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PRAEE SV

1. Laurencia pinnatifolia. 5. Gracilaria confervoides. 8. Zonaria parvula.
2. Polysphonia parasitica. 6. Codium bursa. 9. Ectocarpus tomentosus.
3. Ulva latissima. 7. Iridza edulis. 10. Corallina officinalis.

4. Rhodymenia lacinata.

OCKAN GARDENS:

The History of the Wlarine Aquarium,

AND

THE BEST METHODS NOW ADOPTED FOR ITS ESTABLISHMENT
AND PRESERVATION,

BY

H. NOEL HUMPHREYS,

AUTHOR OF ‘‘ BRITISH BUTTERFLIES AND THEIR TRANSFORMATIONS ;”’
‘* BRITISH MOTHS AND THEIR TRANSFORMATIONS; ”
‘SINSECT CHANGES ;”’ ETC.

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

MDCCCLVII.

LONDON :
THOMAS HARRILD, PRINTER, SALISBURY SQUARE, FLEET STREET 3

AND SILVER STREET, FALCON SQUARE.

INTRODUCTION

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sf

CONTENTS.

eee

CHAPTER I.

CHAPTER IT.

Tur Frtoor oF THE OCEAN

Toe AQUARIUM

Tur VEGETATION OF THE Martine AQUARIUM

Tur ZooPpHYTEs

THe Mottvuscs, &c.

CHAPTER III.

CHAPTER IY.

CHAPTER V.

CHAPTER VI.

og me 4 ;
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PAGE

19

51

64

1V CONTENTS.

CHAPTER VII.

Tne Ascrprans, Barnacres, Sxa-Cucumpers, Naxep Mot-
Luscs, SEA-Worms, &c. : ; . 86

PAGE

CHAPTER VILLI.

Tue Fisuo anp CRUSTACEANS OF THE AQUARIUM . : BB

CHAPTER IX.

CONCLUSION . er aie ; i ; ; . 106

LIST OF PLATES.

a ae

PLATE I.

SEA-WEEDS.
No.
1. Delesseria sangumnea . . The Crimson Delesseria .
2. Punctaria latifolia . . . The Broad-leaved Punctaria
3. Chordaria flageliformis . The Whip-like Chordaria .
4. Vaucheria submarina . . The Submarine Vaucheria .
5. Hildenbrandtia rubra . . The Red Hildenbrandtia

PLATE II.

SEA-WEEDS.
1. Bangia fusco-purpurea . . The Dark-purple Bangia . .
2. Codium tomentosum. . . The Closely-haired Codium_ .
3. Bryopsisplumosa . . . The Feathery Bryopsis . 41,
4. Callithamnion arbuscula . The Tree-like Callithamnion .
5. Leathesia Berkleyi . . . Berkley’s Leathesia .
6. Laminaria phyllitis . . . The Leafy Laminaria

PLATE III.

1. Porphyra vulgaris . . . The Common Porphyra .
2. Dumantia filuforms. . . The Slender Dumantia .
3. Asperococeus Turneri . . Turner’s Asperococcus
4. Rytiphlea pmastris. . . The Pine-like Rytiphlea

46
46
46
46
46
46

C46

46
47
aq

vl

i

Contr oa pp WY

—"
4

er lo} o(e sia S-1j OD ns

LIST OF PLATES.

. Chrysymema rosea
. Peyssonetia Dubyr

. Chordaria dwarieata

. Ectocarpus siliculosus
. Nemaleon multifida .
. Nytophyllum punctatum

. Chondrus crispus
. Gigartina acicularis .

. Ceramum strictum .
. Zonaria atomaria
. Plocamium coceineum

. Laurencia pinnatifolia .

. Polysphonia parasitica .

Ulva latissima

. Rhodymenra lacinata

. Gracilaria confervoides .
. Codium bursa

. Lridea edulis -

. Zonaria parvula .

. Letocarpus tomentosus .

Corallina officinalis .

PAGE

. The Rose- coloured Ca 47

. Duby’s Peyssonetia . . . . 47
The Minutely-branching Chor-
{ ga
daria: 7 a.
. The Podded Retocarnate Le ieee
. The Many-cleft Nemaleon . . 46
. The Spotted Nytophylum. . 46
PLATE IV.
SEA-WEEDS.
. The Curly Chondrus .. .-415G%7
( The Needle-shaped or Pointed )
47
| Gigartina 0
. The pink Ceramium > 72) >> eee
. The Speckled Zonaria . . . 47
. The Scarlet Plocamium. . . 47
PLATE V.
SEA-WEEDS.
al the Pinnate-leaved etal 42, 48
(cia

. The Parasitic Polysphonia . . 48

. The Broad-leaved Ulva. . . 48
. The Lace-edged Rhodymenia 42, 48
. The Sponge-like Gracilaria. . 49

. The Purse-like Codium. . . 49
. The Katable Inidea 28 <7y) ae
. The Lesser Zonaria . . . . 48
. The Hairy Ectocarpus . . . 49
. The Common Corallina . . . 49

mp OO WH Fe

Co

mon Pw ro HZ

LIST OF PLATES.

PLATE VI.

SEA-ANEMONES, STAR-FISH, ETC.

. Gemaster equestres .

. Asterina gibbosa .

. Palmapes membranaceus
. Cribella oculata

. Palemon serratus

Edwardsia vestita

. Actima clavata .

. Pennatula phosphorea
. A Group of Ascidians
. A Shell of the Common

. The Small Scarlet Star-fish
. The Gibbous Star-fish .

. The Bird’s-foot Star

. The Eyed Star-fish .

. The Common Prawn

. The Clothed Sea-Anemone.

PLATE VIL.

. The Nailed Sea-Anemone .
. The Phosphoric Sea-pen

Whelk, on which are wo Acorn-shell .

specimens of Balanus

PLATE VIII. |
& 2. Actinia mesembrian- ee Carnation -like ian

themun

. Actinia gemmacea
. Lucernaria auricula
- Virgularia mirabilis

. Actinia anguicoma .

. Alyconium digitatum
. Lchinus sphera .
. Cucumis hyalinus

mone of different colours
. The Gemmed Sea-Anemone
. The Auricula-like Lucernaria .
. The Rod-like Sea-Pen .

PLATE IX.
ee Serpent-haired oe

mone .
. The Many-fingered Alyconium
. The Common Sea-Egeg .

. The Glassy Sea-Cucumber .

Vil

PAGE

. 101
fl hOT
. 10k
- LOL

98
54

50
61
86

88

57

50
o9
62

57

61

;, EUS

89

Vili LIST OF PLATES.

PLATE X.

No. A j P PAGE

1. A or ia Sane eee | the Twisted Serpula . . . 87

PADI UCOLG tt phe so) ee
he Thick- -Ane-

2. Actinia crassicornis . a eT iek-horned ees 57
mone
PLATE XI.

A Design for a Plainly-mounted Aquarium. .... . . 84
PLATE) KUM,

A Design for an Aquarium mounted in handsome Rustic-work 34

= (a) ~~,

$F

OCEAN GARDENS;

OR,

GLIMPSES BENEATH THE WATERS.

CHAPTER I.

INTRODUCTION.

Waar the vast majority of our migratory flocks of
summer and autumnal idlers generally do and think
at the sea-side, cannot be better exemplified than
by reference to the clever sketches which are found
occupying entire pages of our illustrated periodicals
and newspapers, during the season of marine migra-
tion. But the habits and customs of the annual
shoal of visitors to our watering-places, may be still
more intimately comprehended through the medium
of the sprightly essays which generally accompany
those truly artistic delineations.

And is there really nothing better to do—no

1 B

OCEAN GARDENS;

better regime to go through, than the daily repetition
of the monotonous programme of entertainment thus
playfully described and ridiculed ?

Surely the visitor at the sea-side is in reach of
something more pleasant and profitable than such a
routine !

Do not the sublime aspects of the ocean—the
sound of its deep, ceaseless voice—the eternal on-
coming of its waves, now in calm undulations, and
now in hurtling wildness against the base of those
cliffs whose white brows are wreathed with perennial
flowers—suggest other matters both for reflection
and amusement? Surely the very whispering of
the breeze that has travelled so far over that vast
moving surface of the fathomless deep, and which
seems muttering of its mysteries, while laden with
its sweet saline odour—*“ ce parfum acre de la mer,”
as Dumas has termed it—might lead us towards
other and higher trains of thought. Surely those
voices in the wind, mingling with the strange mur-
mur of the waves as they break in cadenced regu-
larity upon the shore, rouse, in the feelings of those
who hear them for the first time, or after a long
absence, strange sensations of admiration, and curio-
sity, and wonder. But no; to most of the idle
crowd those sights and sounds are invisible and

y
~

OR, GLIMPSES BENEATH THE WATERS.

unheard. Their ears have not been tutored to
understand the word-music of Nature’s language,
nor to read the brightly-written signs on its mighty
page.

To appreciate Nature, as well as Art, the mind
requires a special education, without which the eye
and the ear perceive but. little of the miracles
passing before them. ‘To the eye of the common
observer, the farthest field im the landscape is as
green as the nearest, in the scene outspread before
him; while to the practised glance of the accom-
plished artist, every yard of distance lends its new
tone of colour to the tints of the herbage, till,
through a thousand delicate gradations, the brightest
verdure at last mingles with the atmospheric hue,
and is eventually lost in the pervading azure. If,
then, the ordinary aspects of Nature may not be fully
interpreted by the untutored eye, how should her
more hidden mysteries be felt or understood, or even
guessed atP And, in fact, they are not, or the
visitor to the sea-side, looking over that wide tremu-
lous expanse of water that covers so many mysteries,
would feel, like the child taken for the first time
within the walls of a theatre, an intense anxiety to
raise the dark-green curtain which conceals the

scene of fairy wonders he is greedily longing to
3

OCEAN GARDENS;

behold and enjoy. But the lounger at the sea-side
does not guess at the wonders concealed by the
dark-green curtain of the ocean, and, consequently,
never dreams of wishing to peep beneath its waving
folds, to gratify a curiosity which, in fact, does not
exist. |

When, however, the language of Nature is
learnt, and her voice is no longer a confused mur-
mur to the ear, but becomes a brilliant series of
eloquent words, full of deep and exquisite meaning,
then the student will see as well as hear; but till
then, in his intercourse with Nature, he is both
deaf and blind. ‘Speak,’ said Socrates to a youth;
“say something, that I may see you.’ Socrates
saw nota silent man; and those who do not hear
and understand Nature’s language, cannot see her
wondrous beauty.

The mill-like repetition of worldly affairs brings
on a torpor of mind, in regard to all without the
narrow circle of selfish interests and easily pur-
chased pleasures, which it is very difficult to wake
up from. But I would warn the suffering victims
of that baneful, though secret, presence; for when
the consciousness of its existence is aroused, the
first step will have been taken towards its eradica-

tion.
4

OR, GLIMPSES BENEATH THE WATERS.

I would remind all those suffering from inactivity
of mind, of the wholesome dread of that kind of
mental torpor entertamed by the Gymnosophists ;
who, as Apuleus tells us, when they met at meals,
required that each should be able to narrate the
particulars of some discovery, or original thought,
or good action, or it was deemed that he did not
exhibit a sufficient reason for being allowed to con-
sume a share of the viands, and he was conse-
quently excluded from the repast. Were each of our
most idle sea-side loungers to impose upon himself
the necessity of a discovery, or an original thought,
before he considered himself entitled to dine, that
torpor, so deadening to the natural capacities of his
mind, would soon give way to a state of mental
activity, which, were it only from the brightness of
the contrast, would be found highly agreeable, to say
nothing of its advantages, or of the elevating and
refining trains of thought to which it would neces-
sarily give rise.

I know of nothing more likely to stimulate the
mind to healthy exertion, and take it out of the
immediate track of common interests and pleasures,
the monotony of which is so oppressive, than the
study of natural history in some of its least explored

fields, especially its extraordinary development in
5

OCEAN GARDENS ;

connection with the waters of the ocean. And yet,
how few there are who seek that charming mode of
dissipating the dreary monotony of social life, such
as it is made by the routine of fashion or habit! <A
popular love of natural history, even in its best
known divisions, is, in fact, of quite recent growth.
Indeed, the very existence of such a science has been,
till recently, altogether ignored by our great national
seats of learning. The earnest investigators, who
have done so much to lay bare its wonders, were
either openly ridiculed, or treated with but small
respect—as useless dreamers upon very small and
insignificant matters. The very names of such true
labourers in the mine of science as our glorious old
naturalist Ray, or his follower Pulteney, or the
indefatigable Ellis, the first detector of the true
nature of Zodphytes, who measured pens with the
giant Linnzeus, received no academic honour; and
those of their undiscouraged successors have been
rarely heard, either in our universities or among
our general public, till the vast discoveries of geo-
logy and other allied branches of science, in our
own times, have at last aroused attention to their
importance.

Any popular knowledge of that branch of natural

history which especially concerns our seas and
6

OR, GLIMPSES BENEATH THE WATERS.

shores, 1s indeed of still more recent date. The
subject, in fact, is but even now beginning to
develop itself beneath the pens of an enterprising
band of marine naturalists, with such leaders as
Johnston, Harvey, John Edward Gray, the indefati-
gable Gosse, and the revered shade of the lamented
Forbes at their head.

A. truly popular knowledge even of those more
accessible regions of our woods and fields, is but
little more ancient; for, till Gilbert White had
made the story of such knowledge as attractive as
romance, in his “‘ Natural History of Selborne,’’ few
guessed what an arena of ever new interests and
discoveries it presented.

Through the fascinating interpretation of the
good Gilbert, many now understand the attraction of
those branches of natural history which he so curi-
ously investigated ; but few are willing to admit that —
it is as easy to make the natural features of some
obscure fishing-village, with no herbage on its bare
rocks, and no bush, no blade of grass, no bird to be
seen or heard, equally interesting; yet I can assure
them, that by lifting even the mere border of that
green curtain of the ocean, or by awaiting its unveil-
ings, as the retiring tide bears back its folds, a host

of wonders will be revealed, sufficient to rouse the
7

OCEAN GARDENS, ETC.

most torpid mind of the most inactive idler to their
earnest and deeply-inquiring contemplation, and
arouse him to their devout admiration, as among
the most exquisite miracles of that creative and sus-
taining Power which 1s the source of their existence.

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CHAPTER IL.
THE FLOOR OF THE OCEAN.

‘THE wonders of the ocean floor do not reveal them-
selves to vulgar eyes. As the oracle was maudible
to sacrilegious listeners, and as none but poetic ears
heard the cadenced beating of the feet that danced
to unearthly music, near the fountain haunted by
the Muses of classic fable—so, none but the initiated
can see the myriad miracles that each receding tide
reveals on the ocean floor. The initiation, however,
is not mysterious; there are no dark rites to
observe—no. Herculean labours to accomplish, before
entering upon the noviciate, which at once opens a
large area of unexpected pleasures, and an ample
field for admiration and investigation. <A few
elementary works carefully studied, or even this
present little book attentively perused, would supply
the first helps towards seeing, at all events, a por-
tion of the “* wonders of the shore,” as the brilliant
author of ‘* Glaucus”’ has eloquently termed those
revelations of the retiring deep.

It is the seeing that is everything. But let none

9

OCEAN GARDENS;

despair of acquiring that power. ‘The name of
the Devonshire squire, Colonel George Montague”’
(thus wrote the late Professor Edward Forbes),
“might have become one of the greatest in the whole
range of British science, had his whole career been
devoted to marine physiology; and that mainly be-
cause, from a sincere devotion to a favourite pursuit ©
of his leisure, he acquired the art of seeing—an
art sought by so few, though open to all who will
earnestly seek it. |

Each department of science requires a separate
and distinct kind of sight. The astute merchant
deciphers at a glance the precise state of the most
intricate accounts, In the midst of thousands of
seemingly conflicting figures; but of the thousand
interesting and wonderful things concerning the
httle beetle that crosses his path in his country
walk, he is incapable of seeing any single particle ;
while the despised entomologist, whom he has con-
temptuously observed turning over the stones at the
road-side, and peering curiously beneath them,
could tell him a tale of wonder, could preach him a
sermon upon that tiny type, such as would surely
wake up many latent and unsuspected powers in his
mind, that would enable him to see wonders where
all had previously been blank, and teach him that

10

OR, GLIMPSES BENEATH THE WATERS.

there are things well worthy of investigation beyond
the region of money-making, and the attractive but
narrow cir ge distinguished by the fascinating cha-
racters, £ s. d.

Those te eannot see Nature, who cannot see
more than an unclean thing in the little creeping
beetle, are like one gazing at a carved Egyptian
record, who perceives, in the hieroglyphic scarabeeus,
simply the sculptured figure of a beetle, and no
more—they are in a state of “‘ Keyptian darkness”
as regards one of the highest and most enchanting
fields of human research. But to those who have
acquired this rare though easy art, and learned to
see Nature, even to a moderate extent (for in that
art are an infinite number of degrees and grada-
tions), the aspect of the ocean floor must present
an appearance as beautiful and strange, and seem-
ingly as supernatural, as the wildest imagination
could depicture. |

When poets would travel, in their inventive
flights, to other floating and revolving worlds than
ours, they describe rosy skies, instead of azure, and
trees like branching crystals, with jewel-like fruits
elittermg on every stem. ‘They present us with
pictures, in short, in which all the ordinary aspects
of our planet are reversed, or metamorphosed, in the

region of their invention ; but in their most fanciful
ll .

OCEAN GARDENS;

pictures they do not surpass in strangeness the
wonders of the world beneath the sea. o

On the land, we have, as the ordinary aspect of
Nature, the green herbaceous mantle of the earth
below the eye, and the azure sky above; while a
spectator, standing beneath the water on the ocean
floor, would see these features more than reversed :
he would see above him a liquid atmosphere of green,
and below, an herbage of red or of purple hue,
exhibiting strange yet exquisite forms, such as no
terrestrial vegetation displays. Roseate shrubs of
jointed stone, and arborets of filmy glass, and crea-
tures full of active, energetic life, whose forms are
stranger still, both in structure and in appearance ;
mere worms, whose colours are gorgeous as the
tints of the butterfiy’s wing, or the peacock’s tail,
or the humming-bird’s breast.

What scenery is formed by that translucent
and miniature forest of Delesseria sanguinea, how
lovely in its tones of soft rich crimson; and those
fan-like shrubs, in crisply graceful tufts, the bright
and singular Padina pavonia; and the tree-like
masses of Callithamnion arbuscula, and the delicate
Ptilota plumosa, and the purple-tinted Corallines,
forming those

‘‘ Arborets of jointed stone.”’

And then the high waving fronds of the grandly

12

OR, GLIMPSES BENEATH THE WATERS.

eraceful Porphyra vulgaris, the deep carmine of the
Iridea edulis, the nacreous tinges of the Chondrus
crispus, and the blood-red of the splendid Rhody-
menia lacinata, with its embroidered and lace-like
edges; these, with the gorgeous tufts of the rich
purple Bangia, and other objects which form the
elements of still life in a submarine landscape, surely
cannot be surpassed, either for magnificence of
colour or variety of structure.

But to these features must be added others more
extraordinary—forms that the elder naturalists
Imagined to be links between the animal and vege-
table creation, but which are now known to have
no affinity whatever with plants, though they exhibit
the appearance of expanded flowers of various hues,
displaying the forms of the Carnation, the Ane-
mone, the Mesembryanthemum, and other beautiful
flowers whose names they bear. These curiously
beautiful Zoéphytes, the wonderful Actinie, exhibit
every tone of colour, from purple and scarlet, to
green and white, and might be taken in their pic-
turesquely-placed groups for rare exotic flowers,
planted among the rosy-tinted shrubs expressly to
add the last touch of richness and effect to the
scenery of an ocean flower-show.

Yet they are not flowers, but animals—sea
13

OCEAN GARDENS;

monsters, whose seeming delicate petals are but their —
thousand Briarean arms, disguised as the petals of a
flower, and expanded to seize the unconscious victim
as he passes near the beautiful form—tfatal to him
as the crater of a voleano; In which he is soon
engulphed by the closing tentacles of his unsus-
pected enemy. And if he pass not near enough for
that deadly floral embrace, those pretty crimson
tubercles that dot so gracefully the seeming stalk,
beneath the seeming flower, can shoot forth a thread,
armed, like the fisher’s line, with a barbed hook,
which strikes and secures the distant prey; and so
the unwary Annelid or Infusory is captured and
devoured. In this capacity the creature has been
compared to Pope’s spider, who

‘Feels at each thread, and lives along the line.”

But then the living thread of the Actimia (or of the
Cirriped, which has a similar power) is a fact, while
the sensitive gossamer of the poet is a fiction.

But notwithstanding these ogre-like attributes,
the lovely Actinia long deceived our naturalists as
to its true nature—and of course the poets—from
whom his flower-like disc and petaloid tentacles
completely concealed his grosser nature. Then, as

the tide recedes, he so meekly closes his beautiful
14

OR, GLIMPSES BENEATH THE WATERS,

oubliette, with so much grace, and looking so much
like those shrinking flowers that close at eve, as
though they dared not to look on the black darkness
~ of the night, that it is no wonder poets were be-
guiled, and that the romantic Southey sings of the
Actmia as of some lily of the deep that, on bane
retiring of the ocean,

‘Sinks down within its purple stem to sleep.”

To add to the wonders of this strange landscape
come the creeping Nudibranchs and Tectibranchs,
sliding over the gracefully-waving Alge; their ele-
gant forms decorated with their external breathing
apparatus, like the pale skeleton of some delicate
flower, so fine are its milk-white filaments, arranged
nearly always in a symmetrical and star-like form.
And then there are the singular and shadowy Veduse
floating past, in the form of parachutes, with low sus-
pended cars, just as though the science of ballooning
had been carried to perfection under the sea; and
that they were made of elastic glass, instead of silk,
though richly flushed with iridescent and varying
tinges, sometimes metallic azure, and anon emerald
ereen; hues that seem added by some delicate process
which the glass-blowers above the water have not yet

discovered. Some of these creatures are fragile as a
15

OCEAN GARDENS;

soap-bubble, to which their transparency and pris-
matic flashes of colour give them a curious resem-
blance; and their ephemeral existence, dependent
upon the will of even an angry ripple of the element
in which they live, is doubtless as brief.

The deep has even its butterflies, as well as the
land. The fluttering of the fins of some small and
brightly-coloured fish has been compared to the action
of the wings of moths—as also the members, likewise
used for locomotive purposes, of some of the animals
of the univalve shells. Then there are minute phos-
phorescent animals, which represent the fire-flies of
the south, pourmeg a living flood of light as they
glide along—some emitting silvery, and others
eolden flashes, like floating lamps that seem hurry-
ing to light up the darkness of the far ocean depths.

Even the worms are gorgeous and wonderful in
this subaqueous world. The Serpule, with their
radiating coronets of crimson branchie ; the Pecti-
naria, with its golden comb, glittering in burnished
brightness ; and the Nereis, with white and crimson
stripes—are all wonderful as well as beautiful objects.
But the Halithea, or sea-goddess, as Lamark has
named it, from the extraordinary beauty and the
eeorgeous colours that radiate from the silky hairs
with which it is clothed, surpasses them all.

}

OR, GLIMPSES BENEATH THE WATERS.

These, and other wonders of still greater beauty,
will reward the persevering student who learns
to see them; but then he must learn. Even the
intellectual giant, Shakspeare, could not see clearly
many of the mimuter things of Nature. In his
line upon the slow-worm, for instance, vulgarly
called the blind-worm, which he describes as

‘<The eyeless, venomed worm,”

are concentrated two mistakes ; in the first place,
the minute eyes of this little creature are brilliant
in the extreme, and not very difficult to discover, to
the naturalist who has learnt to see nature; and, in
the second place, it has no venom, its tiny bite being
perfectly harmless. In another place he speaks of

‘The blind-worm’s séeng.”’

But it is useless to multiply examples of the phy-
. siological errors of great men who had not learned
to see Nature; or, Milton’s errors in regard to the
leaf of the Banyan-tree, and many others, might be
readily cited.

There are many glorious things to be seen in the
sea, but we have to learn to see them; and those who
find they cannot see with their own eyes, must do so
through the more gifted sense of others. To many—

how many, unguided by an able Cicerone—the fields
17 C

OCEAN GARDENS, ETC.

round Selborne would appear common and wunin-
teresting enough; but guided by a Gilbert White,
whose searching eye knew even the hidden forms of
plants, whose ear at once distinguished and classified
the song of birds, and even the buzz of imsects—
guided by him, things assume a far different aspect ;
like another Prospero, he waves his wand, and every
object begins to brighten, and a thousand new and
beautiful features develop themselves under the
magic of his descriptions ; crowds of marvels spring-
ing up around, as from enchanted ground. In
like manner, guided by the fascinating science of a
Johnston or a Harvey, or the persuasive industry of
a Gosse, or the eloquently glowing descriptions of a
Kingsley, students, who have not the energy or
leisure to work for themselves, will find the dark
ocean glow with an unexpected light; and» the
delighted explorer will long for the power to renew
the impressions of his sea-side rambles after his
return to his inland home, perhaps in the heart of a
densely-populated city. Even this he may now do
through the medium of the marine Aquarium, within
the narrow boundaries of which he may, with a little
care and experience, establish in healthy existence
some of the most beautiful of the animal and vege-
table forms that people the caves and depths of the

ocean, and make its watery world a region of wonders.
18

Rey

CHAPTER ITI.
THE AQUARIUM.

THe successful treatment of aquatic plants and
animals, in the confined space of a glass Aqua-
rium, depends entirely upon the discovery that
there exists in Nature a self-adjusting balance be-
tween the supply of oxygen created in water, with
the quantity consumed by aquatic animals. And
it became equally necessary to know the means
by which that supply was continually generated.
Without the knowledge of these facts, and the
principles by which they are regulated, it would
have™been impossible to establish such a marine
Aquarium as that we may now any day examine in

the Regent’s Park; where, in a few glass tanks of

very moderate size, we may see examples of some of
the most curious forms of animal and vegetable life
peculiar to the depths of the ocean—forms so singu-
lar, that thew first exhibition created a sense of
wonder little less intense than that which must have
been caused, long years ago, by the first public dis-
play of the mountain form of the elephant to the

19

OCEAN GARDENS;

people of cold northern countries; and much more
so than the recent introduction of the giraffe or
hippopotamus, although they have never been seen
in Europe since the days of the Romans.

Those principles, the knowledge of which was
requisite to enable us thus to view the wonders of
the ocean in their living state in an Aquarium, were
not mastered at once, or by one man, or in one
generation. ‘The nature of certain relations between
animal and vegetable life, upon which’ they are
founded, was first advanced by Priestley, towards
the close of the last century, who proved that plants
give forth the oxygen necessary to animal life. The
learned Ingenhauss, a native of Breda, but who
principally resided in England, defined this princi-
ple still more clearly, in a work the title of which
pretty fully explains the entire nature of his’ dis-
covery. It was published in French, at Leyden, in
1778, and in London, in English, in 1779. The
French edition is before me, the title of which I
translate, ‘“‘ Experiments upon Plants, which prove
their important influence in the purification of the
atmospheric air when they are exposed to the rays
of the sun, and the contrary results which ensue
when they are placed in the shade, or during the
night.” The action of the sun’s rays in disengaging

20

OR, GLIMPSES BENEATH THE WATERS.

the oxygen generated in plants is thus clearly an-
nounced, and the knowledge of this principle is one
of those which have mainly conduced, as I have
said, to the successful establishment of Aquaria.

In the course of his essay Ingenhauss states,
still more directly, that plants ‘‘ immersed in water,”
when exposed to the action of light, emit an air
which he announces as oxygen gas; and this idea is
the key-stone of the Aquarium.

But, although the discovery of Ingenhauss at
once rendered the thing practicable, Aquaria did
not then come into fashion. The science of natural
history was not at that time sufficiently advanced ;
for the specimens, even in public museums, were
merely heterogeneous collections, assembled without
the slightest regard to classification, or any other
useful purpose. A stuffed cat with nine legs,
stood, perhaps, next to a bottled snake, followed by
the skin of a crocodile, to be succeeded in turn by
a very moth-eaten specimen of a King Charles
spaniel, “‘supposed, upon good authority, to have
belonged to Nell Gwynne.” A few scores of such
objects, with the addition of an ostrich egg and
a few sea-shells, without any attempt at name or
description, formed a very respectable museum in

those times; and we may, therefore, easily conceive
y ; 21

OCEAN GARDENS ;

that (in so far as experiments illustrative of natural
science were concerned) the suggestions of Ingen-
hauss remained tolerably dormant.

It was not till the year 1833, that Professor
Daubeny communicated, to the British Association
at Cambridge, a paper concerning some new re-
searches prosecuted in the same direction; and not
till 1837, that Mr. Ward became the first to apply
the principle to any purpose analogous to that of
the Aquarium. In that year he made a report to
the British Association, on the hermetically closed —
glass cases in which he had succeeded in growing
many classes of plants, and keeping them in a
healthy state without any fresh supply of air. He
stated, at the same time, his belief that certain
classes of animals would live and thrive under
similar circumstances. This was the first direct
hint towards the formation of a closed Vivarium,
whether atmospheric or aquatic. |

In 1842, Dr. Johnston satisfactorily proved the
true vegetable nature of Corallines by observing
their growth in a vessel containing sea-water ; and
thus was established the first true Aquarium. With
the experimental tuft of Coralline was a small frond °
of a green Ulva, and numerous Rissoe, &c., and
several Annelids afterwards appeared, having been,

22 ¢

OR, GLIMPSES BENEATH THE WATERS.

no doubt, attached to the branches of the Coralline,
or the fronds of the Ulva. At the end of four weeks
the water was still pure, the Molluscs and other
animals alive, and the Confervee grown; the Coral-
line having thrown out several additional articula-
tions. After eight weeks, the water still remained
sweet. But had any animal, of even the lowest order,
been so confined, without the accompanying pre-
sence of vegetables giving off oxygen, all of that vital
gas contained in so small a quantity of water would
have been quickly exhausted, and the water would
have become corrupt, ammoniacal, and poisonous to
the life of any living thing. But the author of this
experiment had not in view the testing of the possi-
bility of preserving the forms of ocean life in a
healthy state in confinement ; his business had been
to settle an important point connected with the
classification of the Corallines ; and having success-
fully decided that question, the embryo Aquarium
was abandoned.

On the 4th of June, 1850, Mr. R. Warrington
communicated to the Chemical Society a series of
observations on the adjustment of certain relations
between the animal and vegetable kingdoms, very
important to our present purpose. Two small gold-

fish were placed in a glass receiver, a small plant of
28

OCEAN GARDENS;

Valisneria spiralis being planted at the same time
in some earth, beneath a layer of sand in the same
vessel. All went on well by this arrangement, with-
out any necessity for changmg the water; the
oxygen given off by the plant proving itself suffi-
cient for the supply of its animal co-tenants, and the
water therefore remaining clean and pure, until some
decaying leaves of the Valisneria caused turbidity,
and confervoid growth began to accumulate on the
sides of the vessel. To remedy this evil, Mr. War-
rington brought to bear the results of previous obser-
vations on water in natural ponds under analogous
circumstances; and, guided by these observations and
their results, he placed a few common pond-snails in
the vessel containing his gold-fish and plant of Valis-
Nera.

The new inmates, immediately upon their intro-
duction, began to feed greedily upon the decaying
vegetable matter, and all was quickly restored
to a healthy state. They proved, indeed, of still
further advantage, for the masses of eggs which they
deposited evidently presented a kind of food natural
to the fishes, which was eagerly devoured by them,
so that the snails became not only the scavengers,
but also the feeders of the little colony. And so this

first of true Aquaria prospered; the animals and
24

OR, GLIMPSES BENEATH THE WATERS.

plants proving of mutual value and support to each
other. ‘The snails disposed of the decaying leaves,
which would have tainted the water and rendered it
unfit for the healthy existence of the plant, and the
plant in turn gave forth, under the rays of sunlight,
the supply of oxygen necessary to both fish and
snails.

In January, 1852, Mr. Warrington, commenced
a series of similar experiments with sea-water ;
which were, at first, not so satisfactory, but in the
end proved as entirely successful. In the course of
his experiments, he found the red and brown Algae,
or sea-weed, less proper for the formation of oxygen
than the green. Of the latter class he procured
specimens of nteromorpha and Ulva latissima,
which he chiselled from the rocks about Broad-
stairs, along with the pieces of chalk or flint to
which they were attached ; and, when he placed them
in his own marine Aquarium, he put in along with
them, to represent the pond-snails in the fresh-
water tank, some of the common sea-snail, better
known as the Periwinkle (Littorina littorea). But
these proved, it appears, insufficient for the de-
struction of the mucous and gelatmous matter that
arose from the decay of the red sea-weeds, which,

however, I have no doubt may yet be cultivated with
25

OCEAN GARDENS,

equal success with the green, as I shall state when
describing them. Under the existing difficulty,
Mr. Warrington found it necessary to aerate the
water by other means, many processes being equally
available; such as injecting fresh-water from a
syringe, or establishing a drip, of some height, from
a vessel containing a supply of entirely fresh-water.
Mr. Warrington also discovered, in the course of
these experiments, the necessity that the light
should pass directly through the suriace of the
water to the plants, as in natural ponds and seas—
a very important step in the successful manage-
ment of Aquaria; and he therefore had a slab of
slate adjusted to the side of his tank which stood
next to the light.

These successful experiments, both in fresh-water
and marine Aquaria, assign to Mr. Warrington,
beyond dispute, the credit of being the originator,
or inventor, if the term may be so used, of these
charming additions to our conservatories, corridors,
and even living-rooms, to which they are certainly a
much more attractive and instructive addition than
the old globe of blank water, with its pair of gold-
fish swimming round and round in ceaseless gyra-
tions, tiresome to behold, in the vain hope of

escaping from their glaring and inconvenient prison ;
26

OR, GLIMPSES BENEATH THE WATERS.

in which they would inevitably have perished very
shortly but for the daily change of water, which,
previous to our knowledge of air-emitting plants
and their use, was absolutely necessary.

But another experimentalist was now in the
field. Mr. Gosse, whose charming works upon
Aquaria and other subjects connected with natural
science, have, perhaps, made his name more widely
known than that of his predecessor, Mr. Warrington,
commenced a series of experiments on the subject
of the marine Aquarium, about the same time as the
last-named gentleman, in the beginning of January,
1852. His experiments were crowned with such
complete success that he was induced to put him-
self in communication with Mr. David Mitchell, the
enterprising Secretary of the Zoological Society, the
_ result of which was the removal of the collection
of Annelids and Zodphytes which Mr. Gosse had
formed, to the gardens of the Society in the Re-
gent’s Park; where it formed the nucleus from
which has grown the magnificent series of Aquaria
in the building constructed specially for their
reception. These marine Aquaria at once became a
subject of public as well as private interest, and the
Aquarium house was so crowded daily with its curious
visitors, that it was difficult to get a glimpse of the

27

OCEAN GARDENS;

wonders of the “ocean floor,” and its zodphytic deni-
zens, which were so successfully exhibited there ;
principally through the skilful aid and untiring in-
dustry of Mr. Gosse, through whose hands above five
thousand specimens passed at the time, collected at
the request of the Zoological Society.

In his interesting record of his early essays,
Mr. Gosse gives us many valuable particulars con-
cerning his successive experiments, and the various
disappointments to which he was at first subjected ;
many of them from causes now too well understood
to require repetition. His principal difficulty arose
from over-crowding, although his tank did not appear,
as he states, too much filled. Another disappoint-
ment was caused by putting in animals before the
smell of the putty, with which the glass sides were
fixed, had sufficiently gone off.

Mr. Gosse’s tank was made with a slate bottom,
and birch pillars, in which were grooves to receive
_ the glass; and its dimensions were, two feet long by
one foot six wide, the depth not being mentioned.

Taking these dimensions into consideration, it
will be easy to conceive, when the following list of
specimens which Mr. Gosse introduced into his
Aquarium is examined, that his population was too

dense for the extent of his province, although the
28

j OR, GLIMPSES BENEATH THE WATERS.

space might not have appeared too much filled for
picturesque effect. Of vegetable specimens, he in-
troduced at once the following :—

1. A tuft of Furcellaria fasti- | 7. Several masses of Corallina
gata. officnalis.

2. Two of Rhodymenra palmata. 8. .Griffithsia setacea.

3. One of Dictyota dichotoma. 9. Delesseria alata.

4. A small Fucus serratus. 10. Plocamium coccineum.

5. One Laminaria digitata. 11. Phylophora rubens.

6. Two tufts of Padina pavonia. | 12. Zostera marina.

In a few days the water, poured carefully to
these specimens, became clear as pale green crystal,
the green tinge being too slight to obscure the colour
of any object seen through its medium.

From these weeds alone, before any supply of
Zoophytes or Molluscs were intentionally added, a
whole host of minute animal life swarmed forth;
some, doubtless, issuing from eggs newly hatched ;
others from the shelter of the matted ramifications
of some of the sea-weeds, in which they had been
taken, as in a net. Among these swarming crea-
tures were Annelids of the genus Syllis, Rissoe, and
other minute shell-fish, but principally /sopodous
and Hntomostracous Crustacea, many of them being
so minute as not to be perceived without the use

of a powerful lens.
29

OCEAN GARDENS;

Of the animals next placed in this tank, of only
two feet by one foot six inches, the following is the

list given :—

SIO oO PB OO be

OPONT DO SP ~! NH FH

Oo Or OC DN =

FISH.
. Fifteen, Spined Stickleback

. Seven, Gray Mullet (young)

. One, Black Goby .

. One, Corkwing

. One, Five-bearded igataror

. One, Great Pipe-fish (young) .

. One, Worm Pipe .

Gasterosteus spinachia.
Mugil capito.

Gobious niger.
Crenilabrus cornubicus.
Motelia 5-cirrata.
Syngnathus acus.
Syngnathus lumbriformis.

SHELLS, MOLLUSCS, ETC.

. Two, Ashy Top
. One, Navel Top

Three, Common Periwinkie .

. Three, Yellow Periwinkle
. One, Purple.

. One, Scrobicularia.

. One, Anomia.

. Two, Common Cockle

. Two, Ascidia.

CRUSTACEA, ETC.

Two, Hermit Crab

. One, ditto

. Four, Sand Shrimp

. One, Prawn

. Three, Crown Worm .

. Three, White-line Worm

ZOOPHYTES.
. Two, Thick-horned Anemone .

30

Trochus cinerarwus.
Trochus umbtlicatus.
Inttorina littorea.
Lnttorina littoralis.
Purpura lapillus.

Cardium edule.

Pagurus Bernhardus.
Pagurus Prideauxw.
Cragnon vulgaris.
Palemon serratus.
Serpula triquetra.
Nereis bilineata.

Actinia crassicornis.

OR, GLIMPSES BENEATH THE WATERS.

2. Three, Weymouth Anemone Actima clawata.
3. Two, Parasitic Anemone
4. Six, Plumose Anemone .

5. Five, Daisy Anemone

Actima parasitica.
Actinia dianthus.
Actinia bellis.

There were thus above seventy specimens, animal
and vegetable, already in the tank, without counting
the swarms of smaller creatures, some the young of |
large species, daily increasing in size; yet, our bold
experimentalist, anxious to conquer his ‘“ Russia’’
at one grand invasion, still poured in fresh speci-
mens. These consisted of :—

FISH.

1. One, Aquorial Pipe-fish . Syngnathus equoreus.

MOLLUSCS, CRUSTACEANS, ETC.

1. One, Rough Doris. Doris pilosa.

2. Two, Magus Top . Trochus magus.

8. One, Nerit . Natica Alders.

4. One, Squin . Peeten opercularis.
5. One, Pholas Pholas parve.

6. One, Pisa Pisa tetraodon.

7. One, Cleanser Crab Portunus depurator.
8. One, Ebalia bahia Pennantit.
9. One, Hermit (small) POGUIUS os

. Three, Lobster Prawn

STAR-FISH, ETC.
. One, Brittle Star .

2. One, Eyed Cribella

. Two, Scarlet Sun-Star

31

Athanas nilescens.

Ophiocoma rosula.
Cribella oculata.
Solaster papposa.

OCHAN GARDENS;

4. One Bird’s-foot Star . . . . . . Palmipes membranaceus.
5. Three, Gibbous Starlet . . . . . Asterina gibbosa.

6. One, Purple-tipped Urchin. . . . Kchinus miliaris.

7. Seven, Scarlet Madrepore . . . . Balanophillia regia.

8. Three, Cloak Anemone . . . . . Adamsia palhiata.

These additions brought the collection up to above
a hundred specimens, and no doubt the tank made
a glorious show; but Mr. Gosse, though the Napo-
leon of his specialty, was forced to acknowledge that
there was an “impossible.” Although his collec-
tion was superb, and his interesting tank did not
look over-crowded, yet he soon discovered that a for-
bidden limit had been passed, and that the creatures
‘of the ocean that have yards—fathoms—of their
native element to their own separate share, cannot
accommodate themselves to the allotment system,
in the proportion of a square inch to each individual.

To remedy this state of things, the evil effects of
which soon became apparent, artificial aeration was
resorted to, by means of another vessel, which kept
up acontinuous supply of dripping fresh water. But
even this assistance did not enable the crowded
colony to exist more than ten days. In the first
place, there were many predatory species, which
destroyed their associates; these kinds must, there-

fore, be excluded from an Aquarium, or kept in a
32

‘WOINVONDOV GHLNNOW-AINIVId V WOH NOISHC V

e

PLATE XI.

y

‘
ris ¥

¥

} |
|
| =
ij i tee
=11] \
- mt

= Kh i | a
iE a mh | |

!
st a
» ich! ‘ *

OR, GLIMPSES BENEATH THE WATERS.

separate tank. But, after all, the impossibility of
providing a sufficient supply of oxygen was evi-
dently the great and principal cause of failure.
The Univalves and smaller Crustacea disappeared
first, a disagreeable smell giving intimation that
decay was goimg on, the creatures that had
perished having, many of them, died in conceal-
ment, under the stones, weeds, &c., at the bottom of
the Aquarium. The first signs of unpleasant effluvia
rising from the tank must, therefore, be carefully
attended to; and, in such cases, the Aquarium
ought to be immediately searched for the cause;
which, when discovered, should be immediately
removed.

Mr. Gosse having taken out the whole of the
specimens, dead and alive, and carefully cleansed the
tank, a much smaller number was put in, which,
being well selected, and having sufficient space,
throve abundantly well; and the ingenious experi-
mentalist was at last amply rewarded for all his
persevering exertions. _ This result benefited others
as well as himself, for a general taste suddenly
arose for this kind of pursuit, among all who read
the various works which soon appeared on the
subject; and, to gratify the new taste, a host of dealers

33 D

OCEAN GARDENS ;

in Aquaria have sprung up, who are driving a
brisk and profitable trade.

The first experiments of Mr. Gosse sufficiently
point out the kind of cautions to be observed
in the formation of a marime Aquarium. ‘The
vessel itself may be either quite plain in its
frame-work, as shown in Plate XI., or made more
or less ornamental, to assimilate, if necessary,
with surrounding objects or furniture. The rustic
style of frame, designed in Plate XII., has been
found to accord well with the general character of
the Aquarium itself, and it produces an agreeable
contrast with the usual forms of the furniture of
our ordinary sitting-rooms. ,

Those made by the dealers are generally formed
with slate floors and backs, and zinc columns and
mountings; the smallest and most simple, about
fifteen inches long by ten inches broad, costing from
a guinea to twenty-five shillmgs, and those of the
proportion of two feet by one foot six costing
from two pounds ten to three pounds. A small
syphon will be useful, in order to remove a por-
tion of the water, if required, without disturbance ;
and also a syringe, in order to aerate the water when

necessary, if a second reservoir of fresh-water, in
34

Prare, XE.

a)

N 1.

v f My

PY te
is} | (oes

ri ky
/ “ASE
“ae
i] AX

ft

A DESIGN FOR AN AQUARIUM MOUNTED IN HANDSOME RUSTIC-WORK.

é

se hsoulrein) eS 35 | ody bie maker ahipmce ie sore RP p=

OR, GLIMPSES BENEATH THE WATERS.
a suitable position, should not be convenient. A
miniature landing-net is also useful for the removal
of decaying matter, or occasionally the living sneci-
mens when any change may be required.

A layer of sand and pebbles, about three inches
deep, placed upon the slate flooring, is the first
step towards arranging the interior of the tank.
Upon this beginning, removing the sand and stones
in places to procure a firm basis, the rock-work
may be built; which should be picturesque and
fanciful in character, as partially suggested in the
two Plates, leaving miniature archways and caves
for the shelter of such creatures as shun the light,
either constantly or occasionally. Such a disposi-
tion of the rock imparts, at the same time, many
pleasing effects to the pictorial composition. These
matters are not, however, much attended to by
’ dealers, whose arrangements of the Aquaria they offer
for sale are generally tasteless enough. But that is
perhaps all the better, as it entails upon the ama-
teur the necessity of providing his own taste,
which is at all times both a useful and pleasant
effort of mind, and which, moreover, leaves, after
each period of exertion, a permanent trace of an
increased refinement which influences the whole

character.
Pi bs)

OCEAN GARDENS;

In the distribution of the rocks, I would always |
allow at least one point to project above the water,
in order to afford the opportunity to those animals
whose instincts lead them to seek occasional expo-
sure to the air, the means of gratifying it by that
contrivance. I have thought, indeed, of construct-
ing a kind of double Aquarium, and perfecting a
contrivance by means of which a large portion of
water should flow gradually from one tank to the
other at fixed periods, in imitation of the ebb and
flow of the tide. Many interesting phenomena
would be exhibited in this manner, such as the
closing of the Actwmie as the water receded, and
their expansion as it covered them on its return.
This alternation, too, might be found highly advan-
_tageous to the health and development of the
animals whose natural habitat lies between high
and low water-mark, and whose constitution is
therefore framed to require entire or partial expo-
sure to the air at certain intervals of time. I also
prefer, as preserving a similar set of analogies, a
sloping bottom, similar to that of the coast. For
instance, if the slate back of the Aquarium be
placed next the light, which is its proper position,
as the light ought to penetrate the water entirely

through its upper or horizontal surface, then I
36

OR, GLIMPSES BENEATH THE WATERS.

would fill the side next the slate back nearly to the
top with pieces of rock, gradually reducing their
height, till, at the other side, they should hardly rise
above the floor of sand and pebbles, leaving, at
last, a flat portion of the pebbly or sandy bottom
quite level.

When this form of rock-work is decided upon,
the Aquarium should be of rather wider propor-
tions than usual, in order to allow of the slope
being pretty gradual. Supposing the tank to fill
entirely the recess of a spare window, which is
a@ position in which it looks exceedingly well, a
solid slate back may be found to darken the ves-
sel or the room too much; in such a ease, a
glass back must be preferred, which can be shaded
from the direct influence of the light by a blue
or green shade of calico neatly fitted to the frame ;
and it must be borne in mind, as essential, that
the Aquarium must be so placed as to receive the
direct rays of light during some part of the day,
being screened by a white blind when the sun may
be too powerful; as should the water become ¢epid,
it would be fatal to many of the inhabitants of the
miniature sea.

With due observance of these precautions, the

amateur may hope to frame and establish an
37

OCEAN GARDENS, ETC.

Aquarium in a suitable form, and in a suitable
position for the reception of its inmates; an account
of which, and of the manner of their introduction,
will form the subject of the ensuing chapters.

38

CHAPTER IV.
THE VEGETATION OF THE MARINE AQUARIUM.

As the forest must be planted before its denizens
can luxuriate in its shades, so the submarine
shrubbery of the Aquarium must be perfected. before
the aquatic animals can be introduced. For it has
been shown, in tracing the history of the experi-
ments which resulted in the establishment of the
principles that regulate the formation of Aquaria,
that it is by plants only that a supply of oxygen
can be kept up, sufficient for the health and
existence of all forms of animal life beneath the
water.* It is necessary, also, that the rays of sun-
light should fall upon the foliage directly through
the surface of the water; and when an Aquarium,
with its plants, is placed in a position to receive the
hight in this manner, their fronds may be observed
giving forth the gas in small silvery bubbles and
corruscations, which have a brilliant and gem-like
appearance.

* Analogous principles are at work in our fields and forests,
but we have now only to do with the submarine production of

oxygen.
39

OCEAN GARDENS ;

Some marine plants appear to succeed much
better than others, but I believe that happens only
from their treatment being imperfectly understood ;
and I believe, not only that all the exquisitely
beautiful marine Alge of our own shores may be
successfully grown, but also that the more splendid
varieties of the tropical seas may be made to thrive
in properly-heated Aquaria, and thus form one of
the most attractive features of our hot-houses—one
that has not yet been dreamed of.

In ordinary Aquaria, such as I am now treat-
ing of, I shall name first those species of sea-weed
recommended by Mr. Gosse and others as most
easily cultivated, but I shall also pomt out many
other species, which I feel convinced may be suc-
cessfully grown under proper management; and
they certainly deserve every effort that can be made
to establish them im Aquaria, as they are among
the most beautiful of their tribe.

If not purchased of dealers, the plants must
be very carefully collected by the amateur himself,
taking care to detach a portion of the substance to
which they are growing, and packing them in damp
refuse sea-weed, keeping them out of their native
element as short a time as possible.

The plants in most flourishing condition in the
40

OR, GLIMPSES BENEATH THE WATERS.

marine tanks of the Zoological Gardens, were at
first those of the Chlorospermatous order, but
others have since succeeded nearly as well. Plants
of Ulva and Conferva have done very well, but the
most successful growth has been that of a plant of
the genus Bryopsis, which, entirely enveloping a
large stone in its mossy and almost feather-
hike foliage, produces a very beautiful appearance.
Those unlearned in scientific names will be glad,
perhaps, to learn that these beautiful A/g@ derive
their title from two Greek words, Bryon (fpvov) a
moss, and opsis (ows), a resemblance, from their like-
ness to some of the most delicate and feather-like
mosses of our woods. The delineation of Bryopsis
plumosa in Plate II., on the extreme left near the
lower part of the Plate, will convey some idea of
these elegant sea-weeds.

Chondrus crispus is a beautiful plant, and well
suited to the Aquarium. It will often be found
under ledges of rock, completely concealed by a
pendant veil of Fucus, commonly known as the
olive-weed; and, on lifting the tangled mass of
its rank growth, many beautiful and unexpected
plants are frequently found, but none strike the
explorer more than the Chondrus. Its nacreous

tints, like those of a pearl shell, varying wonder-
41

OCEAN GARDENS ;

fully according to situation, being very remarkable.
It is the Carrageen Moss of the herb market.
This plant forms the principal object in the lower
part of Plate IV., to the right.

Laurencia pinnatifolia is a pretty branching
plant, also varying in hue according to the aspect
in which it grows. In the shade it is purple, but
when receiving the full influence of the sun’s rays,
it assumes a light-yellow tone; just as the Lyco-
podium, known as Fortune’s Moss, is purple when
grown in the darkest part of a room, but becomes
of an ordinary green tone when placed for some
time near the light. The Zawrencia is shown at
the upper part of Plate V., coloured pale-violet.

The splendid plant Rhodymenia palmata, with
its finely-coloured, semi-transparent fronds, is also
recommended. It is the Dulse, or Dellis, eaten by
the inhabitants of our northern coasts as a delicacy.
Another species of 2. lacinata is represented to the
left of Plate V., the transparent liight-crimson fronds
of which are excessively beautiful. Mr. Gosse tells
us that the Rhodymenia palmata is not suited to an
Aquarium, because it appears to require the motion
of the sea, and soon begins to decay in still water.
If that be the case, let us provide a remedy, for the

plant is one of the most beautiful among all its
42

OR, GLIMPSES BENEATH THE WATERS.

lovely congeners. When a plant of the gigantic lily
of the Amazon river was first introduced, it refused
to flower in the tank provided for its northern
home, at the Duke of Devonshire’s residence at
Chatsworth. But Sir Joseph Paxton, who then
directed the floricultural operations of that magni-
ficent abode, was not discouraged; and, seeking to
impart to the still water of the tank something of
the motion of a deep and majestic river, he con-
trived that a small but continuous stream should
enter at one end of the tank, and, as it entered, turn
a small paddle-wheel, the action of which imparted
a gentle, undulating motion to the water of the
whole tank. The device was triumphant, and the
glorious Victoria regia formed and expanded its
giant flowers in the house which its curator had
constructed for it, the plan of which eventually
suggested the creation of the ““Crystal Palace.’ Let
us not despair, therefore, of cultivating successfully
the beautiful Rhodymenia palmata in our Aquaria.
The construction of a suitable apparatus for impart-
ing motion to the too still waters, will form a plea-
sant passetemps for some of our fair admirers of the
pursuits of the Aquarium; and their success would
be a signal triumph. But at present the beautiful

red weeds, in general, are difficult of cultivation,
43 )

OCEAN GARDENS;

and when they begin to exhibit spots of orange—a
vegetable plague-spot not to be mistaken—it is a
symptom of decay which should at once cause their
removal from the Aquarium, before their decompo-
sition leads to further mischief.

The common Coralline, Corallina officinalis, of
which a small spray is represented in the extreme
lower part of Plate V., near the centre, is the
‘“‘arboret of jomted stone” alluded to by the poet,
and is well suited to Aquaria, thriving with little
trouble. The smaller and slenderer kind is also
suitable; but care must be taken, in collecting,
not to choose the detached white fragments, which
are washed up with every tide, for they are only
the skeletons of the plant. It is the rosy-tinted
specimens, verging to violet and purple, and still
attached to pieces of rock, that are alone fit to re-—
move to the Aquarium.

The Cladophore are also stated to be very suit-
able, C. rupestris being a very useful plant for the
purpose. It is of a bluish-green, that harmonizes
well with the tone of the sea-water, and fills up
little chasms in the artificial rocks with very good
effect, especially in contrast with the reddish-purple
tufts of Polysiphonia arceolata, which do well in an

Aquarium, and are a great aid to the foliage of the
44

PLATE I.

Tae “4,
i Se ae
7 SX \ é
Wy S\ g/g
WZ
Wh INKY j
‘SI IW tf

NLL LAL aa ee EPR
Has tee Witt

1. Delesseria sanguinea. 2. Punctaria latifolia.

3. Chordaria flagelliformis .

4. Vaucheria submarina. 5. Hildenbrandtia rubra.

OR, GLIMPSES BENEATH THE WATERS,

little marine landscape. The elegant, fan-formed,
and brightly-radiated Padima pavonia is likewise
mentioned, and should at all events be tried, as the
tufts of that graceful marine plant form very singu-
lar as well as beautiful objects in the tank.*

I would also recommend the trial of all the
plants delineated in the five Plates devoted to the
sea-weeds in this little book.

In Plate I., the first, occupying the upper part,
with leaf-like fronds of transparent crimson, is the
beautiful and not uncommon sea-weed, Delesseria
sanguinea. The delicate pale plant below, to the
right, is Punctaria latifolia, thin as tissue-paper, and
speckled over its pale-buff surface with bright but
minute grains of black. To the left is a branch of
Chordaria flagelliformis, the rich olive of which
contrasts well with the red kinds of Alge. In the
front, growing on a detached pebble, is the Lichen-
like Hildenbrandtia rubra, the rich carmine of which
might be made to form an exquisite touch of colour,
if tastefully placed in the Aquarium; and to the
extreme right is a small tuft of Vaucheria sub-
marina.

In Plate II., the principal object, near the top of

* A list of the plants with which Mr. Gosse furnished his first

Aquarium is given in api If.
45

OCEAN GARDENS;

the Plate, is a bush of Callithamnion arbuscula,
which receives its name from the tree-like aspect
which it assumes more distinctly than any other of
the marine Alge. Behind 1, to the right, are the
tall and graceful forms, with their crimped edges,
of the slender Laminaria phyllitis. And below,
still to the right, is a branch of Codium tomentosum,
distinguished by its light, vivid green, and the
edging of delicate ciliz, which have the appearance —
of a border of paler green, to every branchlet. Still
to the right, in the extreme foreground, is a broken
piece of rock on which plants of the curious Leathesia
Berkleyt have grown, like convex kernels of bronze.
To the left are the red-violet tufts of the Bangia
fusco-purpurea, and behind them, a branch of Bry-
opsis plumosa.

In Plate ILI. the bright-green feathery plant
in the extreme background is Hetocarpus silicu-
losus ; and behind it, the violet, antler-like fronds of
Nemaleon multifida. The large, gracefully-bending
frond of rich purple, with narrower and younger
fronds springing from the same root, is Porphyra
vulgaris, one of the commonest, but most splendid
of our marine Alge, with which, in combination
with other plants of suitable contrast, the vegetation
of the Aquarium may be rendered truly splendid, if

46

PuaTE IT.

i
j
ies Je
AES

ZEBICI PAA FAIZ, _,
wee ste cs yA
* , oe = Yio
SS =e a ~ :
CS SS * ~ Z J
Jigar; HW} SS E

1. Bangia fusco-purpurea. 3. Bryopsis plumosa. 5. Leathesia Berkleyi.
2, Codium tomentosum. 4, Callithamnion arbuscula. 6. Laminaria phyliitis.

OR, GLIMPSES BENEATH THE WATERS.

_ it once be successfully cultivated ; of which I have no
doubt, when its natural wants are sufficiently studied
and ingeniously supplied. The splendidly-marked
plant to the right, with its black maculations and
richly-frilled edge, is Nitophyllum punctatum, one
of our most splendid species; and the curious pale-
buff, tubular plant in front of it, is Asperococcus
Turnert. Near the foot of the Nitophyllum is a
little tuft of the delicate Dumontia filiformis ; and,
to the extreme left, a branch of the brown-fronded
Rytiphea pinastris, which receives its specific name
from the somewhat Pine-like growth it frequently
assumes. Immediately beneath it, on the extreme
right, is a little cluster of Chordaria divaricata ;
and below, in the left foreground, are a few pink
fronds of the curious Alga, Chrysemenia rosea;
while, in the foreground, to the right, on a detached
pebble, is a small mass of the pale-crimson Peysso-
netia Dubyt.

In Plate IV. the principal object is a fasciculus
of Taoma atomaria, rising behind the point of rock
at the top of the Plate, behind which are two long
fronds of the spotted Asperococcus; to the left
is the horn-like Gigartina acicularis; and im the
front, to the left, the crimson tufts of a pretty weed

47

OCEAN GARDENS;

(Ceramium strictum), which our artist has made too
like the Bangia fusco-purpurea.

In Plate V. the violet-toned Laurencia pinnaté:
folia is grouped behind the solid, deep-crimson fronds ©
of Lridea edulis, which are often perfectly Pear-
shaped, like pieces of crimson leather neatly cut in
that form; but the action of tides in rough weather
often tears the edges, and wears holes through the
texture of the plant, as shown in the principal
frond. ‘To the left is the bright-crimson Rhody-
menia lacinata—one of our most exquisitely beau-
tiful marine Alge. The fronds are as thin as the
finest conceivable tissue, and beautifully trans-
parent, which is shown wherever the lacinations of
the edge overlap each other, in which places the
double thickness of the texture doubles, at the same
time, the intensity of the colour, as indicated in the
representation. On the same level, to the right, is
a small group of the delicate green Ulva latissima—
a plant which has proved useful beyond all others
in Aquaria, as throwing off, under the action of the
light, a much greater profusion of silvery globules
of oxygen than any other species yet known. At
the same level still, on the extreme right, is a sprig
of the delicately-branched parasite, Polysphoma

48

PiatTeE III.

AN’
\N

\
\\\, i
\\' 7

re
ii

5) ak

phic

I
i
a,

ll

i
I
'

f

il] i} | ) |
‘a

1. Porphyra vulgaris. 5. Chrysymenia rosea. 8. Ectocarpus siliculosus.
2. Dumontia filiformis. 6. Peyssonetia Dubyi. 9. Nemaleon multifida
3. Asperococcus Turneri, 7. Chordaria divaricata. 10. Nitophyllum punctatum.

4. Rytiphlea pinastris.

:
me ‘

OR, GLIMPSES BENEATH THE WATERS.

parasitica, growing on a small mass of pale sul-
phur-coloured Melobesia lichenoides, the Lichen-like ©
Melobesia. To the extreme left, under the beau-
tiful Rhodymenia, is a small branch of the bright,
olive-tinted Hctocarpus tomentosus, looking much
like a spray of wild Broom, and immediately below
it, a few purple branchlets of Gracilaria confer--
woides ; while in the left foreground lies a pebble,
partly covered by a small plant of Zonaria parvula,
from beneath which straggles a little branch of the
common but pretty Coralline, the Corallina offici-
nalis; and, to the right, a globe of the curious Co-
dium bursa, of the French coast, which might easily
be added to our native species in the Aquarium.
Such are a few of our beautiful coast Alge,
all of which I would advise the admirers of the
beauties of the marme Aquarium to try; and if
some refuse, in the present state of our knowledge
of their habits and requirements, to make them-
selves happy im their pretty “crystal palace,”
choosing rather to consider it a “ prison of glass,”’
still a good number of them, I am persuaded, may
be coaxed into displaying their beauties very geni-
ally within its transparent walls, which admit the
bright sun rays as freely as the pale-green liquid

glass which forms their native element.
49 EK

OCEAN GARDENS, ETC.

The best time for making collections at the sea-
side is a day or two after the full moon, when the
tide recedes to its greatest extent, and parts of the
shore become exposed, where some of the finest
species grow, which cannot be conveniently ap-
proached at any other time. It must be borne in

‘mind, also, that few of the floating pieces. will
grow, however fresh and seemingly washed off with
their root. Certain success is only to be secured by
chiselling off a portion of the substance on which
the weed is growing—thus transplanting it with its
own soil, as it were, about its roots, into the ocean
garden of the Aquarium.

50

PLATE: by,

|
ds All
Wn “il /
n INT eal
in

Sr! |
jay |

Vf \

Ny
"
iy

f 3
1G \

xi

lh 4 W \\}

}, Chondrus crispus. 2. Gigartina acicularis. 3. Ceramium strictum.
4. Taonia atomaria. 5d. Plocamium coccineum.

CHAPTER, .Y.
THE ZOOPHYTES.

THe Aquarium having been furnished with its vege-
tation, and rendered as picturesque as possible by
the well-arranged juxtaposition of felicitously-con-
trasting forms and colours, the water must be
allowed to settle for some days, until it is as clear as
pale-green crystal, before the animals are introduced
to their new home. When the Alpine scenery of
the submarine landscape appears perfectly settled,
and all its colours and forms are seen with beautiful
distinctness through the clarified waters, then the
still life is ready to be associated with the more active
organizations of animated creatures. Before speak-
ing of Molluscs, or Crustacea, or of Fish, suitable
to the Aquarium, let us first devote all our attention
to our Zodphytes, those singular creatures whose
strange instincts and anomalous forms have been
mainly instrumental in attracting the attention
of many classes of the public to that curious in-
terest in Aquaria, which is fast spreading into

a mania, threatening to absorb all others in its
ol

OCEAN GARDENS ;

vortex, like Infusorie drawn within the fatal ten-
tacles of the Actinia. |
First, of the Actinie, or Sea-Anemonies. These
flower-formed animals were once thought to form a
curious and astonishing link between the animal and
vegetable world; and many curious speculations,
based upon that idea, were put forth, among which
the links between man and the inferior animals,
and between quadrupeds and fishes, were asserted
in further illustration of the theory. But the decep-
tiveness of superficial knowledge, based upon imper-
fect observations, was never more strikingly exem-
plified than in the present instance. It was thought
that, because these creatures were found attached
to rocks, they necessarily drew their nourishment
principally through the medium of roots, as all true
plants do; more accurate observation, however, has
shown that they are not permanently fixed to the
rocks, and that they have the power of moving from
one place to another, and attaching themselves anew,
whenever a sufficiently disturbing cause renders
such removal desirable. Again, oysters and mus-
sels remain fixed to rocks without being considered
allied to plants on that account; and even some fish
have the power of attaching themselves to such and

other substances by means of curiously-formed
52

OR, GLIMPSES BENEATH THE WATERS. _

ventral fins, peculiarly fitted for the purpose. The
pretty little two-spotted sucker, Lepidogaster bima-
culatus, possesses this faculty. _

But the flower-like form into which the arms,
or food-seizers, of the Actimie are spread, radiating
from a centre like the petals of a flower, was the
main reason for supposing a close analogy between
these strange creatures and plants—a fancy now
utterly abandoned, as it is quite evident that they
are furnished with a mouth and stomach, like all
true animals, and with a set of arms called tenta-
cles for seizing their prey; and, perhaps, at the
same time, through the medium of delicate ciliz
with which the tentacles are connected, with a
breathing apparatus, through which a current of
water is taken in, and discharged after its oxygen
has been abstracted. .

The discovery of the true nature of these singu-
lar creatures has not, however, changed their flower-
like appearance, which to a superficial observer is as
deceptive as ever; and few (not professed naturalists),
observing these singular Zodphytes for the first time,
would hesitate to pronounce them a kind of sea-
plant.

Let us turn, for example, to Plate VIII., and

note the appearance of the two varieties of Actinia
53

OCEAN GARDENS ;

dianthus—the carnation-like Actinia, as its name
imports—and we shall easily excuse our early natu-
ralists their pretty but erroneous fancies concerning —
them. ‘This species is more subject than many
others to vary in colour, even like the flower after
which it is named, being found of every tone be-
tween snow-white, orange, pale scarlet, and blood
red—while some specimens take duskier tints, from
a dull brown to a kind of orange green. But we
will describe our illustrations of this genus in regu-
lar succession, noting what is most peculiar in the
subjects of each Plate. |

Plate VI. contains a representation of one of the
last-discovered species of Actinie—one which dis-
plays a habit that distinguishes it from all its con-
geners hitherto described by naturalists, and which
has entitled it to be classed as a separate genus,
and named Hdwardsia vestita. The generic name
is from that of a well-known naturalist, and the
specific name, vestita, from its habit of forming for
itself a shell, or clothing, into which it has the faculty
of retiring at pleasure; or, if an mhabitant of the
shallow water, when the tide recedes, and leaves it
inconveniently exposed to the air. This species,
unless it have the power of quitting its shell, like

some Molluses, is of necessity permanently fixed and
54

PuaTE VII.

bijaesh
ih WIL hy (2

My

MY)

Mf
"

Hy, Vy

Wy
i}

5. A group of Ascidians.

lh My

wy

a L/

3. Pennatula phosphorea.

Y,

aK A
ANS ANG

\
It \

4. A Shell of the Common Whelk, on which are two specimens of Balanus.

1. Actinia clavata.

= 1) . fe iv f
f l y } i : bs) ih
ee ee Le el ee, eS ee

OR, GLIMPSES BENEATH THE WATERS.

confined to the position in which the egg from which
it was hatched was placed by the instinct of the
parent, or the caprice of the waves. The other objects ©
in Plate VI. will be described in another place.

In Plate VII. we have two remarkable species ;
the one with drooping tentacles of dull brick-red,
being a very curious variety. The species below is
Actinia clavata, one of the most delicately-beautiful
species, which, from its brilliant whiteness, at once
attracts the attention. |

In Plate VIII. are two varieties, previously
described, of Actinia dianthus, the plumose or
feather-like Anemone. In front, below them, is the
representation of one of the most splendid of all the
species, having received the specific name Gemma-
cea, from the gem-like appearance produced by the
touches of colour—blue, buff, and brown—about the
orifice of the mouth or stomach, and about its
sharply-poimted tentacles. ‘The stem or body is also
variegated with rows of brightly tinted tubercles,
and its whole surface is clouded with pale iridescent,
or rather nacreous, tones of pink and azure, varied
with occasional flashes of orange. All the species
. are furnished with tubercles of a similar description
about the stem or body, but in many they are not

so conspicuous, and in others almost imperceptible ;
55

OCEAN GARDENS;

yet they no doubt exist in all, as they are not merely
ornamental, but essential organs, peculiar to this
. Class of creatures; being reservoirs from which they
ean shoot forth a thread, furnished with a barbed
and poisoned dart, by means of which they are able
to attain an enemy, or victim, far beyond the reach
of their tentacles. Mr. Gosse very graphically de-
scribes the death of a small fish struck by one of
these thread-borne poisoned arrows, at some dis-
tance from the offended Actinia, who launched his
dart, as it seemed, for no greater provocation than a
slight disturbance of the water rather nearer to his
retreat than was agreeable.

The Actima gemmacea, it would appear, is a
more voracious creature than most of his congeners,
for Dr. Johnston, in his splendid work on the British
Zoophytes, describes one of this species that had
managed to swallow a shell of Pecten maximus
as large as a common saucer, its own natural dia-
meter not exceeding two inches. It managed,
however, to distend its elastic form sufficiently to
receive the enormous prey; but the shell divided
the stomach into two completely separate depart-
ments, the lower one being thus perfectly shut
off from its usual supplies. ‘To meet this difficulty,

the organic economy of the creature adapted itself
56

SURCHS o
Peruse
Seis a ere
:

PLatTE VITI.

NY /
Wi

.

i
» ir

Yjh3
Er

LZ)
gp \\\Ww

SAY)
WIM 3
SS Z Wf YY YY

Lis)
y

YH,

iN J
nn

Ny Jan
[es
a) \a eH i

1. Actinia gemmacea.

3&4. Actinia mesembrianthemum. 5. Lucernaria auricula.

6. Virgularia mirabilis.

OR, GLIMPSES BENEATH THE WATERS,

in a most extraordinary manner; a new mouth was
opened below the division, furnished with two rows
of new tentacles, and thus the lower portion re-—
gained a means of taking in nourishment, the
whole creature forming a singular double monster, ©
that, not contented with its one giant mouth, sur-
rounded with its hundred arms to supply its vora-
cious appetite, had actually succeeded in supplying
itself with a second, equally furnished with its
formidable feeding apparatus.

In Plate IX. a very beautifully distinct form of
this singular race of animals is very carefully de-
lineated—Actinia anguicoma—which seems to be
shaking loose a mass of serpent-like hair, like
another Medusa; from which appearance, its spe-
cific name anguicoma, signifying snake-haired, has
doubtless been given.

The tentacles of the Actinia mesembrianthemum
are generally of a beautiful rosy-pink, and the body
of a rich warm brown. But of all the species,
A. crassicornis—represented in the lower part of
Plate X.—is perhaps the handsomest, the orifice or
mouth being of a delicate straw tone, the tentacles
white, variegated with bands of delicate pink, and
the body, or stem, a rich orange-brown,. thickly
sprinkled with tubercles of bright yellow. This fine

57

OCEAN GARDENS;

species sometimes measures five inches across, when
the tentacles are fully expanded.

When the Actinie are in a state of repose or
sleep, the tentacles are entirely drawn in, and the ©
stem or body closes over the orifice, leaving only a
slight indent to mark its existence. In this state
they might be mistaken for short-stemmed fungi, the
pale-bodied species bemg very much like a half-
grown mushroom, if one can imagine it placed
close to the ground, without any visible stem.

Most of the species can be easily detached from
the rocks to which they are found adhering, but in
some cases it 1s found necessary to cut out the
portion to which they cling, by means of a hammer
and chisel. But when this is done, and they
are placed in the Aquarium, they often willingly
leave the stone to which they are attached, which
they would not do by gentle persuasion, or any
moderate amount of force; and they then take
up their station on some suitable portion of the
artificial rock-work, just as those do that have
been originally detached from their native rocks.
Above twenty species of Actmie are known to
British naturalists.

The Lucernarie are another class of Zodphytes,

or plant-like creatures, as the term Zodphyte implies,
58

Piate IX.

GC)

rata

1. Actinia anguicoma. 2. Cucumis hyalinus. 3. Echinus spheera. 4. Alyconium digitatum.

OR, GLIMPSES BENEATH THE WATERS.

being formed of the Greek word, Zodn (oor), sig-
nifying a thing possessed of animal life, and phyton
(guvrov), a plant. This general term is applied to
all the creatures—some of very distinct character—
that belong to this class, which forms a separate
division of natural science, known as Zpodhytology.

The species of Lucernaria, which has received the
specific denomination of auricula, from its shght
resemblance in form to the flower of that name, is de-
lineated in Plate VIII., attached to a slender branch
of sea-weed, just above the two large Sea-Anemonies.
This species of Lucernaria is generally of a light
pinkish colour, and is, m general form, perhaps
more like a Convolvulus than an Auricula. Two
species have been most beautifully delineated in all
their details by Mrs. Johnston, in her husband’s
magnificent work on British Zodphytes. These
drawings are, in fact, so charmingly and, at the
same time, accurately executed, that 1t would seem
that the pencil ought to be guided by delicate female
fingers when portraying these minutely-intricate
and unusual forms of animal life. The exquisite
drawings by Mrs. J. E. Gray, in her work on the
curious molluscous animals, whose habitations alone,
the beautiful sea-shells of our cabinets, were, till

recently, all that was known of them, afford further
59.

OCEAN GARDENS;

evidence, if it were needed, of the aptitude of the
more finely-strung female capacity for this depart-
ment of scientific portraiture. The name of Mrs.
Griffiths is also honourably associated with the
study. of natural science, especially that connected
with our marine Alge—a beautiful division of
sea-weeds—having received its name Griffithsia, in
honour of the esteemed services of that accom-
plished lady.

The Lucernaria campanulata, which is of a some-
what more bell-shaped form than the preceding, is
of an uniform liver colour; and in the hollow of
the flower-like cup the “‘ mouth”’ projects, in a square
form in the centre. There are three known species
of British Zucernarie, which would all form highly
curious objects in the Aquarium; but they are ex-
cessively delicate and fragile creatures, hanging sus-
pended from the object to which they are attached,
when taken out of the water, like a mere lump
of jelly, and would doubtless be very difficult
of transport, and probably not capable of retaining
life in a state of confinement, except for a short
time. |

The “ compound Zoéphytes,”’ or, more properly,
Polyps, as being, as it were, many creatures in

one, are still more curious than the two classes just
60

> pa

OR, GLIMPSES BENEATH THE WATERS.

described. A common example of this class is the
Alyconium digitatum, looking like a mass of short
fingers, when the final florets are closed, as its spe-
cific name imports, being sometimes called, by the
fishermen of our northern coasts, Dead-men’s-toes.
Each finger-like cell contains a separate creature,
whose tentacles, when expanded, form the floret,
after the manner of those of the Sea-Anemonies, but
yet each separate creature is vitally attached to a
central polypidom, or spine, which binds the whole
sroup into one existence.

Of this class are the curious Pennatulide, one
of which is commonly known as the Sea-Pen. The
three species of this class of Polyps known to in-
habit the British seas, are so distinct from each
other that they form at the same time three dis-
tinct genera. ‘The most beautiful of the three is
the Pennatula phosphorea, the Sea-Pen, which is
not uncommon on some parts of our northern
coasts. It is represented in Plate VII. The pur-
ple branches, or pinne, of the upper portion, form
the feathered part of the quill pen to which it is
likened; the bare portion of the polypidom below
having certainly some resemblance to the quill.
This curious zodphytic form is often seen in an

erect position, planted, as it were, in the mud like
61

OCEAN GARDENS;

a miniature purple Pine, though it is capable of
motion through the water from place to place, by
some action of its organs which has not been accu-
rately detected. It 1s one of the handsomest of our ©
British Zodphytes. The polypidom, or trunk, is
three or four inches long, fleshy, and of a purplish
red. It is naked at the lower end, and feathered
above with long, closely-set pinnze, along the mar-
eins of which the polyp-cells are placed. The
pinnee are curved backward, and capable of either
separate or united motion. ‘They are supposed by
some to be capable of the action of regular oars;
but this is very doubtful, though their bearing on
the polypidom, which is strengthened by an internal
column of calcareous or bony matter, would give
them considerable power for that purpose. The
creature’s specific name, phosphorea, must not lead
to the supposition that it always emits a phospho-
rescent light, for it is only when irritated that this is
produced. If plunged into fresh-water, it scatters
a shower of phosphoric sparks in all directions,
which forms a magnificent and curious spectacle,
far more brilliant, no doubt, than the fabled hues
of the dying dolphin.

The Virgularia mirabilis is another of this class

of creatures, almost as elegant as the Sea-Pen, but
62

OR, GLIMPSES BENEATH THE WATERS.

more slender, and in the form of a branching rod, —
as its name imports. (See Plate VIII.)

The Sponges form a curious class of Zodphytes,
which have perhaps a much closer affinity to plants
than any other. They are occasionally very sportive,
and curious in their forms; and Dr. Johnston enu-
merates fifty-six species belonging to our coasts;
they are, however, unsuited to the Aquarium in the
present state of our knowledge; and when portions
of rock are collected on the shore, for the tank, care
should be taken to clear off any Sponge formations
that are perceived, as their certain and rapid decay
would be hable to injure the condition of the whole
colony of the Aquarium.

63

CHAPTER VI.
THE MOLLUSCS, ETC.

THE curious floral forms of the Zoédphytes have,
as yet, attracted the greatest degree of attention
among the constructors of marine Aquaria; yet other
forms of ocean life offer equal, if not superior,
opportunities for curious observation, and are equally
well calculated to bear the confinement of the tank.
Among them all, none more than the Molluscs,
especially the shell-bearmg division, which merits
the careful attention of the student of Nature, as
forming some of her most singular manifestations.
The knowledge of the nature and structure of
many of the most curious shell-bearing Molluscs is of
very recent date, with the exception of those which
possess obvious qualities which have fitted them for
articles of diet or commerce; such as the Oyster,
Mussel, Cockle, &c., as eatable species—and the
Purples, Sepias, and Cuttle-fish, as containing valu-
able dyes. With the exception of such as these, the
pearl-yielding Bivalves, and a few others, nothing

was known, with a few remarkable exceptions, of
64

OR, GLIMPSES BENEATH THE WATERS.

the animals that create and inhabit the beautiful
shells that have so long been ranked among the
most elegant objects of the cabinets of the curious.
Many of these were, in fact, scientifically classified
by learned naturalists before the nature of the
animal, of which they formed the mere senseless
husk, was even guessed at. The ordinary col-
lector did not even desire to know anything of
the creature which produced the shell he most
prized; it was sufficient for him that it was esti-
mated as ‘rare’ by his brother collectors—rarity
being a quality more highly prized than even beauty.
With this feeling, prices as great were given for
single shells as ever enthusiastic Hollander paid
for a coveted bulb during the height of the Tulipo-
mania. No amount of guineas was too much, at
a sale of shells, for such a contested prize as a
Many-ribbed harp, a Gloria maris, a Cedo nulli, or
a Voluta Junonia. But that race of idle shell-
fanciers has given place to a race of true concholo-
gists, who are investigators as well as collectors, and
whose labours are daily developing unexpected and
valuable knowledge from those long obscure pages
of the great book of Nature. |

The marine Aquarium may be made the means

of many curious discoveries regarding the habits
65 F

OCEAN GARDENS;

and organization of the shell-bearing Molluses; and,
with this feeling, I may direct the attention to seve-
ral of their singular characteristics, in order that
they may serve as clues to the detection of others.

The term Mollusc, from mollis, soft, is intended to
express that the whole class are invertebrate ; that is,
entirely without spine, or any bony support to their
curious fleshy forms. The term was invented by
the illustrious Cuvier, but is objectionable as a dis-
tinctive one, the characteristic on which it is founded
being shared by other distinct classes of animals.
When, however, the application of a term is well
understood, its inner signification becomes unim-
portant ; it is, therefore, now too late to criticise the
one invented and applied by the prince of modern
naturalists.

Among the interesting facts detected by recent
science, it has been shown that many of the seem-
ingly shapeless masses of soft substance, scarcely to —
be termed flesh, possess all the senses of the higher
animals. In the Cephalopoda, the organs of sight
and hearing are both well developed; and Professor
Owen considers that the Nautilus possesses even
an organ of passive smell. The Gasteropoda too,
are, according to Siebold, nearly all furnished with

ears and eyes, the former organs being described
66

OR, GLIMPSES BENEATH THE WATERS.

as forming round capsules, conspicuously visible
near the roots of the tentacles.

Some of the Conchifera, also, are furnished with
numerous eyes, which, like those of the Scallops and
Clams of our own shores, are also placed among
their tentacula.

It appears probable, says Dr. Johnston, that
many have also the sense of taste, as they are
observed to select particular articles of food in pre-
ference to others, and there is no other sense that
appears fitted to regulate the choice. The mouth,
as it is termed, of many of the molluscous tribe is
furnished, as among the Gasteropoda, with a fringe
formed of filaments, which may be organs of touch,
and they have also a complicated breathing appa-
ratus.

The strength of these boneless creatures 1s some-
thing very extraordinary, and almost incomprehen-
sible. The Strombus gigas, a soft, snail-like creature,
carries a shell which often weighs more than five
pounds; the Cassis tuberosa supports one nearly as
heavy, and the naked Molluscs, that have no shell
to carry, have other modes of exhibiting strength
of a very extraordinary character.

The shells of the clothed Molluses are senseless,

being permeated by no vessels, and are formed by
67

OCEAN GARDENS;

the animal itself froma secretion with which its
outer integuments are invested, and which may be
described as lime in a state of solution. The thick-
ened edge of the mantle, by means of which the form —
is given to the shell, and the general manipulation
effected, is furnished, as may be seen with the aid of
a moderate lens, with a minute and highly sensitive
fringe, the cilia of which are of various colours,
corresponding in tone and position to the tints which
decorate the exterior of the shell. The coloured
cilia or fringes have doubtless a dyeing power,
which colours the calcareous solution at the time it
is added to the shell by their plastic instinct. The
solution becomes a hard testaceous substance so
soon as it leaves the body of the animal, and is
deposited in architectural layers upon the beautiful
structure of the shell, by the “trowel” and
“brushes ’”’ of the edge of the mantle.

This process is beautifully described in Jones’s
‘Animal Kingdom,” with all the details relating
to the successive ridges on the shell, which mark
the age of the animal; it having been ascertained
what time is required for the completion of each
story of the edifice.

The power of locomotion is one of the most

curious subjects for observation in the structure of
68

OR, GLIMPSES BENEATH THE WATERS.

shell-coated Molluscs, and for this purpose the
marine Aquarium offers many advantages. Other
classes of animals have been distinguished by the
number of their feet; we have, for instance, a
tribe of worms termed centipedes, or hundred-
footed creatures; and, to pass over many grada-
tions, to the superior grass-feeding and carnivorous
animals, we find them termed quadrupeds, or four-
footed creatures; while the human race, along
with birds, has been termed biped. Why, there-
fore, may we not coin a word for our present pur-
pose, and call these curious Molluscs monopeds, or
single-footed creatures ?—for they walk with a single
foot, being compelled to do so by the very simple fact
that they have no other. This limb, or foot, being
gradually protruded, its bearimg against some sub-
stance forces them forward, and when the foot has
attained its full distension it is drawn in, and a new
bearing obtained, and by the repetition of this pro-
cess, a certain amount of locomotion is effected.
Some species float on the surface by means of this
foot. Having crawled up a rock to the height of
the surface of the water, the foot is protruded and
exposed to the air, when it becomes suddenly dried,
and in that state serves as a cork, which enables

the animal to float away close under the surface of
69

OCEAN GARDENS ;

the water. But if any agitation of the water wet
this floating apparatus, or the animal withdraw it
voluntarily beneath the water for that purpose, the —
creature immediately sinks to the bottom. ,

The swimming power of this race of creatures
is equally curious. The Cephalopoda, by the ejec-
tion of a jet of water, propel themselves rapidly in
the opposite direction, and by the repetition of the
jet at regular intervals, a beautiful power of mo-
tion is obtained, as regular, and with less labour
than that of ordinary swimming by means of the
action of fins or other oar-like limbs adapted
to the purpose.* The Pteropoda, however, in
their little shells, translucent as glass, swim by
the action of small fin-like paddles placed near the
head.

The Bivalves do not make so clever a use of
their single foot as the Uniwalves. ‘The foot in this
tribe appears to be furnished with a terminal
hook, which, when the foot is protruded, clings to
some substance, and the animal is drawn up to that
point, when the operation has to be repeated; this

* Some species effect leaps by an analogous contrivance—col-
lecting water within the closed mouth, and then emitting it at a
gush from a small portion of the aperture, suddenly opened, which
propels the creature to a considerable distance, as it were, at a

single bound.
70

OR, GLIMPSES BENEATH THE WATERS.

appears likely to produce but a slow rate of pro-
gress, yet some of the sand-boring Biwalves manage,
when alarmed, to conceal themselves with great
rapidity by that means.

The Mollusca, as feeders, are divided into three
classes—those which take only liquid food, the
vegetable feeders, and the carnivorous species.

Those which are only able to take food in a
liquid form, are such as have no means of seizing
prey, their food consisting of the countless myriads
of infusorial animalcules which float in the sea-water,
and which are carried into the orifice of the stomach
or mouth by the current. Of these, the Duncata,
Brachiopoda, and Conchifera, are examples.
The liquid feeders exhibit a very low form of

molluscous life, but other classes are furnished with
means of defence and aggression, equal to those of
terrestrial quadrupeds, and much more extraordinary
in their form. Some of the carnivorous Univalves,
for instance, feed upon the Bivalves by drilling a
hole through the solid shell, and withdrawing the
animal piecemeal, as required. |

The Holis papillosa has been observed tearing
away the tentacles of different species of Sea-
Anemone with extraordinary voracity, and the

tribe must therefore very evidently be excluded
71

OCEAN GARDENS ;

from the Aquarium. The Cuttles, also, are to be
avoided from the same cause; they are fierce tyrants
of the deep, that would make sad havoc among the
delicate creatures with which we delight to furnish
our tanks of glass. The curious substance termed
Sea-Grapes, which are the eggs of this creature,
might, however, be placed in the tank, and the pro-
gress of development watched, without fear of injury
to the other inmates. :

The full-grown Cuttle is, nevertheless, so curious
a creature that, ina tank prepared with that special
view, his habits might furnish food for much curi-
ous observation—indeed, carefully fed up, he might
form very excellent food himself; his German
name, Kuttel, signifying tripe, the flavour of which
his flesh is said to resemble. The common Squid,
which is eaten by the poor of our coasts, is a
kindred species, and is also said to have a similar
flavour. Molluscs of this class, as well as the dis-
custing-looking Poulp, or many-feet, are seen in
profusion in the markets of the south of Europe,
and are as highly prized as the Oyster with us.
The ancients carried their taste for them so far as
to feed them up artificially ; and at the nuptial feast .
of Iphicrates, one hundred Polypi and Sepie, as we

are informed, were disguised with different sauces,
72

OR, GLIMPSES BENEATH THE WATERS.

each imparting a different flavour. The land
Molluscs were also much sought as a table delicacy,
a species of the large Garden-Snail being bred for
that purpose, and fed upon a prepared paste, which
so accelerated their growth that we learn, from the
mdustrious Pliny, of their attaming to enormous
dimensions; the shells of some of the finest being
capable of holding eighty measures of water, called
quadrants. But in speaking of Molluscs, I must
principally confine myself to such as are suitable
for an Aquarium.

Among the Sea-Snails of our own coast, which
are still eaten by the lower orders, is the Periwinkle,
considered by some superior in flavour to the
Oyster or Shrimp. This creature, the Iuttorina
littorea, 1s one of the most useful creatures in an
Aquarium, cleansing it from all decaying vegeta- —
tion, which is its natural food. The Periwinkle varies
much both in size and colour, the ground tone of
the shell being sometimes red, orange, or even scarlet,
sometimes with and sometimes without handsome
black bands. Such as are coloured in this attrac-
tive manner should obviously be selected as Inmates
of the Aquarium, in preference to the dull-coloured
varieties; and a few of the small yellow kind,
LTittorina littoralis, may be added by way of

73

OCEAN GARDENS;

variety, though they do not succeed so well in con-
finement as the other species.

The Whelk, Buccinum undatum, another of the
snail-like Molluses of our coasts, which is considered
geood eating by the lower orders, and often seen on
fish-stalls at particular seasons, is well worthy a
place in our miniature sea; especially under cer-
tain circumstances, when the shell of this creature
assumes a most singular aspect, well calculated to
excite the wonder of the young naturalist. It is
sometimes found surmounted by a mass of living
substance, which might be taken for the body of the
creature, residing in preference on the roof of its
dwelling during the summer months, as it may be
observed spreading a set of tentacles, from a mouth-
like orifice, for the collection of food. Within, how-
ever, a pair of protruding eyes are seen glarmely
on the watch for prey, and another set of food-
clutching machines may be noticed beneath them,
ready for their work, and only awaiting the oppor-
tunity. They look much like the claws of a lobster,
and if any suitable object comes within their reach,
it is seized by one or both of these two-fingered
hands, and carried to the yawning mouth beneath ;
but before it reaches that evidently impatient re-

ceptacle, a brightly-shining crimson finger, orna-
74

OR, GLIMPSES BENEATH THE WATERS.

mented with two white stripes, darts from beneath
those claws and mouth, and, snatching away the rich
morsel, disappears as suddenly as it came, leaving
the expectant mouth and astonished claws both
empty. The mystery of this seemingly compound
creature having, as it were, a first-self living outside
the house and getting a separate living, a second-
self located in the front parlour, and prevented from
eating its own dinner by a third-self residing in the
back parlour, may be easily explained, now that
the persevering observations of our naturalists have
solved it. It is as follows :—

The internal dweller in the front parlour is the
Hermit Crab (Paguras Prideauwii),a creature seldom
contented with its own pretty solid habitation, but
ever seeking some further protection, which it gene-
rally finds in an empty Whelk-shell. It is, moreover,
very particular as to fit, and other details; for it has
been observed, when looking out for a house, to try
and reject many before finally adopting an abode.
The inhabitant of the back parlour is the Sea- Worm,
Nereis bilineata, a creature which, instinctively
knowing the voracious propensities of the Crab, and
determining to share his abundant feasts, seizes his
opportunity, when mine host of the Whelk-shell is
pretty well surfeited and in a semi-dormant state,

75

OCEAN GARDENS;

to sneak past the dangerous claws into the “back
parlour,” which is the interior of the narrow spiral
of the shell—a form of apartment which affords
him a most comfortable and convenient home, in
which, by the superfluous voracity of the Crab, he
is furnished with board as well as lodging. The
external tenant of the Whelk-shell 1s a parasitic Sea-
Anemone, known as the Cloak-Anemone, from its
power of nearly enveloping the object to which it
attaches itself, by means of the extension of its stem
or body. It is known in scientific classification as
Adamsia palliata, having been made a separate
genus, and its specific name ingeniously taken from
that of the Roman cloak, the well-known pallium
of the classical writers. |

Almost invariably, when the Hermit Crab is dis-
covered inside the Whelk-shell, the Adamsia is found
outside; and the Hermit is seldom without his
dinner assistant, the prettily-striped Nereis. 'This
fact is so well known to fishermen, that when in
search of this worm, which is an excellent bait, they
never fail to break the shells tenanted by the Hermit
Crab, and are seldom disappointed in finding the
object of their search in his company.

Another parasitic Anemone, still more fond of tra-

velling, the Actinia parasitica, often selects the back of
76

OR, GLIMPSES BENEATH THE WATERS.

the Crab himself (generally Paguras Bernhardus),
and in that position is hurried along, in the sidling
gallop of his steed, in a way that must often prove
inconvenient ; for in passing under ledges of rock,
the Crab, doubtless, only takes his own measure.
Yet, in such cases, the Anemone probably knows
how to take care of himself; and when Bernhardus
becomes skittish and adventurous, ‘‘ draws in his
horns,” as many other bold spirits are obliged to do
at certain crises of their career; and in this state,
presenting only a semi-spherical mass of tough
leathery substance, he can fearlessly allow himself _
to be driven beneath stony archways, or under
impending branches of the marine forests, by his
ferocious Jehu, with less chance of injury than the
outside passenger of a terrestrial stage-coach pass-
ing beneath the low gateway of some inn-yard.

Our largest native shell of the Whelk tribe is
the Fusus antiquus, often used by the Shetland
islanders as a lamp; for which purpose it is sus-
pended horizontally, the cavity holding the oil, and
the wick projecting from the canal.

The Whelks belong to the interesting family
Muricide, some of which, natives of our own coasts,
are very pretty objects for the Aquarium. It was
the Murex trunculus which yielded the Tyrian

77

OCEAN GARDENS;

purple, different species affording distinct tones of
colour. In form, these shells are somewhat like
our common Whelk, but finely marked with broad,
dark, spiral stripes. The ancient mode of extract-
ing the dye, as described by Pliny, was verified by
Mr. Wild, in 1838, in a very interesting manner.
In the neighbourhood of the site of the ancient
Tyre, he found, in the rocks on the sea-shore, a vast
number of round cavities, evidently the work of the
hammers and chisels of long ages past. These cavi-
ties varied in size, from that of a small flower-pot to
_ that of a cauldron, and round about them still lay
scattered immense masses of the remains of the
shells and bodies of the Murex, in many instances
aggeluminated together. They had evidently been
pounded in those cavities, exactly as described by
Pliny, and the dye extracted according to the formulee
so graphically detailed by the ancient naturalist.
The Purpura lapillus of our own shores yields a
similar dye, and may be kept in our Aquaria as a
reserve bottle of “ marking-ink ;” for the ingenious
Mr. Gosse has shown how its dye may be thus used
for household purposes. The shell is a small white
univalve, with one or more bands of pale brown. It
perishes on being immersed in fresh-water; and a

thick vein of yellowish white, near the head, contains
78

OR, GLIMPSES BENEATH THE WATERS.

the dye, which is a liquid of a creamy thickness and
of pale, indistinct colour. But if it be painted in the
forms required, as a cipher, or any other ornament,
on linen, or any other textile fabric, with a camel’s-
hair pencil, and exposed to the air, it rapidly assumes
a yellow tone; which first changes to green, then
blue, till at last it becomes a full strong indigo,
exhibiting plainly all the forms that have been
traced. A crimson-red change next ensues, and the
final colour, which is mdelibly permanent, is a red-
dish purple.

There is also a large naked Mollusc, one of the
Aplysia, that pours forth, under excitement, a secre-
tion of rich purple hue; but the colour is considered
valueless as a dye, from its extreme volatility, though
it is stated that it may be rendered ame by
means of nitric acid.

The common Planorbis corneus, a shell coiled in
the form of a ram’s horn, has a similar property ;
but the colour of the fluid is still more volatile.
The purple liquid, however, contained in another of
our native shells (Scalaria) is very permanent.

It is well known that the mk of the Chinese,
which we term Indian ink, is prepared from the
Cuttle, and the Cuttles of the Mediterranean Sea
furnished the principal black inks and dyes of the

79

OCEAN GARDENS;

Greeks and Romans. It is a kind of Sepia, in fact,
that still furnishes the rich brown colour which
bears the name of the animal from which it is
derived.

The common Sepia vulgaris might form an
appropriate specimen for a marine Aquarium,
many of its habits being singular; and its power of
enveloping itself in a cloud of its own rich dye
may often be observed when it 1s irritated by the
presence of a real or fancied danger. It has the
faculty of propelling itself hither or thither by the
emission of a jet of water, as described in speaking
of the locomotive power of other Molluscs, with
the additional faculty of guiding its motions by the
rapid movement of two fin-like paddles, which,
when in agitation, produce an effect not unlike the
fluttermg action of the wings of a moth. This
little Cephalopod has large projecting eyes, anda
sroup of arms that hang listlessly down when the
fis are in motion. It changes colour fitfully and
beautifully, exhibiting in the course of such changes
pretty metallic spots and rings, which appear and
disappear, now like gold, now like silver, as seen
through a semi-opaque substance. The whole crea-
ture is at one moment of a dusky gray tone, but

fitfully changes to white or deep brown when
80

OR, GLIMPSES BENEATH THE WATERS.

alarmed. These little creatures are cxceedingly
voracious, and when one was observed by Mr.
Gosse to seize another of its own species, the
victim shot out its defence of dark black fluid.

Some of the Zrochus tribe of shells look pretty
in an Aquarium, but at present their treatment is
so imperfectly understood, that they do not seem
to do well. The specimens can, however, be re-
newed as required.

Trochus ziziphmus, the pearly Trochus, the
anintal of which is of a rich orange colour striped
with black, moves freely about, and forms a very
attractive object. The animal of 7. granulatus
is larger and handsomer, but shy, and displays
little activity in confinement. The small Trochus,
T. cmerarius, if placed in an Aquarium, may be
observed rasping down the minute Conferve that
grow on the inside of the glass; and the curious
method of the operation, and the singular instru-
ments with which it is performed, may be observed
by the aid of a small pocket lens.

Inmpets—those curious bonnet-shells, as_ they
are termed in some places, which are found in the
form of a flattened and inverted funnel, adhering
closely to the flat rocks of the sea-shore in all the

uropean seas—are more curious than they appear
81 G

OCEAN GARDENS ;

at a first glance, and have characteristics that well
repay the labour of persevering observation. I
should always place a few in an Aquarium.

The common Limpet (Patella vulgata) has a
power, which appears extraordinary when the soft
substance of its body is considered, of excavating,
more or less deeply, a portion of the rock which it
makes its home. It is supposed to leave its hollow
in the night, returning infallibly to its home in the
morning. This habit might be watched in an
Aquarium, and, if verified, a very interesting fact
would be established, which at present remains
somewhat doubtful, although Mr. Lukis, of Guern-
sey, marked a Limpet, and found it return to its
haunt. These creatures belong to the order named
Cyclobranchiata, from the breathing apparatus
being arranged in a circle round the body. The
pretty British shell, vulgarly called the Ark of
Noah, but which is the Arca tetagrona, should be
tried in Aquaria, as well as the elegant Heart-shell
of the beautiful genus Jsocardia; the movements
and habits of the latter, as described by the Rev.
J. Bulwer, beg very curious and interesting.

The pretty little Cowry is an object that must:
not be passed over in silence, when treating of
objects fitted for the marine Aquarium, although,

82

OR, GLIMPSES BENEATH THE WATERS.

in a little book of this extent, many others must of
necessity be omitted. This beautiful little crea-
ture, Cyprea Europea, carrying its porcelain-like
dwelling on its back, is enabled to move steadily
along by the action of its single foot. When in
action, the mantle, as it is termed, which is the gene-
ral covering of the body, is greatly distended, and
protrudes from the shell, which it perfectly encloses,
folding up at the sides, and meeting at the top,
the joining being scarcely perceptible, and the
whole surface fitting so tightly to the shell, that
the little ribbings are seen distinctly through it.
It is curious to observe the act of respiration, and all
the associated phenomena of this wonderful little
animal. ‘The foot is pale orange, the mantle delicate
olive, spotted with black and studded with pro-
truding glands of yellow. It is, i short, when in a
state of activity, a most curious and beautiful crea-
ture, of whose appearance and habits thousands,
who only know and‘admire the deserted shell, can
have no idea.

The bivalves, of which all are aquainted with —
at least one kind—the delicious edible Oyster—ofier
many animals suited to Aquaria. The curious
Razor-shell, but for its habit of burrowing, would

form a very curious object; and the Cockles, from
83

OCEAN GARDENS;

the rich colour of their beautiful fringes, when the

shells are partially opened for feeding and breathing,

are very beautiful objects.

The means of movement of the common Scallop,
or Cockle, and other bivalves, by means of a single
fleshy “foot,” have been described in speaking of
Molluscs in general; but the spinous Cockles,
Cordium aculeatum and OC. tubercutum, have been
termed the aristocracy of the Scallop tribe. The
valves of the largest open three-quarters of an
inch, and the visible portion of the spongy-locking
fleshy mantle is of a pellucid orange colour; at the
end is protruded a double tube, thick and short,
enveloped in a fringe of cirrhi or tentacles. The
foot, which has been compared to a tongue, is
smooth, glossy, and semi-transparent, like scarlet
cornelian, and enables the creature to move about
with great activity im an Aquarium; some that
were sent, by the Rev. C. Kingsley, to Mr. Gosse,
having startled that gentleman by the noise they
were creating among the pebbles and other objects
of his tank, by their rapid movements.

Many other kinds of shells might be mentioned
if space permitted, but I must content myself with
mentioning, en passant, the polished Donax, which,
when the animal displays itself, exhibiting its bright

84

OR, GLIMPSES BENEATH THE WATERS.

yellow colouring, with its curious stripes and gay
pink fringes, would form a real ornament to the
drawing-room sea; and just hinting at the intro-
duction of a specimen of the TZritonia Hombergi,
remarkable for a power of producing an audible
sound like the click of a steel wire.

The pretty little bivalve, the Lima hians, also
forms a very attractive addition to the Aquarium,
especially in motion, when its long orange fringes
form a train or tail like that of a fiery comet, as
Dr. Landsborough has observed, as it glides along,
propelled by the discharge of a jet of water, the
mechanism for the propulsion of which forms its
swimming apparatus.

85

OHAPTER VII.

THE ASCIDIANS, BARNACLES, SEA-CUCUMBERS,
NAKED MOLLUSCS, SEA-WORMS, ETC.

A crouP of Ascidians forms a very curious object for
the Aquarium, their forms being singular, and some-
times delicate as a transparent ege-shell. The group
delineated in Plate VII. will convey some idea of
the general appearance of these creatures, whose
habitations might be taken for a store of fairy
pitchers, placed snugly in their submarine china-
closet for extra safety, and partially covered with
sea-weed as a further means of concealment.
There are above fifty native species, varying greatly
in appearance. They may be found at the extreme
verge of low water, many having the aspect of
pellucid bags, formed of a substance between jelly
and leather ; while others present a far more robust
and rugged appearance, both m form and texture.
Some are very dingy in colour, but a few species—
more rarely found—are very attractive, and some-
times brilliant, in their hues.

The Barnacles must not be omitted in furnishing

an Aquarium, nor the fable connected with the
86

r
ray &

Prey eae

PLATE X.

Ni
a

AN

ya!

A

Ee

\

ll

Hi,

2. A group of Serpula contortuplicata.

1. Actinia crassicornis.

OCEAN GARDENS, ETC.

Common Barnacle (Pentelasmis anatifera), in which
it is affirmed that the Barnacle Geese were their
offspring. Our old naturalist Gerard not only
gives a detailed account of the transformation by
which this wonder of the good old times was accom-
plished, but positively illustrates his description
with an engraving, in which the metamorphosis is
seen In progress.

The tube-like cells of the Serpule have some
resemblance to the cells of the Common Barnacle,
but that of the solitary Serpula, Serpula tubularia,
is much taller, often rising a foot from the substance
it adheres to. The fan-like feathers forming the
feeding, and, perhaps, also the breathing apparatus,
of Serpula contortuplicata, are exceedingly rich in
colour, as is also the member which acts as a “‘cork”’
to the tube when the feather-like tentacles are with-
drawn, and which is familiarly termed the “‘stopper;’’

for when, on alarm, the feathers are suddenly drawn (a, Oy
in, the “stopper”’ immediately follows, shutting up \ .*'

the opening of the tube in a very perfect manner.
This organ is often of a rich orange, and the feathers
a brilliant scarlet, though they are sometimes pale,
or nearly white, as shown in Plate X. These fan-
like organs, termed feathers, appear to act as

breathing organs, by separating the oxygen from
87

OCEAN GARDENS;

the currents of water which pass between their
fibres. The Sadella, an allied tribe, forms its tube
of mud; while that of the Serpula is always of hard
shell. The golden-combed worm, Amphitrite auri-
coma, another singular creature of this class, may be
best alluded to in this place. Just below the cork-
like head, when it leaves its tubular shell, are the
scarlet gills, sightly resembling those of fishes, and
across the head the golden comb-like appendage is
expanded, from which it derives its popular name.
When the animal retires within its tube, the upper
part of the head has, like the Serpule, all the ap-
pearance of a cork or small stopper. This creature
is one of the most curious of its class. |

The Balam, or Acorn-shells, which are generally
parasitic, fixing themselves to the shell of the
Whelk or some other univalve, spread their crimson
tentacles when seeking food exactly in the manner
of the Serpule, the feathery filaments forming a
kind of living casting-net, as it has been observed,
in which the minute Annelid or Infusory is en-
tangled and devoured. Two Balani are represented
in Plate VII. on the shell of a common Whelk.

The Holothuriade, or Sea-Cucumbers, are very
singular creatures; their form, as it floats in the

waters, exhibiting as good a miniature representa-
88

OR, GLIMPSES BENEATH THE WATERS.

tion of a small pickled Gherkin as can be conceived,
except in colour, the shells or cases of these ani-
mals being generally white. One of the species,
Hyalina, has a case which seems formed of
crisp rice-paper, and is covered with spines of the
the same colour and texture. ‘The tentacula, or
breathing apparatus, eight in number, are curiously
branched, and, when expanded, have the appearance
of a skeleton flower, of which the figure in Plate
IX. will convey a tolerable idea. The functions of
this flower-like set of organs are probably the same
as those of the Nudibranch class of Molluses, which,
though generally considered as being a breathing
apparatus, are, probably, at the same time food-
collecting organs, as all the creatures thus furnished
are liquid feeders.

Thyone papillosa, one species of Sea-Cucumber,
has ten branches to this set of organs, which it sel-
dom displays when in captivity; but a little gentle
motion artificially imparted to the water, as sug-
gested in another place, would probably produce the
kind of excitement requisite for their expansion, as
the introduction of fresh water to the tank seldom
fails to produce this effect for a time. When irritated,
these creatures have the capacity of committing self-

destruction in a most determined and complete man-
&9

OCEAN GARDENS;

ner, by expectorating the whole of the intestines and
leaving their case or shell bare and empty. But Sir
J. Dalzell has observed that the shell thus deprived —
of its living inmate, must be much more intimately
connected with its life and organization than the
shells of the Molluses; for after a considerable
lapse of time, he observed that the rejected parts
have been renewed by gradual growth. ‘The intro-
duction of a single drop of fresh water will at once
drive the creature to this summary mode of putting
an end to the inconvenience.

OF THE NAKED OR SHELL-LESS MOLLUSCS.

The Sea-Lemon, Doris tuberculata, is one of the
most attractive. It derives its popular name from
its peculiar form, which is like that of half a Lemon
cut longitudinally. It is generally of a yellow tone
of colour also, which greatly adds to the fancied
resemblance. It has its breathing apparatus ex-
posed externally, like other Nudibranchs, spreading
over the mantle, near the head, in a flower-like
shape; and, as it moves slowly round and round
the Aquarium, forms a very singular object.

The Doris pilosa is a pretty white species of the
same order ; and the little black shining Nudibranch,

Runcina Hancoci,is a pretty and interesting creature.
: 90

OR, GLIMPSES BENEATH THE WATERS.

But the handsomest of the Nudibranch or naked-
gilled tribe, as the term might be Englished, is the
Holis corronata, which forms certainly a splendid
ornament to the Aquarium. Its general colour is a
pellucid indistinct tone, of pinkish hue, the papillee
or branchize are in clusters, and the central canal is
of a rich crimson. Different parts of the surface
reflect the brightest metallic colours, and the whole
creature has a very gem-like appearance. In cap-
tivity it is very active. Another species of Zolis
has the power of making a singular clicking noise,
like the Tritonia.

The Aplysia, or Sea-Hares, have been unenviably
celebrated among their congeners as containing a
virulent poison. The species common in the Med1-
terranean, A. Leporine, furnished the venom with
which the infamous Locasta destroyed the enemies
of Nero; and with which she eventually prepared,
at the tyrant’s request, a draught for himself, but
which he had not the courage to swallow. The
British species, 4. hybrida, might probably be kept
in confinement.

Many of the Sea-Worms are very beautiful. The
Nereis bilmeata is very brilliant, with its crimson
body brightly marked by two white longitudinal

stripes.
91

OCEAN GARDENS;

- The Phyllodoce are a class of Sea-Worms, some-
what resembling the land Centipede, which form
curious objects of observation when they are in
search of food. Instead of spreading a set of ten-
tacles, like some of the Zoophytes and Molluscs
previously described, they have the faculty of
turning the cavity which forms the stomach inside
out, like a stocking, the mverted organ pro-
truding from its mouth to a considerable distance,
which, when it becomes sufficiently covered with
the minute Infusorize which form its food, 1s
drawn in, assuming gradually its natural posi-
tion, where it remains till the nutriment so intro-
duced has been absorbed, when the operation is
repeated.

The Sea-Mouse, one of the largest and common-
est of our marine worms, is of a flattened and some-
what oval form, pointed at each end, its general
colour being pale brown. The clothing of silky hairs,
however, with which it is invested, is so splendid,
glittering in iridescent colours like the plumage of
a humming-bird, that Lamark has appropriately
named it Halithea, or Sea-Goddess—Linnzeus having
previously given it the name of Aphrodite, the
Marine Venus. When, indeed, it receives the rays
of light, and reflects them from the depths of the sea,

92

OR, GLIMPSES BENEATH THE WATERS.

rich with prismatic hues, the effect has been com-
pared in splendour to that of the peacock’s tail
when outspread in the sunshine. When in the
Aquarium it crawls restlessly to and fro, as though
anxious to exhibit its splendours in every possible
point of view; the metallic tinges, changing with
every position, being most magnificent by candle-
light, when red and orange hues predominate,
while by day-light pearly greens and blues are
most frequent.

The bodies of many of the Huricide and Nere-
ide exhibit changing colours of similar character,
though less splendid ; but many of them possess an
opal-like tenderness and delicacy almost equally
attractive.

The little Sea-Slug, gines punctiluceus, is a
brilliant little creature, well worthy the trouble of
being permanently established in our Aquaria.
Its general colour is pale reddish-brown ; but, with
the aid of a moderate lens, it exhibits a number of
small black tubercles, in the centre of each of which
is a speck of resplendent blue or green, forming a
succession of gem-like ornaments that have been
compared, by enthusiastic naturalists, to sapphires
and emeralds; but, without exaggeration, the jewelry

of this little creature may be said to surpass that
93

OCEAN GARDENS, ETC.

of the Diamond Beetle, notwithstanding his superior
reputation.

A few Chitons—a sort of Sea Wood-Louse—
would do well in atank; and a specimen of Gastro-
phena modolina is said to have thriven well during
many months.

94

CHAPTER VIII.
THE FISH AND CRUSTACEANS OF THE AQUARIUM.

A MARINE Aquarium may be rendered very interest-
ing without the introduction of fish, and as their
presence requires that the water should be once each
day aerated by means of additional water, introduced
by the syringe or by a drip, continuing for some
time from another vessel, many may prefer the
lovely Sea- Weeds, curious Zodphytes, and beautiful
Molluses, alone; as, if the balance between the
amount of animal and vegetable life be felicitously
balanced, and the natural scavengers, in the shape
of Periwinkles and other Sea-Snails, for the con-
sumption of decaying vegetable matter, and a few
Prawns to perform a similar office for perishing Jn-
fusorie, or any other animal matter, be properly
supplied—the tank may remain for a long time un-
disturbed, the supply of oxygen beimg ample for the
lower classes of animal life alluded to. The beautiful
Actime, indeed, will exist m apparent health for a
considerable time in water in which no vegetable

‘growth has been introduced. Mr. Gosse describes
95

OCEAN GARDENS;

instances in which the water in glass Aquaria, con-
taining Sea-Anemonies, has remained perfectly pure
for more than a year.

The addition of fish, however, undoubtedly en-—
livens the general aspect of an Aquarium very con-
siderably ; and many may not grudge the task of
daily aerating the water, in order to enjoy the cheerful
spectacle of their agreeable and ever-active move-
ments. One or two young Flounders, very small,
and the young of other species of flat fish, add much
interest to an Aquarium, in consequence of their
mode of swimming being so different to that of the
class of fishes with whose movements the eye is
more familiar. |

Among the fish mentioned by the most expe-
rienced in the keeping of Sea Aquaria as_ best
suited to that purpose, the first is the pretty little
Tansy, Blennius pholis, with its bright scarlet eyes,
and the many changing hues of its body. This little
fellow will live and flourish in a tank with a poorer
supply of oxygen than any other fish yet tried.

The fifteen-spined Stickleback, Gasterosteus spi-
nachia, does well, and is very cheerful and brisk
in his movements. Three or four would be an im-
provement to any tank.

Young of the gray Mullet, too, do well; for

96

OR, GLIMPSES BENEATH THE WATERS.

if the supply of oxygen be rather inadequate, they
are observed to put their heads partly above the
surface of the water, and obtain an artificial supply
in that surreptitious manner. The black Goby,
Gobius mger, has also been tried with success; but
his voracious character—devouring without scruple
even his own congeners—renders him on the whole
not a very desirable tenant; and yet it is a fine
sight to see the little warrior turn black when he
seizes his prey, his turquois-coloured eyes ba
with fury.

Several other kin ds are iibietiil in a previous
page, in the list of animals placed by a Gosse In
his first experimental Aquarium. — |

The Pogge, <Aspidophorus si tipdvachia is a
singularly formed fish that might be added by way
of experiment. The plate-armour in which his
body is clothed runs in regular longitudinal lines,
showing eight sharp ridges, running from head to:
tail, that have a singular and unfish-like appearance.
In confinement, however, he does not display him--
self to advantage, generally lying: near the bottom
of the Aquarium.

The beautiful crimson maculations of the Ancient
Wrasse, Labrus maculatus, render him a very. de-—

sirable tenant; but his size—small specimens being:
97.8 FL

OCEAN GARDENS;

eight or nine inches long—causes him to be incon-

venient; and, moreover, he his difficult to manage,
and would probably require altogether a special —

treatment. One of the smaller Wrasses, however,
Crenilabrus cornubicus, is a desirable guest; his
minute size, and varying and often gay colours,
rendering him very attractive. He is an active and
eager searcher for food, but never takes any loosely
floating object, only darting at and detaching such

atoms as are attached to the difierent species of

Algee. | .

The Pipe-Fish, Syngnathus acus, is interesting
in the tank, and also the two-spotted sucker, Zepi-
dogaster bimaculatus, a prettily coloured and curious.
little fish, which has the faculty of attaching itself
to the side of the tank, or any other hard flat surface,
by means of two singularly-formed ventral fins, which
act like the leather suckers by means of which boys
enjoy the sport of lifting heavy stones at the end
of a string. The spawn of this fish is like tiny
amber beads, and is attached to shells and other
substances.

Among the Crustacea fitted for an Aquarium, the

common Prawn, Palemon serratus, holds the first
rank. In the first place, his cleansing properties, in

devouring all decaying animal matter, are most im-
98

OR, GLIMPSES BENEATH THE WATERS.

portant. But not less interesting are his graceful
movements: Now, he steals stealthily over the
pebbles or the fronds of the Alga, with his long,
slender, hair-like horns in gentle motion, with all
the seeming wariness of a cat (the resemblance
being increased by candle-light by the fiery glare of
the eye); next, leaving his walking apparatus, or
legs, inactive, he uses only the swimming members,
which are larger and flatter, and bordered with a
compact fringe; agitating these instruments with
beautiful regularity, he rises in the water with
graceful ease (see Plate VI.), his semi-transparent
body, as he rises, giving to his appearance a strange
and somewhat apparition-like aspect, which has
caused him to be compared to a marine spectre.

The Prawn takes its food with its second feet,
two-fingered hands or claws, and carries it to its
mouth. The hands of the first pair of legs are only
rudimental in appearance, but are precisely fitted to
their special purpose. They are his cleansing appa-
ratus; and it is most interesting to watch the
operations of his toilet when he uses these fringes as
brushes, with which he cleanses his whole person
most thoroughly, being almost unmerciful in the
amount of severe scrubbing to which he subjects

himself,
a

OCEAN GARDENS ;

An allied species, P. squilla, is scarcely distin-
guishable from P. serratus; but the handsome
scarlet-striped Prawn, Pardulus annuticornis, about —
the size of a Shrimp, is quite distinct, and would ,
make a valuable addition to the collection. The
Lobster Prawn, also, Athanas nilescens, has like-
- wise been tried.

_ Some kinds of Crabs may be admitted, but not
many; for several are extremely voracious, and
would soon clear off all the naked Zodphytes and
most of the Molluscs. :

The Climbing Crab, Hurynome aspera, is inte-
resting in a tank from his habits. His climbing is
as graceful and skilful as that of a monkey, and when:
he has succeeded in perching himself upon the highest.

object in the tank, he forms a picturesque object.

Crabs, like Prawns, are sea-scavengers, and the,
kinds that do not attack living creatures as well as
dead are consequently useful ina tank. The great.
Hiddler Crab, Portwnus puber, is remarkably hand-;
some. He is clothed, in part, with a velvety brown
fur, and the bare places of his shell are of a shining:
black. His eyes are marked with scarlet, and there
are a few touches of bright blue about the head.:
If introduced, his proceedings should be caren
watched. |

100

OR, GLIMPSES BENEATH THE WATERS.

‘There should certainly be a specimen of the
Hermit Crab in a Whelk-shell; and the Cleanser
Crab, Portunus depurator, has been tried, but these
active and greedy Sea-Spiders must be closely looked.
alter.

It remains to speak of the Star-Fish tribe, which
affords some of the most beautiful and easily ma-
naged subjects for the Aquarium. |

In the centre of the lower part of Plate VI. are
a large and a‘small specimen of the beautiful scarlet
species, Geniaster equestres; just above, to the
right, the graceful pink Cribella oculata ; further
to the right, Asteria gibbosa; and immediately
above the Cribella, the thin, leathery species, the
bird’s foot Sea-Star, Palmipes membranaceus. All
these species are small, easily managed, and especially
suited to the Aquarium; as is also the finely-marked
and long-rayed Ophicoma rosula, his deep scarlet,
with bright black marks, and his slender limbs or
rays, rendering him a conspicuous object. These
Star-Fish glide round the Aquarium, by the aid of
their thousand sucker-like feet, in a very interesting
manner.

All the true Star-Fishes, the Asteria, have the
body divided into rays, like a star, and are furnished

with sucking feet, or cirrhi, which are tubular,
101

OCEAN GARDENS;

and filled with water. The internal structure of
these creatures is very intricate and beautiful, and
the skeleton of almost any kind offers the appear- —
ance of that of some exquisitely symmetrical flower.
There are fourteen British species of Star-Fish, the
finest being the Sun-Star, Solaster papposa, the
disk, surrounded with twelve or thirteen rays, vary-
ing in colour from scarlet to deep purple, the rays
bemg sometimes of a different colour.

The Lwidia fragilissema 1s also a large kind,
sometimes two feet across, which is peculiar to the
British shores. It possesses the peculiar faculty of —
breaking itself into fragments when enraged or
captured; and, in a work by the lamented Professor
Forbes, there is a very graphic and facetious account
of a specimen that escaped him in a very deter-
mined way by a suicide of this kind.

Stars of this class, having the power to dislocate
their structure, are popularly known as brittle Stars.
Some affect to consider this faculty not so very
wonderful ; but let such suppose for a moment some
higher animal—a man, for instance—gifted with a
capacity for exploding his trunk and limbs into
moderately-sized fragments—into joints, as a butcher
would say—at any slight provocation, and then the

- character of such a power would appear very suf-
102

PLATE VI.

1. Edwardsia vestita. 4. Cribella oculata. 6. Palmipes membranaceus.
2& 3, Geniaster equestres. 5. Asterina gibbosa. 7. Palaemon serratus.

OR, GLIMPSES BENEATH THE WATERS.

ficiently extraordinary. It is possible that the
fragments of the disruptured Star-Fish have the
power, in each separate fragment, of renewing the
absent portions, and that each portion thus becomes
- @ perfect fish, the dissevered portions having been
noticed to retain their vitality long after their sepa-
ration. We know that the little Garden Lizard has
the power of dislocating his tail without effort, and
leaving it between the thumb and finger, when he
is playfully caught by that appendage; and, also,
that he has the power of renewing his caudal extre-
mity within a very short period. It is thought,
therefore, not impossible, reasoning by analogy,
that the Star-Fish may possess powers of a similar
kind, of a somewhat more extensive character.

The Amnion Star-Fish, called sometimes Five-
fingered (Asterias rubens), belongs to the division ~
Lichimodermata, that is, skinned like the Hedge-
hog.

The Sea-Egg, Sea- Urchin, or Egg-Urchin, as it is
sometimes called, belongs also to the Hehinodermata,
or Hedgehog-skinned class, and form interesting
objects in the Aquarium; the flat species exhibiting
much more evidently their close affinity to the Star-
Fish tribe, than those of the more common spherical

form.
163

OCEAN GARDENS;

To revert to other classes that occur to me as
suitable objects for an Aquarium, I may mention the

“‘ Red-noses,” as they are graphically termed (Saai- _

cava rugosa), a colony of which, peeping out of
their holes in the rock, would form a very striking
object; and if a piece of their native rock could
be detached sufficiently deep not to disturb them
in the recesses of their tube-like burrows,. their
removal “ex blogue’ would not be difficult. When
touched, the Red-nose squirts a stream of water at
you in defiance, and darts back into his cavern.
He is a small bivalve, having his inner or immediate
home within two rough brown shells. The double-
tubed proboscis with which he is furnished is ex-
tended, when in search of food, to the mouth of his
cave, in which position the appearance of its ruddy
terminus has given to this tribe the characteristic
name of ‘* Red-noses.’’ How he contrives to bore a
hole in the solid rock, with any of the soft pulpy
members with which he is furnished, appears a mys-
tery. Other Conchifers have, however, similar capa-
bilities, their ingenuity not being confined to rocks,
and their mdustry not being always. harmless.
Such, for imstance, is that of the Teredo, or Ship-
worm, a species.of which has long proved so in-

imical to the formation of a Russian fleet in the
104

My

OR, GLIMPSES BENEATH THE WATERS.

Black Sea—the late war having, however, proved a
far more serious impediment to the development of
that portion of the Russian navy.

The Sea-Leaf, formed of twenty thousand or
more cradles for young Polypes, is also a curious
object. It is the Polyzoén, sometimes called the
Hornwrack. = |

A. few of the translucent Meduse, in a young
stage of their existence, might be procured and
tried, though their transport would be difficult ; and
a group of creatures, of the genus Zodthamnium,
forming, as they do, an object like a little tree of
glass, covered with trumpet-shaped bells, of the
same crystalline aspect, each exhibiting its rotating
circle of minute cilia in rapid motion within, would
form a singular and beautiful complement to the
wonders of the Aquarium, if its removal from its
native depths, and its location in its new home,
could be successfully managed.

105

CHAPTER IX.
CONCLUSION.

In conclusion, a few general remarks may be made,
the observance of which will usually ensure suc-
cess in the formation of an Aquarium. In the first
place, if the vessel in which the Aquarium is to be
established be home-made, care must be taken not
to use any cement that has a disagreeable smell—
which would be very soon fatal to creatures accus-
tomed to the pure waters of the ocean. Scott’s
cement is said to be better than putty, for fixing in
the glass to the columns at the angles.

If cement be used to fix the rock-work of the
miniature marine landscape, let 1t be the best Port-
land cement, which, when dry, must be soaked by
filling the vessel with water, and the water changed
several times before the tank will be fit for use.

The best sand for the artificial beach, or bottom,
is the Thames’ sand, used by builders; but this
must be washed several times, till the water
runs off quite clear, before it is fit for use—any
other kind of sand, if that cannot be procured, must

be submitted to similar washings. Sea-water can
. 106

OCEAN GARDENS, ETC.

be procured by furnishing the steward or captain of
any Thames steamer, or the guard of a railway in
connection with the coast, with a clean barrel; the
charge, in either case, for carriage and trouble,
would not exceed two or three shillings.

The artificial salt water bas been found sufficient
for Zodphytes, but not for fish and other of the
higher class of marine animals, except for a certain .
given time.

The composition for artificial sea-water 1s as
follows :—

Pron galt ool kB Eom.
Bypsom salts. . 1°...) 2 on.
Chloride of magnesium . 200 gers. ?
Chloride of potassium. . 40 grs. Jj

To these are added four quarts of water, and
when the salts are thoroughly dissolved, say on the
following day, the liquid must be filtered through a
sponge; it is then fit for use.

Care must be taken to observe whether, when
the sun shines and the light is bright, the silvery
bubbles of oxygen form upon the fronds of the
marine vegetation ; and if not, it is certain that the
marine plants are not in a healthy state, and must
be renewed,

_. Mr, Gosse gives the following final directions as
We

troy.

OCEAN GARDENS; ©

to the class of animals and plants that should be
selected in preference for the experiments of begin-
ners. :

With regard to sea-weed, he observes, do not
take Oar-weeds or Tangle; all the Fuci are of aslimy
nature, which it is difficult to manage, and as their

size 1s Inconvenient, and they have but little ae

their absence is not to be regretted.

Of animals, he says, take :—Of Fish—Blennies,
Gobies, Wrasses. Of Mollusca—Aplysia, Periwinkle,
Chitons, Scallops, and Burrowing Bivalves, such
as Venus, Pullastra, &c. Of Crustacea—Kurynome,
Portunus puber, Carcinus meenas, Ebalia, Corystes,
the Paguri, Porcellana platycheles, and the Cran-
eones, the Paleemones, that is, Shrimps and Prawns.
Of Annelids—Pectenaria, the Sabelle, and the
Serpule. Of Zoophytes—the Madrepores, and all
the Actiniee. i

Few will establish an Aquarium without sonivtale
ereat mental improvement, and the enlargement of
their circle of acquirement, in a direction highly
calculated to develop some of the best and highest
feelings of our nature. Hven the scientific cannot
fail greatly to enlarge their sphere of knowledge in
this new, and almost untrodden, field of research:

The entomologist, sighing that there are no new

108

Pein
hs “et

OR, GLIMPSES BENEATH THE WATERS.

Tiniz to add to his already enormous list, no new
Curculios with which to form another volume to the
already portly series—these and other physiological
Alexanders, weeping for new regions to subdue,
may hail the Aquarium as a fertile source of further
conquests; for, notwithstanding the numerous and
curious discoveries of recent investigators, the depths
of the ocean are as yet, comparatively speaking, one
of the untrodden fields of science; and a glorious
arena it presents—the Aquarium being one of the
fairest channels for the detection of its myriads of
yet hidden mysteries. Me

The marine Aquarium is, as yet, a plaything, a
mere toy; but it is destined to become a far more
important means of advancing science, and minis-
tering to popular instruction, amusement, and won-
der, than is yet dreamt of. It has yet to do for the
ocean that which our menageries and vast gardens,
devoted to the service of natural history, have done
for the forests and mountains of ‘the terrestrial por-
tion of our planet. |
'- We shall yet have tropical Aquaria, in which
the temperature and qualities of the sea between
the tropics will be so successfully imitated, that the’
elorious shells of those regions will be exhibited in’

living motion to our greedily-curious gaze; and fish
109

OCEAN GARDENS;

gleaming with unusual dyes—metallic azure, and
silvery crimson—will dart and glide in our tropie-
tempered tanks, as in their own tropic ocean, for
our delight and gratification. We are now entitled
to expect from science, that 1t shall exhibit to us the
wonders of the tropic deeps, as it has shown us the
glorious plumage and velvet-spotted furs of the
denizens of its terrestrial forests.

This is, in fact, the only thing that remains for
us to do, in making a fitting popular display of
the wonders of Nature, in order that we may surpass
the doings of the ancients in that field of popular
instruction and gratification. |

Even in the days of Cyrus, we learn from the
graphic Xenophon and other sources, that every
eastern satrap had his “‘paradises,”’ in which the most
curious animals of distant regions were preserved
in a state of liberty, and in a manner suited to thetr
natures, either for the sport of hunting or for the
curious gratification of the eye.

The Romans, long before they had attamed to
the material wealth of the modern nations of
Europe, had exhibited to the people of their capital
all the noblest animals of Asia and Africa. Even
the Giraffe and the Hippopotamus were familiar

forms to the Roman populace; while, with the
| 110

OR, GLIMPSES BENEATH THE WATERS.

sreat modern nations of the west, the sight of these
wonderful creatures is but quite a recent gratifica-
tion. It only remained to the ancients to have ex-
hibited a Titanic Aquarium, to render our triumph
over their labours in the field of popular natural
history impossible. Had but a Roman Warrington
or Gosse developed the germ of such an idea, and:
an Osler existed to furnish the glass—the Pompey,
or Cesar, or Crassus, would not have been wanting
to feast the eyes, both of patrician and plebeian
Rome, with an Aquarium measuring hundreds of
feet in length, in which the monsters of the deep
would have been exhibited in deadly conflict, and
human divers, armed with net and trident, like the
retiarize of their gladiatorial combats, would have
encountered, beneath the waters, the Shark, the
‘Whale, or the Torpedo, to the shouts of crowded
circuses, the centre of which would have been a
glass-walled ocean.

But a gigantic Aquarium is, fortunately, a feat
that yet remains for modern science to achieve,
and which it will doubtless accomplish. The day
will arrive when we shall see the living Behemoth—
the Titan of the deep—rollmg majestic in waves of
his native element, perhaps pursued by his cruel
enemy the Sword-Fish, or harried by a shoal of Her-

111

OCEAN GARDENS, ETC.

rings, graphically exemplifying to a London crowd
the origin of Yarmouth bloaters. Or we may see the
dreaded Shark float round and round the vast glass.
prison seeking his prey, and the Shark-hunter of |
the south seas may be imported to exhibit his skill
in a bloodless conflict—mocking the attempts of the
sea monster to seize him, as the Spanish matador
plays long with the infuriated bull; but without
necessitating the same catastrophe to the animal,
defenceless against the specially-trained skill of his
human antagonist. We have already had our crys-
tal palaces, covering their acres, and filled with
objects of art and wealth from every quarter of the
globe; it is not impossible, therefore, that we may
have crystal-walled seas, in which aquatic mena-
geries will form the last new object of fashion and
wonder. |

For the present, however, the Aquarium is, as I
have said, but a toy, yet one full of pleasant in-
struction ; and it doubtless contains the germs of a
development, the precise direction of we it is at
present difficult to guess.

THE END.

London: THomas HARRILD, Printer, Salisbury Square, and Silver Street. Mee aks

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