearance of the flowers, there
cannot be a finer central object for an Aquarium than
a group of such leaves as those of the majestically
graceful Calla. Among aquatic flowering plants,

KIVER GARDENS;

the following will be found suitable to the Aqua-
rium, taking care to select those of small growth for
tanks of ordinary size, while all kinds may be grown
with success if sufficient space be allowed, especially
in Aquaria on a large scale established in conserva-
tories, which are now becoming very general : —

Alisma plantago The Greater "Water Plantain.

Alisma natans The Floating "Water Plantain.

Stratiotes aloides The Water Soldier, orWater Aloe.

Iris pseudacorus . * , . . The Yellow Water Iris (Plate

VIII., No. 4).
SydrocJiaris morsus rani . . . The Frogbit.

Sagittaria sagittifolia The Arrowhead.

Potygonum amphibia The Amphibious Persecaria.

Hottonia palustris The Featherfoil, or Water Violet.

Ranunculus aquatilis The "Water Crowfoot.

Veronica Beccabunga Common Brooklime.

Nasturtium officinalis Common "Watercress.

Butomus umbellatus The Flowering Eush.

Teucrium scordium "Water Germander.

Microphyllum spicata Water Milfoil.

Tubularia aquatica The Aquatic Owlwort.

Hippuris vulgaris The Common Marestail.

Callitriche verm The Water Starwort.

Ceratophyllum demersum . . . The Hornwort.

The Lemna tribe Duckweeds.

Aponogiton distachyum .... The Cape Aponogiton.
Potamogeton pectinatus (and other \

species). . ..... JTliePondweeds.

Anacharis alsinastrum.

Lastly, the most important and useful of all,
Valisneria spiralis.

OR, THE HOME-CULTURE OF FRESH-WATER PLANTS.

To this list must be added the species of native
Water Lilies, where space admits : —

...... | The^TOte Water Lily (Plate

The small Yellow Water Lily

(Plate IL, No. 3).
Villarsia, nympkceoides .... The Lily-like Yillarsia.

"When there is sufiicient space and a certain de-
gree of warmth, foreign species of the Water Lily
tribe may be added, as the beautiful Nymphcea
ccerulea, one or two of the Euryali tribe, and
even the giant Victoria regia; but as one leaf
alone of this Titanic example of water vegetation
would cover the space of half a dozen drawing-
room Aquaria, it is in ordinary cases out of the
question. The ingeniously persevering processes of
Chinese gardeners might, indeed, be able to reduce
the scale of this stately queen of the waters of the
Amazon to such a scale as would enable them to
grow it in one of their own quaintly painted minia-
ture tea- saucers ; but we have not, as yet, at-
tained to much skill in this kind of " gardening in
small."

To these plants may be added some of the

EIVER GARDENS ;

Water Grasses, which are very ornamental, and more
especially the fresh- water Algce and the Stoneworts.
There are also the plants growing at the margin
of the water to be noted ; among which the follow-
ing stand foremost as among the most desirable : —

Myosotis palustris The Forget-me-not.

DroseraAnglica (and other species) The Great Sundew.
Caltha palustris (double and single /

TarieL) 8 I The Maxsh Mangold.

Menyanthes trifoliata The Buckbean.

Pinguicula vulgaris (and other )

- x | The Common Pinguicula.

Esquisiia sylvatica Drooping Joint Grass.

Of such plants as may be grown on higher por-
tions of the rockwork, rising out of the water, the
following Perns have been named by Mr. Hibberd
as well suited to our purpose : —

Blechnum loreale The Northern Blechnum.

Polypodium phegopteris .... Beech Fern.

vulgar e The Common Polypodium.

dryopteris .... Oak Fern.

tcinaria The Common Ceterach.

Lastrea spinulosa "Withering Fern.

Cystopteris fragilis Brittle Bladder Fern.

. Alpine ditto.

Amthyrium filis fcemina .... Beautiful Lady Fern.

Scolopenarium vulgaris .... Common Neat's Tongue.

Adiantum capillis-veneris . . . True Maidenhair.

Trichomanes Tunbridgense . . . Tunbridge Filmy Fern.

OpUoglossum vulpica .... Adder's Tongue.

OR, THE HOME-CULTURE OF FRESH- WATER PLANTS.

To these may be added the following, which I
have selected from the splendid and extensive col-
lection of Mr. Henderson, of Pine Apple Place,
Edgware Eoad : —

Adiantum cuneatum.
Asplenium attenuatum.

lulbiferum.

Cassebeera hastata.
Davallia solida.
GoniopHebinum neriifolium
Litobrockia denticulata.
Polypodium latipes.

Pteris cretica.

serrulata.

Selaginella denticulata.

serpens.
stolonifera.

There are also several Pern-like Jjycopods well
worthy of cultivation on the raised dry rockwork
of the Aquarium, one or two species of which
will thrive and grow during a year or more, by
having the foot-stalks of the fronds or leaves
placed in the water, and allowing the feather-like
foliage to droop over the sides. A very pretty
effect was produced in this manner in the Pernery
of Mr. Henderson, where every information regard-
the culture of Perns and their allies is freely and
obligingly given by the intelligent attendant.

In collecting wild Perns, take in preference those
found within the drip of waterfalls or on the
banks of streams as most likely to succeed on the
rockwork of the Aquarium. Care must be taken to

RIVER GARDENS;

arrange plenty of drainage where you plant your
Perns, bits of charcoal, sharp sand, or rotten
leaves have been recommended by Mr. Hibberd and
others. The water must be prevented also from
running in constantly to the roots ; a certain de-
gree of dryness about the root is essential to Perns,
and your Pern-ground must be constructed accord-
ingly.

As a general principle, the water-plants do not re-
quire much, if any, soil ; as water is to them, as pre-
viously stated, what earth is to terrestrial ones, and
the bed of the stream or pond only serving them as
anchorage. Nevertheless, some plants, especially
the "Water Lilies, apparently require a somewhat
strong soil to grow in. Plants of this class are,
however, too large for most Aquaria, though it
is stated that the Nuphar lutea may be grown in a
vessel one foot square.

When the Aquarium has been furnished with
its plants, with snails to destroy the confervoid
growth on the glass, and to consume decaying
vegetation, at the same time furnishing a vast num-
ber of eggs to nourish the fish and other animals
in the tank, a complete circle of compensating prin-
ciples may be said to have been established which
impart to an Aquarium many of the permanent

OR, THE HOME-CULTURE OF FRESH-WATER PLANTS.

qualities of a real lake. The vessel must, however,
above all things, be placed where it will receive a
sufficiency of light, for without that vivifying influ-
ence neither the Aquarium, nor even the natural lake
itself, could carry on its interesting processes. It
is in the sunshine, indeed, that some of the most
beautiful phenomena involved in the creation of
oxygen by the plants are exhibited, especially when
the bubbles of the newly emitted gas rise quivering
to the surface, displaying, with beautiful variations,
all the colours of the prism.

CHAPTER IV.

CONCERNING THE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE
PLANTS SELECTED EOR THE
AQUARIUM.

order that one about to establish an
Lquarium may be able to form a tole-
,ably accurate idea of the plants, from
among which he is about to select the
j ornaments of his aquatic garden, it will
be necessary to give some further ac-
count of the most remarkable of those
named in the lists contained in the last chapter.

Of the plants growing in the water, which are
the most important to an Aquarium, in conse-
quence of their aerating qualities, the first on the
list is the Great Water Plantain. Its botanical
name, Alisma, signifies a dweller in the water.
"When finely grown, in a favourable situation, it is
one of the most stately of our water plants, and is
consequently too large for a very small Aquarium;
but it is remarkably handsome, and very suitable
where there is sufficient room for its display. The
Alisma natans is a swimming or rather floating water

RIVER GARDENS, ETC.

plant. It is excessively pretty, and its white-
cupped, three-petalled flowers are shown peeping
above the water in Plate VIII. (No. 2). It is a
plant of convenient dimensions for the Aquarium.
The Water Soldier is also a plant of most manage-
able dimensions; and its compact Aloe-like growth
and handsome white flower make it very desirable
for tanks of the smallest dimensions. (Plate VIII.,
No. 1.) Its military name is supposed to have
been given in consequence of its erect, soldier-like
appearance. The pointed leaf resembling, by a
stretch of the imagination, a sword, which is in
fact so sharp, that it often pricks the fingers of
collectors ; the flower, too, has been supposed to
resemble a bronze helmet, surmounted with a white
plume. The roots of the parent plant must be
placed firmly in the sand or soil at the bottom of
the tank, from whence it will send forth runners,
each of which, when it has reached the surface,
forms a separate plant, which, after flowering, sinks
again to the bottom and takes root in the bed of the
pond or tank, to send up fresh flowering offsets to
the surface, as its parent had done before it. When
at the bottom of the tank, and in the under-water
period of its growth, this plant gives off oxygen
freely, and forms, also, a grateful shelter for small

EIVER GARDENS;

fish ; but it must be closely watched, as it is subject
to sudden decay when its treatment is uncongenial ;
in which case it should be removed from the colony
immediately.

A group of the Iris pseud-acorus (Plate VIII^
No. 4,) forms a handsome central object to a tank.
Its bright yellow flowers, in their season, being
very attractive. Its name, the Iris, or rainbow,
has been given to this tribe of plants on account of
the great variety of rich colours with which the
flowers of the different species are enriched; rang-
ing, as they do, from yellow and red to almost
every shade of blue and purple. The Frogbit,
the botanical title of which, Hydrocharis, signifies
"grace of the waters," is as elegant and beautiful
as its name implies. Its flowers, of a delicate
creamy white (see Plate III., No. 1), are deli-
cately reared just above the surface, from among
its purplish leaves, while its roots float down-
ward from the plant, like slender threads, moving
gently with the slightest agitation of the water.
It is strictly a floating plant.

The Arrowhead is one of the handsomest of our
native plants/, both leaves and flowers being re-
markable; the shape of the former has, indeed,
given to it both its botanical and popular English

OR, THE HOME-CULTURE OF FRESH-WATER PLANTS.

name. The large white flowers, finely blotched
with pink in well-grown specimens, appear in July,
and at that season would form a grand attraction to
the Aquarium (see Plate VIII., No. 3). The plants
of Arrowhead might be sought in their native
brooks and ditches just before the flowering season,
and, as they bear removal well, they need only be
allowed, like many other plants, to occupy the Aqua-
rium during the period of their inflorescence, though
it is always worthy of culture for the beauty of its
leaves alone. The rhizoma, or under-ground stem,
of the Sagittaria is very fleshy, and is used for food
in several European countries.

The amphibious Persicaria, with its pyramidal
spikes of pink-tipped blossoms, forms a very pretty
object for artificial culture (see Plate VII.) ; as
does also the Peatherfoil or Water Violet. The
last is indeed an exceedingly desirable Aquarium
plant, its feathery leaves having a very graceful
appearance beneath the surface, spreading their
elegant forms about the lower portions of the tank
like plumes of green feathers, while the flowers,
growing in a series of whorls, appear above the
water, and have a very pretty effect, being of a
delicate pinkish purple, becoming yellow towards
the centre. This plant has received its botanical

RIVER GARDENS;

name, Hottonia, in honour of the well-known
Dutch botanist, Hotton.

The Water Crowfoot, or White Water Butter-
cup, should always form one of the plant-collec-
tion in an Aquarium, on account of its peculiar and
interesting growth. The leaves of this plant, while
they grow beneath the water, are so deeply " cut "
or branched, as to appear almost fibrous in their
character, like those of the class of plants which
never appear above the surface. But the fibres of
those leaves which are developed above the water
become connected by the same kind of tissue as
that which usually connects the veins of ordinary
aerial leaves. In this new condition the upper
foliage assumes quite a different character, and the
plant has thus the appearance of being furnished
with leaves of two remarkably distinct kinds.

The common Brooklime, though rather coarse
in its growth, puts forth its racemes of pretty blue
flowers very abundantly ; and the esculent Water-
cress is also worthy of cultivation in the Aquarium,
especially when treated in the following manner : — A
few seeds should be procured, which can be purchased
of any of the leading seedsmen, and sown in the
bottom of the tank, where they will soon produce a
very pretty green crop, over the undulations of the

OR, THE HOME-CULTURE OF FRESH- WATER PLANTS.

sand and rockwork. The plants may be allowed to
come to maturity, if thought proper, as they nourish
well in such confinement ; but as few will deem the
Aquarium a fitting place to reap a harvest of Water-
cress, they may be removed after the more pleasing
early stages of their growth are passed, and a few fresh
seeds sown so as to continue the desirable effect.

The Flowering Rush is the monarch of its tribe ;
being crowned with a wreath of rosy flowers, which
form the floral glory of our streams, and the chief
ornament and desideratum of a river-side bouquet.
I never, in the season (June and July), consider
my nosegay of brook and river flowers complete
without it. The plant is, however, somewhat large
for Aquaria of the smaller sizes, as the leaves at-
tain two or three feet in height, and the flower-stem
rears itself high above them. Its growth, however,
in confinement would be less vigorous, and as it does
not occupy much space laterally, one grand towering
ornament in the centre of the tank, when the situa-
tion suits, might be desirable. The botanical name
of the genus, Butomus, signifies " hurtful to an ox,"
and, in fact, the sharp points of the leaves often
wound the mouths of cattle when they go to drink.

The "Water Germander and Water Milfoil
are both manageable and desirable plants in an

RIVER GARDENS ;

Aquarium; especially the latter, for its graceful
foliage beneath the surface of the water, the
minute divisions of which have given to the genus
the name of Milfoil, from Millefollium, or thou-
sand leaves, which name, however, in its botanical
sense, belongs more properly to another genus, the
plants of which are not aquatic : the "Water Mil-
foil having, in fact, for its botanical title, a Greek
instead of a Latin title, Myriophyllum, meaning,
however, the same thing.

The Awlwort is a curious little water plant,
worth growing on account of the peculiar awl-like
form of its leaves, which has conferred upon it its
botanical name of Subularia, from the Latin subula,
an awl. The common Mare's-tail derives its scientific
name Hippurus from the Greek words hippos (ITTTTO^)
a horse, and aura (ovpa) a tail. It has pretty whorled
leaves, but inconspicuous flowers. It has, how-
ever, been highly recommended for the Aquarium,
but is not so desirable, in my opinion, as many other
aquatic plants, requiring, as it does, a good depth
of soil to make it flourish healthily.

The Starwort is a much more suitable plant
than the one last named, both on account of the
ease with which it is cultivated in a small tank,
and also its curious habits of growth. The star-

OR, THE HOME-CULTURE OF FRESH-WATER PLANTS.

like form assumed by the leaves, in the position
they invariably take on the surface of the water,
forming a number of very symmetrical asteriods,
has given the plant its popular name — a name which
might be further confirmed in its propriety, if need
were, by an examination under the microscope,
in which position a number of minute rosette-
shaped excrescences will be discerned on the leaves,
occupying, apparently, the position and functions
of the hairs of other plants. It is so subject to
vary in its appearance that botanists have been
much inclined to subdivide the species.

The Hornwort is always introduced into lists of
plants for the Aquarium, and is, perhaps, some-
what interesting on account of the horny excre-
scences of its leaves, from which its botanical name
Ceratophyllum, from the Greek ceras, or rather
keras (/ce/oa9), a horn, and phillon (<^x\oi/) a leaf.
The plant has, however, little beauty, and might
with advantage, as I think, make way for others.

The tribe of Duckweeds, however, though
scarcely more ornamental than the Hornwort, have
other advantages that compensate for their want
of beauty. The plants of this family are said to
derive their botanical name jLemna, from lepis, a
scale, on account of the close scale-like manner with

RIVER GARDENS;

which they cover the surface of still waters. In the
Vivarium the Duckweeds are found of great advan-
tage, from their peculiar habit of growth, which
affords a natural screen to the animals below, when
the sun is too powerful ; and Dr Lankester tells
us, in his instructive little work, that these plants
harbour a number of minute creatures, among
which the microscopist may hunt for some of his
most valued game, which at the same time pro-
vides food for the fish and other inmates of the
Aquarium. All that is necessary to establish a
Duckweed screen is to remove a small portion of it
from the surface of some neighbouring pond, when it
requires no other replanting than merely throwing it
into the Aquarium, where, being strictly a floating
plant, it soon establishes itself and spreads rapidly.
The loose pieces should, however, be picked out, as it
is only in a mass that it produces a pleasing effect.
The Cape Aponogeton is one of the most desir-
able plants for the Aquarium, as it continues flower-
ing nearly all the year round, and the flowers
themselves, besides being very pretty, are sweet-
scented. It is quite hardy, and grows with great
luxuriance in our open ponds. In the Botanic
Garden, in Edinburgh, and the tanks of the Zoolo-
gical Society, in Regent's Park, London, this plant

OR, THE HOME-CULTURE OF FRESH-WATER PLANTS.

has been greatly admired, and few amateurs of
Aquaria, who have seen it, have failed to procure
immediately a few roots for their own tanks.

Anacliaris alsinastrum is another plant whichj
if no longer to he termed exotic, is, at all events, of
very recent foreign extraction. It should find its
place in every Aquarium. It has been called the
New Water Weed, or, by some, Water Thyme, from
its slight resemblance to plants of that class, and its
history is somewhat interesting. It was unknown
in England so lately as 1842, when the late Dr.
George Johnston, of Berwick-upon-Tweed, noticed
it for the first time in a pond, at Dunse Castle, in
the month of July of that year. Specimens were
sent to the Cambridge Botanic Gardens, where it
grew far too abundantly, and the refuse, which was
from thence thrown into the Cam, has thriven with
such extraordinary luxuriance that it threatens to
form a serious impediment to the navigation of that
stream. Prom Kew Gardens it has, in like man-
ner, escaped into the Thames, where it is already
one of the most abundant and troublesome of the
water weeds ; while in some of our canals it posi-
tively threatens to put a stop to the navigation
entirely. In the Aquarium, however, it is easily
kept within bounds, and is exceedingly valuable,

EIVER GARDENS;

not only for its graceful appearance, but also as
one of the most effectual of vegetable aerators.

The Valisneria has the same valuable pro-
perty, and its grass-like foliage is, at the same
time, one of the most graceful adjuncts to an
Aquarium, as shown in Plate VI., in which it is
supposed to be a central object, round which gold
fish are sporting in the enjoyment of the grateful
shade it affords. The Valisneria and Anacharis
have a pretty effect grown together, and are the
only plants (attended by a few fresh-water mollusca)
necessary to an Aquarium in which a few choice fish
only are kept. Valisneria is named after the Italian
naturalist Valisnei, who wrote on insects and plants
in the last century.

The Water Lily tribe have been described in
another place, as also the ornamental Water Grasses,
and we now come, therefore, to a series of water
plants of a lower range in the scale of vegetation,
though not less curious and interesting.

These consist of a class of fresh-water vegeta-
tion analogous to the sea-weeds of our coasts, and
also of another family, consisting of two genera
of plants only, Nitella and Chara. These two
genera contain, however, some pretty vegetable
forms. The Flexile nitella may be known by the

OR, THE HOME-CULTURE OF FRESH- WATER PLANTS.

branched character of its stems, and its smooth,
pellucid appearance. The Chara Hedwegia and
Char a hispida are both very elegant, and their
somewhat angular forms would afford an agree-
able variety to the other vegetation. Their pre-
sence is indicated in the plate of fish. (Plate IV.)
Of the fresh-water Alga the most interesting sec-
tions are, perhaps, the Quiverworts, or Oscillatoria,
the singular movements of which have led to many
conjectures and to much discussion among learned
naturalists. They have been thought by some to
form, in fresh-water, the same link between vegetable
and animal life as that of some of the lower order
of marine polyps. In short, the subject is so at-
tractive, that I make no apology for introducing
here the interesting paper on the subject read by
Professor Knowles, of Birmingham, at the late meet-
ing of the British Association at Cheltenham : —

" ON THE OSCILLATOR!^, BY PROFESSOR KNOWLES,

"OF QUEEN'S COLLEGE, BIRMINGHAM.

" The Oscillatorice belong to a group of plants
which seem to stand intermediately between the
animal and vegetable kingdoms.

" With regard to the extraordinary movements
observable in this interesting family of Algce^ I have

RIVER GARDENS ;

not hitherto met with any explanations that appear
to me to be satisfactory.

" Dr. Hassall, in his work on the Fresh-water
Alg<B, observes, that he can perceive nothing extra-
ordinary in these motions; nothing indicative, as
most suppose, of a sensitive or animal life. He
then goes on to state that the Oscillatorice are
naturally straight; that the act of placing them
under the microscope must, of necessity, bend
them; and that the motions that are then per-
ceived are nothing more than a return to their
naturally straight position, depending upon their
elasticity. He further states, that currents almost
imperceptible in the liquid in which they are im-
mersed, and perhaps unequal attractions amongst
the filaments themselves, are causes amply sufficient
to explain any motion which he has ever witnessed
amongst the Oscillator ice.

"This appears to me to be a very easy, but
unsatisfactory mode of disposing of a difficulty ; in
short, it is an opinion that is evidently the result of
hasty or insufficient observation.

" Now, I have no hesitation in stating that, after
very careful and repeated examinations, I have fully
satisfied myself that the motions of this family of
fresh-water Alg& are entirely independent of any

OE, THE HOME-CULTURE OF FRESH-WATER PLANTS.

electrical influence ; of any current in the fluid in
which they are placed ; or of any effort to recover
their straight position. The movements, in fact, have
very much the appearance of being spontaneous ;
an opinion in which I am pleased to find that Cap-
tain Carmichael fully concurs. The late Captain
Carmichael devoted his attention for many years to
the investigation of marine and fresh-water Alga,
and his opinions upon this suhject are consequently
entitled to the highest respect.

"Many of the larger Oscillatorice, if carefully
examined, may be seen to move in various direc-
tions— sometimes to the right, sometimes to the
left, sometimes slowly, sometimes briskly. I have,
however, never perceived in them anything like an
effort to recover the straight position which is con-
sidered natural to them. On the contrary, they
may often be observed to bend gradually, so as to
form a very considerable curve ; return again to
the straight position ; and then bend in an opposite
direction. They have also a progressive motion;
and two filaments, lying side by side, may frequently
be seen advancing in opposite directions on the field
of a microscope. This progressive motion, in all
probability, is effected by means of cilice, although
I have not hitherto been able to detect them.

RIVER GARDENS;

" Of the correctness of these facts any one may
readily convince himself by examining, with a
little attention, fresh specimens of any of the
larger Oscillator ice.

" The evidence which I have adduced on this
subject is sufficient, I presume, to prove the fal-
lacy of Dr. HassalTs views.

" Closely allied to the Oscillatorice is the genus
Spirillum, the motions of which are equally re-
markable. Some time ago I met with one which
may, possibly, be new, as I do not find it to agree
altogether with any species described either by Dr.
Hassall, or any author to which I have been able to
refer. It comes nearest to Spirillum Jenneri ; but
Dr. Hassall has not seen that species with more than
eight or ten spiral coils ; while the specimens I am
alluding to have often fifty or sixty spires, and
occasionally nearly 100.

" I have usually found it mixed with various
species of Oscillatorice. Its motions are occasionally
very active, and are very like those of the larger
Oscillatoricz, except that, in advancing across the
field of the microscope, the movement is distinctly
spiral. I have also very often seen two of them
entwine with each other, and thus present a beau-
tiful chain or cable-like appearance."

OE, THE HOME-CULTURE OF FEESH-WATEE PLANTS.

After the reading of the foregoing paper, it was
remarked by Professor Balfour that the motions in
question might be the result of the growth of the cells
of the plant ; hut Dr. Lankester considered them en-
tirely owing to the proteinaceous protaplasm within
the cell, a matter which, hoth in plants and ani-
mals, is known to possess a contractile power. It
was the source of the movements in the Proto-
phyta and Protozoa, and might he regarded as
containing the essential elements of a nervous
and muscular system. So far Dr. Lankester's
argument agrees with the theory of Professor
Knowles ; hut he omitted to state whether he con-
sidered the movements voluntary or not, so that
this interesting physiological question is still an
open one.

It will he seen, from these observations, that the
keeping of an Aquarium should always be accompa-
nied by the possession of a microscope, with the aid
of which it is evident that an abundant, curious, and
instructive course of investigation need never flag,
while the inmates of the tank are kept in that flou-
rishing condition, which a proper attention to the
principles upon which it is founded cannot fail to
secure.

CHAPTER V.

THE MOLLUSCA AND THE PISH.

the plants are well established,
the water not forming the slightest
scum, and the tank furnished with
three or four common Pond Snails to
consume any decaying vegetation
that may occur, and keep down the
growth of the confervse which would
cover the glass, and render the spectacle of its
inmates imperfect, then the Aquarium is ready for
the reception of the fish ; which, from their grace-
ful forms and agile and pleasing movements, are
always the greatest favourites.

Previously to describing the fish most suitable for
our purpose, we may derive some entertainment and
instruction from the examination of the family of
shell-bearing mollusca of our fresh waters, whose ser-
vices as scavengers are so important in the circle of
compensating principles, upon which the establish-
ment of the Aquarium is founded. The common Pond

RIVER GARDENS, ETC.

Snail alone has been found to fulfil these functions
with great completeness, but as variety of form is a
great desideratum when it is sought to render an
Aquarium an ornamental object, several other kinds
of fresh-water mollusca may be added. The Trumpet
Snail, with its flat coiled form, similar, in miniature,
to that of the giant Ammonites, so remarkable among
the shells of a former epoch of the world's natural
history, will, for instance, form a pleasing contrast
to the sharp spiral of the shell of the Limneus
pereger, or small Mud Snail. Then there is the
beautiful though common Marsh Shell, Paludina
vivipara, and its relative, Paludina achatina, both
of which would be ornamental as well as useful.
These species only attack the small decaying portions
that fall from the plants, or the minute confervoid
growth that attaches itself to the glass. But some
other species are very destructive to the plants
themselves. Among these the larger Mud Shell,
Lymneus stagnalis, is most voracious in an Aqua-
rium, and a couple of them would soon clear it of
its little forest of aquatic vegetation. Some of our
bivalves of the fresh-water Mussel tribe may be
added, for variety of form, though it is not yet
ascertained whether they are useful as cleansers.
Among these the Swan Mussel (Anodon cygneus] is

RIVER GARDENS;

interesting on account of its large size and agree-
ably tinted semi-transparent shells. The British
Pearl Mussel (Alasmodon margaritiferus} might
also he introduced. Pearls are occasionally found
in all the fresh-water Mussels, but most frequently
in the last-named species, being generally caused
by the accidental presence of some small irritating
substance within the shell, which cannot be ex-
pelled, and which is therefore coated with layers of
the same substance as that which forms the nacreous
lining of the shell itself. The artificial introduction
of such substances has been tried with success, but
not with sufficient certainty of result to be of any
commercial importance. The pearl fishery in some
of our British streams was, however, at one time
followed with such perseverance as, no doubt,
rendered the trade in them to some extent remune-
rative, and in the time of the Romans they were
sent to Italy in considerable quantities. Anti-
quarians have collected many interesting particulars
concerning this traffic, which we have only alluded
to en passant. There are many other varieties of
British fresh-water shells which might be intro-
duced with advantage into the Aquarium, but I
must refer those who would make them a pro-
minent feature in the tank, to the beautiful and

OB, THE HOME-CULTURE OF FRESH-WATER PLANTS.

complete works on our British fresh-water shells,
such as those of Turton and others.

The cleansers having heen duly located to keep the
apartment in order, like the neokorio of the celebrated
temples of Greece, the fish may be introduced.

I shall speak of Gold and Silver Pish in a separate
place, and commence my description of the British
species suited to our purpose with the Perch. (Plate
IV., No. 1.) He is a fine fellow, and we should take
care to make his acquaintance, and know some-
thing about him before requesting his company in
the little glass palace to which he is about to be
invited. Baron Cuvier, in his great work, has
chosen the common Perch as the type of his order*
Perca — an honour to which his finely marked charac-
teristics fully entitle him. His distinct markings, his
strikingly erect dorsal fin, and fine bold movement
in the water, early attracted the notice of ancient as
well as modern naturalists, and we thus have him
accurately described under the name of irepmi
(perke) by the great Greek physiologist Aristotle.
He was the Perca of the Romans, as Mr. Yarrell
tells us in his beautiful work ; and his ancient name
has been but little mutilated in his modern titles.
Pergesa, in Italy ; Persche, in Germany ; Perche,
in Prance ; and more briefly Perch, in "England.

RIVER GARDENS ;

This handsome fish is found in nearly all the lakes
and rivers of temperate climates, but in the colder
regions, towards the north, he becomes rare, and
at last disappears. Even in the lochs north of
the Eorth he is but sparingly found, and entirely
wanting in the more remote lochs of Scotland. Yet
his distribution is somewhat capricious, for although
he is not found in Orkney or Shetland, he is described
by Nellson as not infrequent in Scandinavia.

The Perch, if not of too large size, in which case
he would be dangerous to his neighbours, is exceed-
ingly well suited to the Aquarium, both on account
of his robust constitution, and his susceptibility of
being tamed, to say nothing of his handsome
appearance. Mr. Jesse, in speaking of Perch placed
in a Vivarium in Bushy Park, says, that after be-
coming familiar with their new mode of life, they
came up boldly and took worms greedily from the
fingers. This fish is, in fact, one of the most fear-
less of his tribe, and his rashness often proves his
destruction, for he is generally the first prize of the
young angler. Perch have been known to breed in
small vases, and there is little doubt that they
might, with only ordinary care, bring up a nume-
rous family in a well-managed Aquarium. They are
so hardy that they live for many hours out of water,

OR, THE HOME-CULTURE OF FRESH- WATER PLANTS.

and revive when put in again without appearing to
have sustained much injury. In Catholic countries,
indeed, where fresh fish is much more prized than
with us, fine Perch are often brought to market and
exposed for some hours on open stalls, upon a little
damp moss, and if not sold, taken back, and put
into the pond again. The Perch frequently attains
four pounds in weight, or even more. Donovan,
in his " History of British Eishes," says they have
been taken from Bala Lake weighing five pounds ;
and it is stated by Yarrell, that a gentleman residing
near Dudley took one six pounds in weight from
the Birmingham Canal. Colonel Montague re-
cords the capture of a Perch of still greater size,
stating that one was taken in the Avon, in Wilt-
shire, with a night-line baited for a Pike, which
weighed eight pounds ; dimensions which Pennant's
famous specimen considerably exceeded, the one he
records as taken in the Serpentine, weighing nine
pounds ! This must have been a magnificent fish ;
but it is stated by Block that a head of a Perch is pre-
served in the Church at Luehlah, in Lapland, mea-
suring near twelve inches from the nose to the gill
cover. This, however, must doubtless be the head
of some allied species, and not our common Perch ;
probably the last of some now extinct species.

EIVER GARDENS ;

The colouring of a healthy and well-marked Perch
is very striking. The back and upper parts are of
a rich olive-brown, variegated by several broad
bands of a dark purplish hue. These upper tones
pass into rich golden tints, which grow gradually
paler till they become nearly white underneath.
The ventral, anal, and caudal fins are bright ver-
milion, the others, different shades of brown, the
dorsal one being marked with a few black spots.

Specimens of the Perch are occasionally found
nearly white, in ponds impregnated with the par-
ticles from particular soils; and they retain this
colour even when removed to other waters. A
white Perch would form a splendid addition to the
Aquarium, but such a prize is but rarely to be
met with. It should be observed here that fish
placed along with the Perch should be of nearly or
quite his own size, as he is terribly piscivorous.

I stated, in reference to the Perch, that it was
desirable to know something of his character and
antecedents before introducing him into the Aqua-
rium. The same remark applies in like manner to
the other fish recommended for that purpose, as the
more we know respecting their habits, qualities,
history, etc., the more we shall find them sur-
rounded with pleasing and instructive associations,

OR, THE HOME-CULTURE OF FRESH-WATER PLANTS.

and capable of inspiring many kinds of interest which
we should not have dreamt of without some previous
knowledge concerning them. I shall therefore make
no apology for appending a brief historical notice to
each of the fish about to be described.

The Carp is a desirable fish for the Aquarium —
perhaps even more so than the Perch, as he is not
so voracious ; indeed, he seldom attacks fish, living
almost entirely upon small aquatic insects or
worms, etc. The common Carp, Cyprinus carpio,
was noticed by both Aristotle and Pliny, but was
not held in so much estimation by the ancients
as by the moderns, especially during the middle
ages.

The Carp declines in size when removed from the
warmer regions of the temperate zones ; but he is
" cultivated " as a table delicacy with much success
both in Austria and Prussia, where Carp ponds
form an essential feature in rustic economy. An
acre of water stored with Carp will, in fact, let for
as much as an acre of the richest land. In central
Europe, where it is difficult, indeed nearly im-
possible, to obtain sea fish, those of the fresh- water
are very highly prized, and their growth and
various methods of fattening them have been studied
with much success.

RIVER GARDENS ;

Erom the custom of keeping them in artificial
ponds, the great age to which a Carp will live has
been frequently noticed, and there are several cases
recorded of their living for a 100 and even 150
years. The celebrated tame Carps of the ponds of
Eontainebleau are, indeed, said to have been placed
there in the reign of Erancis I., which would give
them a much greater age. It is said, however,
that after a certain time they lose the golden hue
of their scales, which assume an ashy tone, by which
their advanced age may be known.

Mascal claims the credit of having introduced
Carp into England, but they were certainly known
before this time, if, indeed, in our southern waters
they are not indigenous. In the curious book of
Dame Juliana Berners, prioress of Sopewell Nun-
nery, called the " Boke of St. Alban's," and printed
at Westminster in 1496, by "Wynkyn de Worde, the
Carp is mentioned as " a deyntous fish ;" and in the
privy purse expenses of Henry VIII., for the year
1532, various sums are entered as paid to persons
for bringing Carps to the king.

The Carp loves sluggish rivers, especially when
the bed is formed of soft mud ; but he grows much
more freely in some waters than others, without
any apparent cause. In Scotland Carp grow very

OE, THE HOME-CULTURE OF FRESH-WATER PLANTS

slowly, and it is said do not breed at all. They live
for a great length of time out of water if kept
moist with damp grass or moss, and are often
suspended in that way in the dairies in Holland,
and fed upon bread and milk, under which treat-
ment it is said they fatten very quickly, and the flesh
becomes exceedingly delicate. In ponds they feed
well on boiled potatoes, and have been known to
attain to three pounds in weight as early as their
sixth year.

They attain, occasionally, a remarkable size even
in England, though not so great as in some parts of
the Continent. Mr. Ludbrooke, from his park at
Gatton, as we are told by Yarrell, presented Lord
Egremont with a brace that weighed thirty-five
pounds; while at the fishing of a larger piece of
water, on another estate, a Carp was found thirty
inches long, and weighing eighteen pounds.

Aristotle calls the Carp wn-pivos, which Pliny
translates Cyprinus, the name by which the genus
is still known in scientific natural history. His
popular names have, however, for a long period
been Carpeno, Carpo, Karpfen, Carpe, or Carp. It
is said that the Carp was originally introduced
from Persia, and became distributed in Europe by
degrees.

RIVER GAEDENS;

I have mentioned the fine Carp in the ponds at the
Chateau of Pontainebleau ; and M. Orbigny* men-
tions others as fine, and probably of as great age,
at Chantilly and Pontchartrain. The Carp in the
Dniester and Volga attain to a very large size, not
infrequently weighing as much as seventy pounds.

The Crucian Carp, Cyprinus curassia, by the
Prench termed Carpe carassin, and in Sweden,
Carussa or Carouche, is another species, generally of
inferior size, which is well suited to the Aquarium ;
as is likewise another distinct species, the Prussian
Carp, Cyprinm gibelio, which is a very hardy fish,
and it is said will live for thirty hours out of water.

Our old favourites, the Gold and Silver Pish, are
of the Carp family (Cyprinus auratus), but I shall
speak of them separately in another place.

The Tench (Plate IV., No. 2,) is also easy to keep
in a moderately sized glass tank. His fine deep
bronze tones, touched here and there with a sparkle
of gold at the edge of the scales, as though
brightened by his passage through the water, give
to him a richness of hue that produces a good
effect among the foliage of the tank; while his
small and delicate scaling forms a remarkable con-
trast to the large horny scales of the Carp. In the

* See Hist. Nat. vol. iii.

OB, THE HOME-CULTURE OF FRESH-WATER PLANTS.

Aquarium at the Zoological Gardens there are
several Tench, which appear to enjoy themselves as
well as in their native ponds. They generally lie
near the bottom, as though in a dreamy and pleasing
abstraction, but if too closely watched glide myste-
riously away and disappear, taking advantage of
some deep shadow, or projecting stone, or tuft of
Valisneria. Like the Carp family, the Tench is
very tenacious of life. Daniel, in his "Rural
Sports," mentions a curious example of this tenacity
under very peculiar circumstances. A pond had
been filled up for many years, when it became
necessary to clear away the ground below the depth
of the former pond. On the last portions being re-
moved, it was found that the mud at the bottom had
never thoroughly dried, and there were a few holes
imperfectly filled by the rubbish, which still con-
tained a small quantity of water. In these cavi-
ties several Tench of large size were found in per-
fect health. Their habit of hybernating in the mud
having made this long interment only appear, it
would seem, like a somewhat unusually long winter.
Under the roots of a buried tree a larger hole than
the rest contained rather more water, and in this
an immense Tench was found, which had grown to
the form of the hollow which had so long been his

RIVER GARDENS ;

prison, and could not be removed till the roots were
cut away. This singularly shaped creature was
perfectly healthy, and remained so after being re-
moved to an ordinary pond, where he continued to
nourish at the time that Daniel wrote his account
of the circumstance, which was some years after
the removal of the monster Tench to his new abode.
The Tench is a good table fish, but is sometimes
unpleasantly flavoured by the presence in the pond
of some rank weed. This kind of susceptibility is,
however, very capricious ; for occasionally Tench,
which were positively stained black by the mud
of the waters in which they have been bred,
have been found perfectly sweet, while those taken
in much more favourable situations have had a
muddy or earthy taste, which is a very common
objection to the flesh of the Tench. This forms no
obstacle, however, to the adoption of the Tench as
an inmate of the Aquarium, and only refers to his
eligibility for the fryingpan or gridiron.

The Roach, Leuciscus rutilus (Plate IV., No. 3),
is a very pretty fish. His white scales glisten like
silver, against which the bright red fins are seen to
great advantage, giving him that bright, sparkling,
healthy appearance which perhaps led to the
saying, "as sound as a roach." This may have

OB, THE HOME-CULTURE OF FRESH-WATER PLANTS.

arisen, however, from his French name, Roche, that
is, rock ; and " sound as a rock " may possibly have
been the original form of the saying. But as the
Italians have a proverb, " sano come il pesca"
(sound as a fish), it seems that we may leave the
English form of the same idea, " sound as a roach,"
undisturbed, for it is certain that he always looks
positively gleaming with bright fresh health ; the
vivid orange circlet of the eye and the ruddy fins
tending to increase that pleasing impression.

Roach of from a quarter to half a pound are
considered by the angler fine fish, quite above the
usual run; but Pennant refers to Roach of five
pounds in weight. Jesse states that the largest ever
taken in the Thames weighed three pounds; and
old Izaak Walton tells us, in his quaint way, that
he considered a Roach of two pounds worthy of
" particular attention."

The Pike (Plate IV., No. 4), may be added to the
Aquarium without danger, if space should allow;
but he must be a small specimen, not much larger
than the Roach, or the latter would stand but little
chance of exhibiting his personal charms for a very
lengthened period. The Perch, the Carp, the
Tench, and the Pike should, in fact, be selected of
as nearly the same size as possible. Taking away

EIVER GARDENS ;

the Pike and Perch, the others would agree well
together, of almost any size, as they are not vora-
cious— at all events in a fish-devouring way — and
are content with much smaller prey. If, however,
variety he sought — and certainly the elongated figure
of the Pike and the fine dorsal hattlement of the
Perch add greatly to the diversity of the forms and
characters of a group of fish in an Aquarium — then
the caution just put forth must be carefully
observed.

The Barbel (Barbus vulgaris), a name sug-
gested by his seeming beard, will also do well in
confinement; but he is rather a clumsy -looking
fish, and also somewhat sluggish in his movements.
He is represented, though upon a very small
scale, in Plate I. Jesse mentions Barbel among
the fish kept in the Vivarium in Bushy Park,
stating that they were the strongest and most un-
tameable of all the kinds. In spring, however,
when they could perceive no one watching them,
they would sometimes roll about and rub them-
selves against the brickwork, in many playful
gambols. In the Thames they sometimes attain
the weight of fifteen pounds. They become quite
torpid in winter, sheltering themselves under some
projecting bank, or sometimes under the lee-side of

OR, THE HOME-CULTTJRE OF FRESH- WATER PLANTS.

a stationary barge, where they occasionally congre-
gate in large numbers, lying one over the other.
This state of torpidity becomes so complete in the
depth of the winter, that they may be taken by the
hand without making any attempt to escape.

The Flounder may be placed either in a fresh or
salt water tank, as he frequently ascends our rivers,
sometimes not finding his way back to the sea.
His singular action in swimming is so distinct from
that of the kinds of fish more frequently observed,
that it forms an agreeable variety in the Aqua-
rium. It is from its peculiar action when swimming,
near the bottom, that the Swedes give this fish
the name Flundra, from which the English name is
derived.

Another kind of swimming action may be ex-
hibited by the introduction of an Eel or two to the
collection, care, however, being taken not to over-
stock the colony ; for it is said that two small fish
and as many aquatic plants are enough for each
gallon of water. The sharp-nosed Eel (Anguilla
acutorostris), and the broad-nosed species (A. lati-
rostris), are equally common. Both belong to the
Lamprey tribe, Cuvier's Murcenidce, or eel-shaped
fishes. The specimens selected should be small, as
large ones have been known to devour small-sized

RIVER GARDENS ;

Gold fish. They are torpid in winter ; and it is their
habit to make their way to the sea to spawn towards
August, when they will leave the ponds and travel
for miles over the meadows to reach their desti-
nation. At the time that the young fry ascend the
rivers towards the fresh waters, vast shoals of them
have sometimes been observed. The passage of young
Eels up the Thames at that season, as Yarrell informs
us, is an extraordinary sight. Above 1800 per
minute, averaging about three inches long, have
been known to pass a given point. This passage of
the young Eels, says the same writer, is called Eel
Fare, from the old Saxon word, to travel, or pass.
From this migratory habit it is evident that at
a certain season the pet Eel will escape from
the Aquarium, and most likely come to some un-
timely end, unless the requisite precautions be
taken.

Among the smaller kinds of fish, I have tried
the Loach, or Beardie (Cobitis barbatula), in an
Aquarium, and found the species bear confinement
well. It would be worth while to observe very
carefully the movements of this little fish, as it is
said that by them the changes in the weather may
be ascertained as readily as by a weather-glass.
At certain periods I have, indeed, noticed that it

OE, THE HOME-CULTURE OF FRESH- WATER PLANTS.

becomes restless ; and its popular name, Loach, or
Loche, is derived from the Erench verb looker, to
be uneasy. A continental species, the lake Loche,
is in an old naturalist's miscellany termed the Ther-
mometrum vivum ; and it is certain that they are ex-
tremely sensitive to atmospheric changes, as thunder
frequently kills them. The Loach is not altogether
solitary in this extreme sensitiveness to change of
weather, for the Gold Carp frequently die in large
numbers during thunder-storms ; and Lobsters, as
Pennant tells us, sometimes cast their claws at a
loud clap of thunder. It has also been observed that
the high swimming fish are less affected by electric
changes than those that swim near the bottom.
The Loach, considered by us as an utterly insig-
nificant fish, is considered a choice table delicacy in
Sweden, where it was naturalized by Frederic I.
as a table delicacy.

The Gudgeon ( Gobio fluvialis) holds a more con-
spicuous place among our smaller native fishes.
The tones of purplish green which decorate his
back are very pleasing, and, in some individuals, of
remarkable richness, and he occasionally attains the
length of eight inches, though seldom exceeding
four. Three or more should be kept, if any, as they
are accustomed to swim in shoals, and a phalanx of

RIVER GARDENS;

these little fish swimming about the Aquarium, in
company, produce a pleasing effect.

The Miller 's-thumb, or Bull-head, would form
a curious and interesting object in the Aquarium,
but that he has the habit of concealing himself
under stones or any other shelter he can find. In
Switzerland children watch for them and spear
them as they attempt to dart from the shelter of
one stone to that of another. It is considered deli-
cate food in Italy, as we are told by E/osso ; and in
Russia it is used as a charm against fever.

The Minnow, Leuciscus phoxinus (Plate IV., Nos.
5 and 6), is one of the very smallest of British fish,
but he is a very elegant little fellow. His motions,
are sprightly and agile in the extreme, and when
the sun shines upon the tank in which he is placed,
the fresh olive-green of his back shading to silvery
white beneath, has a very glittering effect as he
darts playfully about. In summer the white por-
tion of the body is delicately tinted with rose
colour, which has doubtless given to him one of his
popular names, the Pink. The name Minnow,
however, or, more correctly, Minim, is no doubt
derived from the Latin word minimus, as he is, in
fact, one of our smallest fresh-water fishes. But
there is one native genus of still smaller dimensions,

OR, THE HOME-CULTURE OF FRESH-WATER PLANTS.

the Gasterosteus, or Stickleback, whose habits are
so interesting that it would be well worth while to
assign a tank especially to his service ; and in that
feeling I shall devote an entire chapter of this little
book to his history.

CHAPTER VI.

STICKLEBACKS AND THEIR NEST-
BUILDING.

OME of the pleasantest associations,
bound up with the recollections of my
boyhood, are those connected with my
excursions for the capture of Stickle-
backs. All the scenes of those days of
sunshine are still green in my memory,
and even the very names of the obscure
streamlets and lanes have a sound more intimately
familiar than things of yesterday. Sparkbrook,
Stoney Lane, Lady -pool Lane, Great Mill, are names
still attached to the reminiscences of days of peering
into the mysteries of the world beneath the waters,
and into the life and movements of half-hidden
creatures, whose instincts and habits possessed an
irresistible attraction which I could not resist.

More than once I was on the point of making
the interesting discovery concerning the nidification,
which M. Coste has had the gratification of adding
to the archives of Natural History. I had seen the
male Stickleback darting hither and thither, with a

RIVER GARDENS, ETC.

small bundle of some green substance in his tiny
mouth, but, with all my watching, failed to discover
the purpose for which it was intended. But before
describing this interesting discovery, which, with
proper care, may be illustrated in a well-arranged
Aquarium, let us become more intimately acquainted
with the little creature, whose parental instincts in
the matter about to be described would seem to
place him far above all the larger kinds of fish, as
well of fresh as salt water.

The Stickleback (of the genus Gasterosteus) is, as
we shall see, a most interesting little fellow. He is
found along our coasts aswell as in our inland streams,
and is, therefore, suitable either for the marine or
fresh-water Aquarium. He is possessed of muscular
strength which seems far beyond his small dimen-
sions ; and he displays his powers not only in com-
bats, often fatal to one or more of the contending
parties, but also in playful gambols, often leaping
above a foot out of the water when excited to more
than usual joyousness by the genial warmth of a
summer's afternoon. He might escape in this way
from an Aquarium and perish, if no protection were
placed over the tank, which is a precaution desirable
on many other accounts. His natural food consists
of small insects, chrysalids, and young fish just

RIVER GARDENS ;

emerging from the spawn. He is very ravenous,
and it is stated by Baker, as quoted by Orbigny, that
one individual has been observed to devour seventy-
four vaudoises within an hour. In some parts of
the Continent the Sticklebacks are so abundant,
after their spawning season, that they are used for
manure, and pigs are fed with them. In eastern
Prussia oil is extracted from them ; and the Kamts-
chadales dry the Gasterosteus obolarius in large
quantities for the winter food of their numerous dogs.
In England also they are, in some seasons, almost
equally abundant. At Spalding, in Lincolnshire,
Pennant informs us that they appear occasionally
in such large numbers, that he recollects a man who
earned four shillings a day by selling them at sixpence
a bushel. These shoals at Spalding appear every
seven or eight years, coming up from the Wellan.
Their flesh is of an agreeable flavour, and forms
very wholesome food, making an exceedingly nutri-
tious broth ; but their diminutive size has secured
them against becoming very generally articles of
human food. Their cuirass-like armour and spines
secure them also against the assaults of other fish,
even the most voracious; but they have a fatal enemy
in a small crustaceous parasite, which attaches itself
to their bodies, and, sucking the blood, soon destroys

OR, THE HOME-CULTURE OF FRESH- WATER PLANTS.

its victim. They are also pursued and devoured by
the voracious Water Beetle (Dyticus marginalis),
whose horny forceps defy the armour and spinal
defences of this formidable little fish.

Block states that the duration of the life of the
Stickleback is three years ; and the observations of
other naturalists appear to confirm this opinion.

Mr. Yarrell divides the genus Gasterosteus into
several species, all of which are tolerably well
marked. The first is termed G. trachurm, or
Rough-tailed Stickleback; his defensive plates of ar-
mour continuing all along the side to the tail, upon
which they appear to terminate in minute spines.
The second is called G. semiarmatus, or half-armed,
his defences not continuing above three plates be-
yond the pectoral fin. The third, G. leiurus, or
Small-tailed Stickleback, the side plates being less
conspicuous and not extending beyond the pectoral
fin. The fourth, G. brachycentrus, or short-spined
kind, as large as the first or second species named,
but having the spines on the back much shorter.
The fifth has been termed G. spinulosus, the four-
spined species, much smaller than the last named.
Probably from feeling himself more completely
armed, however, he is more decidedly pugnacious
than his larger relatives, even in confinement. The

EIVER GARDENS ;

last of the species frequenting the fresh as well as
salt water is G. pungitim, the ten-spined Stickle-
back, a very distinct species, much smaller than
any of the preceding. Cuvier makes a second
species in the ten-spined division ; but it is not found
in England. There is, however, one more native
kind, the fifteen-spined, which remains always in
the sea, but, like its relatives, will live in fresh
water. If, therefore, it can be procured, it should
be present, to complete the collection of native
species in an Aquarium, for which purpose I would
recommend preparing a special tank, which, consi-
dering the interesting habits of this pretty tribe of
miniature fishes, would well repay the trouble. The
last-named species, though a thoroughly well-charac-
terised Gasterosteus, is of very peculiar form, almost
Eel-like in his proportions, from which it has been
termed the Sea Adder. Mr. Yarrell gives a very in-
teresting account of the capture of a specimen of this
rather rare species, in the stomach of which he found
a specimen of the curious Opossum Shrimp, which he
had never seen before. The peculiarity of the Opos-
sum Shrimp, as described by Montague, is that the
female is furnished with a natural external pouch,
like that of the Opossum or Kangaroo tribe, in
which she carries her ova and afterwards her young.

OR, THE HOME-CULTURE OF FRESH-WATER PLANTS.

It is composed of four concave scales turned up-
wards ; and the opportunity of observing this curious
creature was deemed, by the enthusiastic naturalist
I am quoting, a more interesting event than even
the capture of the fifteen-spined Stickleback itself.
The first three species of Sticklebacks, just described,
have been considered by some as merely accidental
varieties ; and none of these ever exceed two and a
half inches in length.

Some of the habits of these interesting little
fish are very graphically described by a writer in
London's " Magazine of Natural History." A
number being placed, as he informs us, in a
wooden vessel of considerable size, at first swam
about in a shoal, as if exploring the nature and
capacities of their new habitation. Suddenly, one
of the party took possession of a particular corner,
and succeeded in beating oft7 his companions from
that part of the domain. First, however, a furious
battle ensued, the combatants swimming round each
other, fencing with the utmost skill, each watch-
ing for an opportunity to dash at his opponent with
his sharp spines fully extended, or failing such an
opportunity, resorting to the warfare of the mouth.
Such a contest frequently lasts several minutes
before either gives way. "When one at last retires,

EIVER GARDENS j

beaten by sheer exhaustion, he is followed by the
conqueror, who chases him till himself unable to
pursue. Many such contests, however, terminate
fatally in the early part of the onset, fatal wounds
being at the first furious passes inflicted with the
spines. These, however, I am happy to say, are the
habits (as we are informed) of the male fish only, the
females being quite pacific and never interfering in
these sanguinary conflicts.

They are indeed always without the gaudy and
soldier-like uniform of the male, which in sum-
mer is bright with glowing scarlet on the chest,
while on the back shades of rich purple are often
found, beautifully blending into green and white.
In combat they appear to have the power of assum-
ing their brilliant colours, as Indians do their war-
paint, and during the contest the little scaly warrior
is refulgent with scarlet, vivid green, and white. If
conquered, however, his war-paint fades to the
dullest hues, while the victor swims triumphant,
and still splendid in his gaudy uniform. If fatally
wounded, the defeated hero, in his latest agony,
once more assumes his splendid colouring (but not
so brightly), as though in his last delirium he
fancied himself the conqueror.

In this power of changing colour the Stickleback

OE, THE HOME-CULTURE OF FEESH- WATER PLANTS.

is quite chameleon-like. The conqueror in a com-
hat, from being a speckled dull greenish-looking fish,
assumes the rich colouring described, which varies
according to varying circumstances. The belly and
lower jaws frequently becoming brilliant crimson,
and the back sometimes white, or a beautiful cream
colour, but more frequently a fine clear apple green.

These fish, indeed, vary much even in their ordi-
nary colouring, some being very nearly black. The
little sable warriors, however, only become blacker
during a combat, and somewhat paler if defeated.

The effect of passion upon the colouring of this
tribe is strongly illustrated by the existence of a
similar power in the marine species, the fifteen-
spined Stickleback. This pretty fish is of a fine
full olive on the back, becoming rich golden be-
neath ; but from sudden terror it has been known
to turn to a pale dirty white for eighteen hours,
afterwards regaining its usual colour.

This singular kind of susceptibility in the Stickle-
back may be curiously illustrated by placing some
of the most brightly coloured in a white vessel, in
the dark, when they quickly become nearly white,
regaining their colour when exposed in an ordinary
vessel to the light. It is said they will assume, in
a greater or less degree, the colour of any vessel in

RIVER GARDENS;

which they are placed, and that their natural colours
are frequently the result of the colour of the soil
forming the beds of their native streams. A simi-
lar kind of susceptibility is also found in other
fishes — a circumstance which is, in fact, a means of
defence, as rendering them less conspicuous in the
water. Dr. Stark tells us that he once observed a
shoal of Flounders, on the flat sandy part of the
coast of Holland, so exactly the colour of the sand
over which they were swimming, as to be hardly
distinguishable from it.

But I must hasten to describe the most interest-
ing instincts that honourably distinguish the little
Stickleback. I of course allude to those connected
with his habits of nidification.

Nest-architecture is generally thought to be
almost entirely confined to birds; the number of
quadrupeds which attempt nest-building being very
few, and those few not remarkable for any special
skill. Indeed, even in these cases, such as the "nest "
of the Squirrel, the Eield-mouse, the Habbit, and a
few others, it is rather a "bed" for the young, than a
receptacle for the deposition and production of eggs,
which is alone the character of a true nest.

The only true nests, therefore, except those of
birds, are constructed by fish. This, consider-

OE, THE HOME-CULTUBE OF FEESH-WATEE PLANTS.

ing the apparently insufficient means which their
formation has furnished them for the edification of
such structures, appears very extraordinary, and yet,
if our means of observation presented greater facili-
ties, many more species of fish might be found to be
constructors of complicated nests, than those which
are as yet known to possess that instinct. The veil
of the waters, however, which screens their habits
so effectually from us, renders discovery in this
direction exceedingly slow.

Till M. Coste read his interesting paper, on The
Nidification of the Stickleback, the other day, at the
French Academy, modern naturalists, speaking
generally, may be said to have been ignorant of
this peculiarity in any species of fishes, as no pub-
lished details had appeared. It had been singu-
larly overlooked by them that Aristotle, above 2000
years ago, had stated that a certain little fish had
the habit of constructing a nest like that of a bird.

Clive, it is true, among modern naturalists, had
asserted that the Black Gobie built a nest, and it is
now thought that this is the same fish alluded to by
Aristotle. Major Harding had also stated that the
Gourami, an Indian fish, constructed a kind of nest ;
but no accurate details upon the subject were made
known before the publication of the interesting

RIVER GARDENS;

paper, above alluded to, by M. Coste, entitled " Sur
la Nidification des Epinoches" It is, in fact, these
curious details so recently published concerning the
habits of a little fish found in every streamlet,
which has at length called the attention of icthy-
ologists to this interesting subject.

Among birds, as we well know, the female is the
chief architect, the male only assisting in bringing
material ; but among fish it would seem that the
building of the domestic dwelling is the task of
the male. The female, or rather females — for the
Stickleback is a polygamist — do not appear to offer
any aid at all, and expect their lords not only to do
all the fighting, as previously described, but also all
the work ; while the wives remain idle, in a kind of
fine-ladyism, which the male Stickleback appears, in
his polite devotion to the sex, entirely to approve of.

At spawning- time, therefore, the males may be
observed, one and all, very busy in preparing the
nursery, an evidently arduous task to each little
architect, who brings all the materials in his
mouth, of course in very small quantities at a time,
and frequently from very considerable distances.
It is very instructive to observe his contrivances for
preventing the foundation of his structure from
being carried away by the stream, which he effects

OR, THE HOME-CULTURE OF FRESH- WATER PLANTS.

by bringing sand, also in his mouth, and placing it
upon the successive layers forming the foundation of
his edifice. His next process is to cement these layers
well together, by a gluten which he obtains from his
own skin, by rubbing himself against them; and thus
is formed the floor upon which the rest of the struc-
ture is to be raised. It is occasionally further secured
at its anchorage by a root or twig at the bottom of
the stream, or by some other accidental assistance.
His next process is to stick small, or occasionally
stronger materials, as uprights, all round the founda-
tion ; frequently taking them out with his mouth,
and putting them in situations more to his fancy, till
he is at length satisfied that they are all in the right
places. Sometimes he finds a portion of his mate-
rials altogether unsuitable, in which case he takes
it away to a distance from the intended nursery of
his offspring, and, regardless of labour and fatigue,
gets another lot of materials. He cements the walls
as they arise, by rubbing against them, as he had
done to the floor, and then sets about the roof, which
he completes in a similar manner. His hardest
work appears to be this cementing process; the
vibrating of the body, by means of which he exudes
the necessary mucus from the surface of the skin,
seeming to exhaust him very much.

RIVER GARDENS ;

He makes two openings to his dwelling, a front
and a back door as it were, which he retains in suit-
able form by passing continually through them in
such a manner as to keep them neat and open. Some
species build on the ground, others between small
roots, near the bottom of the stream (see Plate
Y.) ; the species Trachurus and Leiurus preferring
the ground, Pungitius the support of roots, etc.

"When the nest is completed, combats often
occur between males to keep or obtain possession ;
and then they have many polite ways of inviting a
favourite female to come and take possession of
the edifice they have constructed, always keeping
guard during the time she is depositing her eggs
(as shown in Plate V.), and wearing, in honour of
the occasion, their gayest uniforms, frequently
assuming bright scarlet and pure white on the joyful
occasion. The male maintains his guard in full uni-
form until the spawn or eggs are all hatched, and the
young fry begin to disperse in all directions. The
nest is said to resemble that of the Long-tailed
Titmouse, which, like it, has two entrances.

The assiduous duties of the male Stickleback
appear to be reversed in the salt-water species,
which, according to a communication from a lady
at Aberdeen to Dr. Lankester, are, in the case of

OR, THE HOME-CULTURE OF FRESH-WATER PLANTS.

that very distinct species, performed by the female.
This assertion is founded on actual observation ; a
female of the species in question having formed her
nest, deposited her spawn, and covering it care-
fully over, watched it assiduously, attacking any
approaching enemy, just as is the habit of the males
in the other species. The nest appears, however, to
have been a far inferior structure to that of the
male architects.

There are many other particulars relating to the
nidification of these interesting little fishes ; but
space will not allow of further detail in this place.
Enough has been said, however, to show how very
interesting a colony of Sticklebacks might be made
in an Aquarium, especially if all the species were
collected, and their abode made sufficiently com-
fortable to induce them to feel quite at home and
exhibit their curious nest-building instinct in full
confidence and security.

CHAPTER VII.

GOLD FISH,

ONG before the Aquarium and its prin-
ciples were understood, Gold and Silver
Pish had become favourite pets, and
were kept with more or less success in
glass globes manufactured expressly.
Their rich colouring and pleasing mo-
tions made them very ornamental, and
many elaborate structures were invented for their
display. The globes were placed on richly deco-
rative stands, surrounded with moss and flowers,
and in some cases an inner globe was contrived,
open with wire-work at the bottom, into which
Canary birds were introduced, to be seen perching
on branches of coral as though actually disporting
themselves in the water among the Gold and Silver
Pish ; white Mice or Guinea Pigs being sometimes
substituted in the inner globe for the birds.

The effect produced was fantastic, and not un-
pleasing, and suited the imperfectly developed taste
of the day ; but in these times of international ex-

RIVEB GARDENS, ETC.

hibitions, and art treatises, and art novels, and even
art sermons, the laws of taste — pure taste — can no
longer be vitiated with impunity. Even the placing
of coral branches or sea shells in fresh water would
be sufficient to shock the very fastidiously accurate
taste of our art critics, and the affected semblance of
birds existing under water would be denounced in
some cotemporary journal of "art, science, and lite-
rature," in language of " crushing force and biting
sarcasm."

The bad taste, however, was not the only defi-
ciency exhibited by a past generation of lovers of
domestic pets. The principle by means of which
fish could be kept in a healthy state in a confined
space, when living plants are cultivated in the same
water, was not then understood ; and consequently*
notwithstanding the greatest care and the changing
of the water very frequently, the fish, in most cases,
very soon perished, which was the main cause of
their going " out of fashion."

But now that we have mastered the necessary
secret, and can keep aquatic animals in a glass ves-
sel, arranged as a true miniature lake, we can re-
sume our chamber intercourse with our old friends
under more auspicious circumstances. We need no
longer see them pursuing their interminable circuit

RIVER GARDENS ;

in the glaring light of their unsheltered glohe, with
the knowledge that, despite all our solicitude, the term
of their existence will he very hrief ; for we shall take
care that they have their little forests of Alga and
water-plants, and the hroad leaves of "Water Lilies, or
the green veil of the JJemna tribe, not only to shel-
ter them from too much light, which is injurious to
them, but also to renew continually their supply of
air as fast as they consume it. In addition to these
advantages, we shall find their motions greatly
varied and increased in interest and attractiveness
by the plants, round and among which they will
pursue their floating promenade with evident zest
and enjoyment. (See Plate VI.)

With these newly discovered aids our old friends,
the Gold Eish, may resume all their former interest,
and a prettily planted Aquarium may be rendered
beautiful and interesting without the introduction
of any other creatures. When there is not an
innate taste for the pursuits of natural history in
general, I would almost recommend confining the
attention to plants and Gold Pish, as the latter can
be procured without any difficulty, and are more
easily manageable than any other kind of fish.

The dealers should, however, be stimulated to
vary their stock by the introduction of new kinds.

OR, THE HOME-CULTURE OF FRESH-WATER PLANTS.

Amateurs should insist that the single old species,
with its varieties and suh -varieties, no longer satisfies
them (it being well known that the only kind yet in-
troduced is esteemed by the Chinese the poorest of
all), and that they now require some of the splendid
species which are described as common enough in
China, though never yet introduced into Europe.

The Gold Pish is a Carp (Cyprinus aureus, or
Golden Carp), and is very closely allied to our less
brilliantly coloured species. Its first introduction to
Europe is variously dated as 1611, 1691, and 1 728 ;
the earliest seen in Prance were, however, those
sent for Madame de Pompadour. Soon after-
wards they became tolerably common, as it was
found that they throve well in the waters of South-
ern Europe, especially in Portugal, where, from a
few small fish, said to have escaped accidentally
from a vessel newly arrived from China, several of
the streams in the neighbourhood of Lisbon soon
absolutely swarmed with them, and it is from that
source that our common supply is now generally
obtained. At the Mauritius, where they also be-
came very common, they are eaten as a delicacy.

Even in England they flourish greatly in water
kept a little above the ordinary temperature. In
some of the manufacturing districts, where water-

RIVER GARDENS;

power is employed, the water becomes heated during
some of the processes, and the mill-dams thus
artificially warmed (sometimes to a very high tem-
perature) have been found to be most favourable
reservoirs for the breeding of Gold Fish. In such
situations they have not only multiplied exceed-
ingly, but have attained to a much greater size than
in ordinary waters, however well sheltered. In some
cases referred to, the heat of the water appeared too
hot for anything living to exist in ; but there are very
extraordinary examples of the degree of heat in which
fish will not only exist, but thrive.

Les Fontaines found a fish, the Spams of Lace-
pede, flourishing in the hot springs of Barbary, in
a temperature of 86° Fahrenheit, and other small
fish, of the Mullet and Perch families, have been ob-
served in these springs. De Saussure found Eels in
the hot springs of Savoy, which raised the thermo-
meter to 113° Fahrenheit ; while Bruce, in the hot
baths of Teriana, perceived small fish resembling
Gudgeons, the water being so hot that he was asto-
nished they were not boiled. Broussonet made several
experiments to ascertain the extent of the endurance
of fish with regard to heated water, and found that
many species would live for several days in water
in which he could not bear his hand ; and Hum-

OE, THE HOME-CULTURE OF FRESH-WATER PLANTS.

boldt and Bonpland perceived fishes thrown up alive
and in apparent health from the bottom of a vol-
cano, along with water heated to a degree that raised
the thermometer to 210°! — being only 2° below boil-
ing point. This proves, at all events, that water of a
tepid heat would be highly favourable to Gold Pish,
and perhaps to many other species ; and if the breed-
ing and rearing of fish for the table were more at-
tended to, it might be found that all the fresh-water
species could be made to multiply more abundantly,
grow more rapidly, and attain a larger size, by the
judicious introduction of warmth to parts of ponds
or streams, which might be easily effected near to
dwellings where forcing-houses are in operation, by
means of an extended range of hot-water or steam
pipes being made to pass through the ponds, or parts
of the adjacent streams.*

Pennant tells us that in China every person of
taste keeps Gold Pish, and that they make the
crossing of the several distinct species quite a
scientific business. They also succeed in taming
them, so that they will come to the call of a whistle

* Fish also bear a great degree of cold, though it is not pre-
tended that they flourish in it ; it is said that Perch that have
been frozen up in solid ice have recovered when thawed before
the fire.

RIVER GARDENS ;

to receive their food. We are informed, by the
same author, that the most beautiful kinds are
taken in a lake in the province of Che-Kyang.

M. de Sauvigny, in his beautiful work entitled
" Les Dorades de la Chine," describes several of the
species and varieties to which I have alluded as
desiderata, and from the carefully drawn and ex-
quisitely coloured plates of his work, there appears
sufficient ground for considering the species as dis-
tinct as many other kinds of Carp, which have also a
strong family resemblance. The description of a few
of the examples from the work quoted will be
sufficient to show that if they are only varieties,
they are very distinct ones, quite as distinct — to
borrow an analogy from vegetable life — as the
nectarine and the peach, or the lemon and the
orange, though by botanists the lemon is only made
a variety of the orange, as the nectarine is of the
peach. The Chinese are, however, such accurate ob-
servers, that in all probability we may accept their
views regarding distinct species, especially when we
consider the minute attention that has been paid to
fish in the Celestial Empire, not only as to the means
of their capture, in which they excel all other nations,
but also in their nomenclature and classification, the
elaborate nature of which may be conceived when

OR, THE HOME-CULTURE OF FRESH-WATER PLANTS.

we refer to the report recently forwarded by Sir
John Bowring to the Registrar-General, from which
we learn that the portion of the Chinese people who
obtain a livelihood by pursuits connected with the
fisheries is larger than the whole population of
Great Britain and Ireland, namely, above forty
millions, which Sir John estimates at about one-tenth
of the present population of China. But wrhether
the beautiful kinds of the Gold Carp about to be
described be mere varieties or not, many of the fish
are so remarkably distinct in form as well as colour
as to be quite as desirable, in an ornamental point
of view, as scientifically distinct species.

The original drawings were made by a native
artist, under the superintendence of M. de Sauvigny,
and most carefully engraved by M. E. N. Martinet,
engineer and engraver of the Cabinet du Hoi. Ac-
cording to this work, the Chinese reckon seven dis-
tinct species, each with its sub -varieties, of which
M. de Sauvigny gives fifty-eight examples; from
these I have selected the following : —

Of the Chinese species, Kin-yu, the variety
called the "Mottled Beauty," is very remarkable.
Beneath, it is simply silver toned, but on the back and
sides mottled with blue, yellow, black, and rose
colour, the rose colour deepening to pure crimson at

RIVER GARDENS ;

the gills, and the black becoming deep and velvety
along the ridge of the back, especially near the tail.
Another of the same species is the " Superb,"
which is nearly fifteen inches long. The under part
of this magnificent fish is silver, but the back, which
is remarkably broad, is splendidly varied with
scarlet and black, the scales being delicately edged
with metallic gold colour.

Another variety of this species is the " Small
Blue." It is silver beneath, exquisitely flushed with
pale rose colour, the whole of the sides and back
being of a lovely metallic azure. Here is a prize
for the Aquarium !

Again, a very distinct variety is the "Moor," or
Darkling. It is a large fish, very nearly black on
the back and sides, which becomes violet under-
neath, the whole of the scales being edged with a
red-bronze tone.

Of the species Ouen-yu there is a beautiful
variety, the ground colour of which is delicate
flesh colour, upon which are large patches of full
rich brown, like the markings of a piebald horse.

Of the Long-tsing-yu, or Dragon-eyed species,
so named from the prominence of the eyes, which
appear set in large semi- spherical tubercles, there
are some remarkably beautiful varieties, among

OR, THE HOME-CULTURE OF FRESH-WATER PLANTS.

which, the "Telescope" holds a prominent place.
He is a fine large fish, delicately marked with very
light shades of scarlet, black, and grey.

Of the Nin-eubJc-yu, or Nymphs, there are end-
less varieties, all beautiful. The one called the
Amber Yellow is very distinct. His ground colour
is silver, with fine large patches of delicate amber-
yellow, not at all inclining to scarlet, like our com-
mon varieties — each patch deepening in the centre
to a pure orange.

There is also the Ruby, a fish of exquisite beauty,
being of delicate, semi-opaque violet- crimson, fading
to a delicate rose colour underneath.

Of the Ya-tan-yu tribe or species, so named from
the rotund, spherical, or egg-like shape of the fish,
there are many very curious varieties : one, with
a rich violet back, flushed with deep rust colour,
whose native name M. de Sauvigny translates as
the "ferruginous," is very singular ; as is another
with a drooping, fringe-like, scarlet tail, known as
" Red Fringe."

The species Kin-teon-yu is very remarkable, and
seems quite distinct. The tail and head are bent
upwards, giving to the entire fish the form of a
crescent ; and they have the habit, it would seem,
of throwing themselves over and over as they swim,

RIVER GARDENS ;

as tumbler pigeons do in their flight. The variety
termed the " Blue Greening," a rich blue, flushed
with orange, is very beautiful, as are several others.

In the Kin-yu division there is a species with
rather large crimson spots bordered with blue, and
another peculiar variety, entirely flesh colour, or
" toute chair," as M. de Sauvigny translates the
Chinese name.

There is a sub-species of the Dragon-eyed division
which have egg-shaped bodies, like the Ya-tan-yu
family, one of which, whose entire colour is deep
carmine, is very remarkable, and known by the
characteristic name of the " Cherry."

The species Ouen-yu, or "lettered" kind, so named
from their streaky markings, not altogether unlike
Chinese characters, has some very pretty varieties,
especially one called the "Elegant," a perfectly
white fish — pure paper white — sparingly dashed with
patches of pearly pink on the body, and having
some exquisite letter-like markings about the head
and tail. Another is rich scarlet, shading to black
on the back, in the midst of which is a large cross
of pure white, having two transverse bands, like the
cross of Lorraine.

Among the Nin-eubk-yu, or Nymphs, I have
omitted to name one peculiarly fine variety, called

OR, THE HOME-CULTURE OF FRESH-WATER PLANTS.

the " Pearly," from the brilliantly changing nacre-
ous hues with which his pure white is varied in
different lights, and another called the " Red Pins,"
a beautiful fish of delicate azurine tone, having the
head, tail, and fins of intense scarlet.

Surely here is a list to tempt a speculator. Let
a tolerably large tank be fitted up in some vessel
trading with China, and well furnished with hardy
water-plants before leaving the Celestial ports, and
then there is every probability that a cargo of these
magnificent fish would arrive safely in the port of
London, and be the means of establishing most of
the kinds in this country, where they might no
doubt be easily acclimated. Such additions would
impart quite a new zest to the pleasures of Gold Pish
keeping, and make the Aquarium rich with colours
that even the conservatory could scarcely match.

CHAPTER VIII.

~O REPTILES TOR THE AQUARIUM.

UR native reptiles form, but a very
restricted family; a few species of
small Lizards and Newts, all pretty
little creatures, and perfectly harm-
less, notwithstanding their bad name,
the Frog, the Toad, and the Hedge
Snake, a beautifully marked, harmless
creature, completing the list, with the exception
of the Blind Worm, the bite of which in self-defence
is perfectly free from venom ; and, lastly, the only
poisonous reptile of the native family, the Viper, or
Adder, the virulence of whose bite has been much
exaggerated. Bell, in his " History of British Rep-
tiles," distinctly states that no well-authenticated
case of death from the bite of a Viper is recorded,
though inflammation of a serious character nearly
always ensues.

One of the greatest advantages of all the coun-
tries of the temperate zones is their freedom, like
England, from the presence of venomous and dan-

RIVER GARDENS, ETC.

gerous reptiles, Ireland claiming to be, through the
"interposition of St. Patrick," entirely free from rep-
tiles of all kinds. The little Land Lizard (Lacerta
agilis) is, however, common in that country ; and
Frogs were artificially introduced by an enthusiastic
naturalist in the beginning of the last century. It is
to a Dr. Gwythers that Ireland appears to be indebted
for this addition to her natural productions. He first
took over a large number of Progs and placed them
in the ditches of University Park, but all perished ;
and it was not till he bethought himself of obtaining
some bottles of the spawn that he succeeded in
establishing a breed of Frogs in Ireland. This hap-
pened in the time of Dean Swift, who, speaking of
English abuses in general, says they multiply like a
colony of Erogs, in allusion to the successful experi-
ment of Dr. Gwythers. Every attempt to naturalize
the Hedge Snake has, however, up to the present
time, failed ; all the attempts of a later naturalist
to naturalize it in Ireland having hitherto proved
abortive.

There are two kinds of Newts, or Water Lizards,
suited to the Aquarium. The larger is Triton
cristatus, the skin of which is tuberculated like
that of the Toad, and may be said to form the
Toad type of the Water Lizard tribe. ^This crea-

RIVER GARDENS ;

ture, though forming, as I have said, a kind of Toad
division in his special family, is yet much handsomer
than the Toad ; his long, slender form, and, in the
early part of summer, the rich colouring of the under
part of his hody — orange, spotted with crimson —
rendering him a very handsome creature : each
tubercle, too, is ornamented with a bright speck of
white, which produces a pretty sparkling effect.
But I prefer the smooth, or Prog division, of the
Newt family, all the individuals of which are ex-
ceedingly graceful creatures, and often very elegantly
marked with rich colours, especially during the
breeding season. '

There are two species of the smooth spotted Newt
(lAssotriton punctatus). The lesser species is the
handsomest of the two. The male (figured in Plate
VII., No. 1) is of a full rich grey on the back, spotted
with black ; and underneath, of a fine orange colour,
enriched with large finely formed spots of crimson.
The female (No. 2, in the same Plate) is less richly
coloured. It is, however, only during the summer
season that this great disparity of colour exists, at
which time the male is also distinguished by a hand-
some fin-like crest, running the whole length of the
back and tail.

A pair of the larger species (Nos. 3 and 4,

OR, THE HOME-CULTURE OF FRESH-WATER PLANTS.

Plate VII.) exhibit similar peculiarities; they
are more robustly formed than the species just
described, but not quite so finely marked, the spots
of the male, though more numerous, being not so
large.

Towards autumn, about the middle of September,
these elegant creatures generally leave the element
of their nativity, and seek food among the damp
grass of the meadows — returning to the pond or
brook to hybernate. They will, however, live in
water all the year round, though, after the gills of
their tadpole state have disappeared, they are unable
to remain entirely under water for many minutes
together ; and it is very interesting, in a tank, to
watch them on a sunny morning maintaining their
position, by " treading water," as a swimmer would
say, with their delicately formed little feet, occa-
sionally rising to the surface for the necessary
supply of air, and then sinking to the original
situation, about half-way from the bottom — some
favourite spot, favoured by a peculiar shade, or
some other accidental attraction.

The addition of a little rocky island, on which the
little creatures can bask occasionally, retreating to
the water at will, is a great desideratum where
Newts form part of the Aquarium colony.

RIVER GARDENS ;

The tadpole of the Newt, in its very early stages,
is almost indistinguishable from that of the Toad or
Prog. As it grows, however, the disparity becomes
very evident, their elegantly spreading branchice, or
external gills, assume a distinct form, and the tail
continues to lengthen, while that of the Prog tad-
pole diminishes, till at last, even in their gilled or
tadpole state, they become as distant as in their
eventually complete form.

The Prog (Rana viridis), though a perfect
aquatic in his tadpole state, is only amphibious
when he attains his final development; and while his
relative, the Newt, is able to remain in the water,
as his element, after he has lost his gills, the Prog
becomes more decidedly terrestrial, only seeking the
water again in the breeding season. At other
times, though he is an expert swimmer, and a most
excellent diver, and able to remain long under water,
he is, nevertheless, incapable of residing exclu-
sively in that element, in which, in fact, he drowns.
I have seen a full-grown Prog placed by dealers in
an Aquarium, about which he swims till exhausted,
and at last stretches out his limbs like any other
drowning creature, resigning himself to his in-
evitable fate. In this last stage I have seen igno-
rant dealers stir him up with a little stick, calling

OR, THE HOME-CULTURE OF FRESH-WATER PLANTS.

him a lazy fellow, and telling him to kick a little,
and show the lady how healthy and robust he is.

It is impossible, from the causes just described,
to keep full-grown Progs in Aquaria; but it is
well worth while to obtain some of the spawn in
the proper season — April or May — and place a small
quantity in the tank. The development of the tad-
pole from the egg state, till it is on the verge of be-
coming a perfect Prog, will afford a continuous
succession of interesting phenomena for curious
observation. Many interesting things might be
told concerning Progs, did space allow, but con-
sidering them as unfit inhabitants of the Aquarium,
except in their tadpole state, this is not the place to
dilate upon the history, the anecdotes, or asso-
ciations connected with them.

The small Climbing Prog of continental Europe
(liana arborea} might, however, form a very pretty
object for the island of the Aquarium, which, if only
as a means of cultivating semi-aquatic plants, such as
the Sundew and Porget-me-not, should always form
part of the arrangement. If such a miniature
island be made the abode of the Climbing Prog, a
small branching twig, such as that represented in
Plate VIII., on which the little creature is re-
presented, should always be furnished. "With such

RIVER GARDENS;

means for displaying his gymnastic skill lie will
exhibit some very pretty antics ; sometimes suspend-
ing himself by one foot from a lateral branch, or
holding on to four as distant twigs as possible by
each of his globule-tipped feet. These little globules
at the extremity of each toe are the additions to his
structure which make him a climber, while his
relative, the common Marsh Frog, unfurnished with
these appendages, is compelled to remain a traveller
on level ground; his power of leaping, however,
being, as is well known, very remarkable

The colouring of the Climbing Prog is very pleas-
ing. His full, soft green — not varnished, as in the
common Frog, but only having what painters term an
egg-shell gloss — is a very beautiful colour, something
like that of the gem termed aquamarine, if it were
but opaque, like the turquoise, instead of being
semi-transparent. His sides are ornamented with a
very delicate lateral streak of white, which seems
like a line of demarcation between the upper and
nether portions of the body ; and immediately
under it is a narrow band of deep ruddy brown,
which gives it a very bright effect; the brown
shading suddenly off to grey, which eventually
fades into a porcelain white beneath. This ele-
gant little creature has, in fact, more the ap-

OE, THE HOME-CULTURE OF FRESH-WATER PLANTS.

pearance of an ideal Prog beautifully wrought in
Dresden china, than a real living and moving
creature. Sometimes, indeed, he remains so long
immoveahle, in precisely the same position, as greatly
to favour this notion ; but he will suddenly catch a
fly, or some other small insect, with such evident
relish, as to remove at once all idea of his merely
porcelain existence. In the neighbourhood of
Weimar the Tree Prog is common, and the students
nicknamed the military of Saxe- Weimar after these
little creatures, in consequence of their green and
yellow uniform.

That graceful and beautifully marked creature,
the common Hedge Snake, might also be natural-
ized upon the island of an Aquarium, in which a
little cave of retreat might be fashioned for him,
lined with a few dead leaves. Into such a miniature
cavern he would retire in chilly weather, and in
winter wholly hybernate ; while on sunny days, to-
wards spring, he could come forth and bask on a
convenient portion of the rockwork, or take an
occasional bath, he being very fond of the water, in
which his action in swimming is most graceful as
well as singular. He should not., however, be placed
on the same island as the little Prog, as, like some
sections of the human race, he considers the Prog a

RIVER GARDENS, ETC.

most nutritious and delicious esculent, and would
be likely to act upon that conviction.

I do not dwell at greater length on the subject of
Reptiles for the Aquarium, as I am aware that
deeply rooted prejudices will cause many to exclude
them altogether, restricting their selection of in-
mates for their tanks to plants and fishes only, to
the exclusion even of aquatic insects, the interesting
metamorphoses of which will form the subject of
the next chapter.

CHAPTER IX.

itg^^ AQUATIC INSECTS, ETC.

OR those intending to devote their at-
tention to the observation, by means
of Aquaria, of the singular metamor-
phoses of those insects which pass the
whole or part of their existence in water,
.a special and distinct work might be
written, full of interesting and curious
facts. In the present place, however, an allusion to
a few of the most prominent must suffice, as in a
general description of all kinds of animal life suited
to an Aquarium, the more conspicuous classes ne-
cessarily occupy the greatest portion of our space,
and are treated of in the greatest detail.

Among the larva stages of water-insects, those
of the great "Water Beetles are perhaps the most
remarkable. That of the Margined Beetle, Dyticus
margmalis (Plate III., No. 1), is a singular, scorpion-
like creature, whose unprepossessing appearance has
gained for him the unenviable appellation of the
' ' water-devil. ' ' He scarcely belies his name — or that
of the water-tiger, by which he is also known — as

RIVER GARDENS ;

his voracity makes him the terror of every other
class of aquatic insect life. "Woe to the Boat Beetle,
or Nepa, coming within range of his dinner excur-
sion— he is seized, and literally torn to pieces in an
instant by this destructive creature. His change to
the perfect, or beetle state, takes place in a structure
which he forms at the necessary period, somewhat
analogous to the chrysalis, or pupa case in which
the caterpillar is gradually transformed into the
butterfly.

This case contains the semi-torpid form, which
developing itself into the perfect Dyticus, generally
lies buried in the mud at the bottom of streams or
ponds, or in the adjacent banks, in a secure spot
selected by the larva, where he burrows to undergo
his change in safety. Prom this receptacle the per-
fect Dyticus emerges in due time. He is a handsome
swimming Beetle (Plate III., No. 2) ; but though
improved in personal appearance, his habits have not
amended — he is as voracious as in his larva stage.
Small fish, even the Stickleback, in his plate armour,
often become his victim, and the number of tad-
poles he will consume at a long drawn-out meal,
extending over great part of the fore and after-noon,
is something extraordinary. A pair of these Beetles
should not therefore be placed in an Aquarium, ex-

OB, THE HOME-CULTURE OF FRESH-WATER PLANTS.

cept by themselves, or with such insects, etc., as are
intentionally destined to be their food. They are,
however, very handsome creatures, and so well worthy
of observation is their structure and habits, that it
might be worth while to fit up a small Aquarium as
their especial habitation. Such an Aquarium should
be covered over at night, as after dark these Water
Beetles have the habit of quitting the water for a
night flight in the air, to return to the water again
at daybreak, a contrast in modes of existence thus
enjoyed simultaneously, that no other class of either
insects or animals are endowed with ; for the
aquatic fowl, which have the air also as their
domain, do not in the water live beneath it, but
only on its surface.

The larger kind of Water Beetle, iheHydrophilus,
piceus, is much less voracious than the preceding
species, so much so, indeed, that he may be placed
in a tank with fish and other insects, without much
risk of mischief, as he lives upon the smaller
Crustacea and minute animalculse. The larva, when
about to change, comes out of the water, and bur-
rowing in an adjacent bank, forms the pupa case
for his change, similar to that of the preceding
species.

The larvae of our handsome Dragon Plies are

103

EIYER GARDENS;

somewhat similar in form to those of the Water
Beetle tribe, and, when about to change, it is very
interesting to observe them leaving the water, and
attaching themselves to the leaf of a reed or rush,
just above the surface, where they become a kind of
chrysalis, from the dull black husk of which the
gaily coloured Dragon Ply eventually emerges.

A few of the larvae of the Gnat should be placed
in the Aquarium, if only to observe the interesting
pupa or chrysalis state of this little creature. When
the active little larva that we so often see frisking
in sudden bounds in tanks of rain-water, is about to
undergo his change from a water larva, or swim-
ming maggot, to a graceful, aerial creature, his pupa
form ascends to the surface of the water, where it
floats in a singular, boat-like shape, till the creature
within the tiny ark is fully developed ; at which
period it is a most interesting sight to watch his
efforts to escape from his floating prison, and see
him at last take flight from its tiny prow to weave
his mazes in the warm summer air.

But in hastening to speak of the mere wonderful
metamorphoses of the Gnat and Dragon Ply, I have
omitted to mention some other species of Water
Beetles which might form interesting subjects for
observation in an Aquarium. Among these are the

OR, THE HOME-CULTURE OF FRESH-WATER PLANTS.

Whirligigs (Gyrinidce), so called from their whirling
movements on the surface of the water, where their
shining coats of bright bronze have a glittering
appearance in the early days of spring. There are
also the Water Boatmen (Notonectd) and the Water
Scorpion (Nepa), well worthy of a place in the
tank.

There are also the Caddis Worms of different
kinds, which form interesting objects, clothed in their
portable house of little sticks and stones (see Plate
III.), which protects them from the attacks of fish
or other insects. They are the larva stages of
various species of Phryganea.

One of the most interesting creatures in a tank
is the Diving Spider (Argyroneta aquatica), which,
however, should not be placed with fish or voracious
beetles, or he would soon disappear. The trans-
parent membrane which surrounds the body of the
Water Spider, and enables him to swim, gives him
the appearance, when in motion, of a globule of
quicksilver — an appearance which has rendered him
a great favourite with keepers of Aquaria. There
are other species of Water Spiders, but living upon
the surface of the water, and not having the power
of diving, they are not so attractive as the silvery,
air-clad species. It constructs its nest in a singular

RIVER GARDENS ;

manner at the bottoms of brooks, and all its move-
ments and babits, in pursuit of its prey, and other-
wise, are curious and amusing.

Prom the Water Spider to the Crab, Shrimp, and
other crustaceans, is but a step ; they are so similar
in many points of their structure. The fresh-water
Shrimp is worthy of a place in the Aquarium, on
account of his peculiar method of swimming, but is
so inconspicuous that few would take much in-
terest in his proceedings on that account. Other
small fresh-water Crustacea are curious as micro-
scopic objects, but scarcely desirable for the
Aquarium ; I therefore pass to the only con-
spicuous member of the family who has conde-
scended to honour the fresh water with his pre-
sence. This is the Cray Pish of our brooks and
trout-streams — the Astacus fluviatilis. He is
somewhat difficult to manage, but many have
failed, it would seem, in consequence of placing him
in too deep a vessel, as Professor Bell, in his work
on British Crustacea, describes one that was kept
for a considerable time in a pan, only an inch
and a half deep. A glass ledge might therefore be
erected in the Aquarium, about that distance from
the surface of the water, upon which a few pieces of
rockwork might be formed into a retreat for the

OE, THE HOME-CULTUEE OF FRESH-WATEE PLANTS.

Cray Pish, which, though tameable, is at first shy
and shelter-loving. I have kept Cray Pish for a
short time myself, and found great interest in watch-
ing them take their food — generally small pieces of
raw liver— which I have let down to them at the end
of a string. They have at first approached the prof-
fered meat very cautiously; hut gaining courage,
have come boldly forward at last, and taking hold
of the meat with a claw, as ready in its actions
as a human hand, have carried it to their mouths,
and devoured it with evident relish; occasionally
using the other claw to tear off a tough piece, or
otherwise assist in the operation.

One of these creatures is a very pretty minia-
ture of a lobster (see Plate VIII.), and is a
pleasing variety to the other forms of animal life
in the Aquarium. It is a singular fact that, in the
representation of this creature, in Basel's beautiful
work, he is represented in his living state as of a fine
bright scarlet. This can scarcely have been the
error of the naturalist, but rather that of the
colourist in preparing copies for the bookseller
which had not the advantage of the author's re-
visal. The colourist, however, commits this special
sin in good company ; for I recollect a noble picture
of the " miraculous draught of fishes," by no less

RIVER GARDENS, ETC.

a hand than that of the great and accomplished
R/ubens, in which a lobster, scrambling from the
heavily filled net as it is drawn up, is also painted a
magnificent scarlet.

It will be seen, by the contents of the foregoing
chapters, that the fresh- water Aquarium is able to
afford as many attractive sources of interest as the
marine, notwithstanding the Sea Anemones and
richly coloured Algce, which have made the salt-
water tank so generally attractive. It is calculated
at the same time to awaken an interest in natural
history, in a province more generally accessible
than the shores of the ocean ; for every brook, every
pond, every ditch is filled with the curious and beau-
tiful forms of animal and vegetable life respecting
which the fresh- water Aquarium has awakened new
or dormant interests ; interests which are all the
more likely to meet with further extension, as the
fields for additional investigation are open to all
who have a pond in their garden, or even a small
brook running through the neighbouring meadows.

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