Herbert Axelrod knew about cycling tanks, but attitudes were more lenient towards pretty much every aspect of fishkeeping back then, and I believe what he is suggesting is cycling the tank with fish inside. Would have to read the rest of the chapter to know for sure. One thing I can say is that in the last 15 years or so, due to the internet, people are generally much more informed than they used to be and try to keep their fish in more spacious, healthy accomodations. With how easy it is to research things nowadays, it really blows my mind when I encounter people keeping fish or worse, working in the aquarium industry, who have no idea what they are talking about.
