952 SCHOOL SCIENCE AND MATHEMATICS

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MEMOIRS OF AN AQUARIUMSBY MARJORIE L. BETTYS.

Chapter 7.The little aquarium with the green trimmings had been waiting

patiently at the pet shop, and now it came. It was artistically plantedand arranged, and showed to advantage the brilliant colors of thelittle fish.With this aquarium came ten wee tropicals. A male and female

Guppy, a male and female Zebra fish, a male and female Plati, andfour month-old Guppies. The Guppies are live bearers, and it sohappened that little Lady Guppy was about to perform this marvelousfeat uncommon to most species of fish.. When we children were notwatching the aquarium, then Mother, Aunty, or Vanny would watchwith vigilance. I felt anxious lest something should happen. Aftera few days, however. Mother consented to letting us buy anotheraquarium planted thickly with hiding plants for the babies. Forwhen the little ones are very little, there are hungry mothers andfathers that would like nothing better than to gobble them up.

Chapter 77.Lady Guppy, so named, suddenly found herself lifted into the air

and dumped somewhere. When she came to her senses, she foundherself in an entirely different world, which didnU appeal to her.One reason was that she simply didn^t like the plan of things, anotherwas that she didn^t know what was going to happen.

So a few days of misery passed and then, one night I came fromschool and looked carefully at the aquarium (and Lady Guppy).What I found in there were eleven little such-and-suches swimmingaround like any big, beautiful Lady Guppy. So the miserable Lady*This article consists of the first three chapters of a "book" written by a

seventh oracle student. It suggests a project correlating En&Iish an.d science.

MEMOIRS OF AN AQUARIUM 953

was lifted up in the net and put back in her heaven, and the ElevenSnookums started to breast the current.The zebra fish were very much beloved by us. They were so flashy

and graceful and when the food came dribbling down, they just grace-fully swam through and took a piece with them.But later we noticed that something decidedly wrong was happen-

ing to one of them. His tail seemed to droop and he went around ina crazy manner. I don*t know whether it was a disease or just asign of old age, but I do know that he wasn’t acting in a healthy way.Then one day it happened, and we lost one of our beautiful zebra fish.So ever since, the other one has gone around in a distracted man-

ner, not caring for a single thing in the world but food. I think,though, that some day soon he will have another interest in life.The platys are quiet and peaceful. They take a stroke, then stop,

and sometimes stay still for a whole minute waving their fins. Theycan swim pretty fast, though, when they wish to. The male makesa very pretty picture with his bright orange and his black spots.We named our male "Jaguar" or "Leopard" or something like that.The only trouble is that we haven*! found yet how to breed these twofish.

Chapter III,One day I was watching the aquarium very closely. I saw Little

Rainbow, the male Guppy, twisting himself all out of shape and hold-ing himself that way, and at the same time turning around in frontof Lady Guppy. For a while I couldn*t imagine what he was tryingto do, then I solved it. He was showing off his colors to Lady Guppy,but the haughty lady would pay no attention. She just went on pick-ing at leaves and sand.

Little Rainbow is the most beautiful male Guppy I have ever seen.He has many brilliant colors that blend beautifully and flash in thesunlight. Sometimes the black spot on his ribs is small and round.At other times it blurs all over like an ink spot.Lady Guppy is a wonderful specimen of femininity. Some people

show us what they call a very "large female*’ and we compare it withour wondrous lady. Then this very large female turns into a verysmall one.The fish seem to enjoy swimming in and out the plants. Lady

Guppy is clumsy about it, though, when she is hotly pursued by proudmales. I believe that an aquarium without plants is like a man with-out a nose. The fish would have a hard time breathing, because theygive off oxygen, and they certainly add color to it.

A SCIENTIFIC BASIS FOR HEALTH INSTRUCTION IN PUBLICSCHOOLS.

A study recently issued by the University of California Press,entitled "A Scientific Basis for Health Instruction in Public Schools,"by Dr. Laura Cairns, considers first, the scientific determination ofthe proper content for health instruction in schools and, secondly,an examination in the light of the facts thus established of thehealth instruction give in public schools at the present time.The material which should be included in health instruction has

been determined by the author from analysis of the leading causesof mortality and morbidity, and of the incidence of minor ailmentsand physical defects, and from a study of the factors which author-ities recognize as influencing these departures from the normal.