fail, then try a fresh-water aquarium.
Use your tank for the pond instead of the ocean; and in the spotted newt,
the tortoise, the tadpole, the caddis-worm, and the thousand other
inhabitants of our inland ponds and brooks, with the weeds among which
they live, you will find as much entertainment as in watching the wonders
of the great sea.

A camel's-hair brush, a bent spoon on a long handle, a sponge tied to a
stick, and one or two other instruments which use will suggest, are all
that are needed for keeping the sides of the tank free from growth or
removing obnoxious substances from its bottom.

If, on receiving the animals, any of them should appear exhausted by the
journey, they may sometimes be revived by aerating the water in which they
are by means of a syringe. It should always be remembered, that, though
living in the water, they need a constant supply of air. And it would be
well, in getting an aquarium, to have the tank and the seaweeds sent a few
days in advance of the stock, so that on the arrival of the creatures they
may be at once transferred to their new abode.

There are no American books upon the subject, and, in the present want of
them, the two whose names are given above are the best that can be
obtained. Mr. Gosse's is expensive, costing between four and five dollars.
"The Common Objects of the Seashore," to be got for a quarter of a dollar,
contains much accurate, unpretending, and pleasant information.

_The American Drawing-Book: a Manual for the Amateur, and a Basis of Study
for the Professional Artist_. Especially adapted to the Use of Public and
Private Schools, as well as Home Instruction. By J.G. CHAPMAN, N.A. New
York: J.S. Redfield. 4to. pp. 304.

Drawing-books, in general, deserve to be put into the same category with
the numerous languages "without a master" which have deluded so many
impatient aspirants to knowledge by royal (and cheap) roads. A drawing-
book, at its very best, is only a partial and lame substitute for a
teacher, giving instruction empirically; so that, be it ever so correct in
principle, it must lack adaptation to the momentary and most pressing
wants of the pupil and to his particular frame of mind; it is too
Procrustean to be of any ultimate use to anybody, except in comparatively
unimportant matters. It is well enough for those who need only amusement
in their drawing, and whose highest idea of Art is copying prints and
pictures; but for those who want assi