Nevertheless, now I think of it, there must be some error in your
reasoning; for if I put in but a few very small animals, they will bear
the same proportion to this pond that the millions of fish bear to the
ocean."
"I say, Jack," cried Peterkin, waving his hand, "come here, like a good
fellow. Ralph is actually talking philosophy. Do come to our
assistance, for he's out o' sight beyond me already!"
"What's the matter?" inquired Jack, coming up, while he endeavoured to
scrub his long hair dry with a towel of cocoa-nut cloth.
I repeated my thoughts to Jack, who, I was happy to find, quite agreed
with me. "The best plan," he said, "will be to put very few animals at
first into your tank, and add more as you find it will bear them. And
look here," he added, pointing to the sides of the tank, which, for the
space of two inches above the water-level, were encrusted with salt,
"you must carry your philosophy a little further, Ralph. That water has
evaporated so much that it is too salt for anything to live in. You
will require to add _fresh_ water now and then, in order to keep
it at the same degree of saltness as the sea."
"Very true, Jack; that never struck me before," said I.
"And, now I think of it," continued Jack, "it seems to me that the
surest way of arranging your tank so as to get it to keep pure and in
good condition, will be to _imitate_ the ocean in it. In fact,
make it a miniature Pacific.
Pages:
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125