GOLD-FISH BREEDING. 99 



liorse-ponds.''' These fish vary much in colour. When 

 young they are black or brown ; they afterwards be- 

 come gradually red, also yellow, or spotted with yellow 

 and black, or even white. 



Little or no attention has been paid to crossing fish 

 in this country, nor have experiments been made as to 

 the reason of the alteration of their colour. Much has 

 been done with various coloured mice, pigeons, canaries, 

 &c. Here, then, is a grand field open for experiments 

 with gold-fish. Gold-fish will live and thrive very well 

 in warm water, and would do very well in the reservoirs 

 of water in ordinary greenhouses and vineries. 



In Land and Water, May 3, 1879, No. 693, is a most in- 

 teresting and important account of two gold-fish breed- 

 ing establishments in Germany and in Austria — the one 

 being conducted by Frei Herr Max von Washington, at 

 Schloss Poels, near Werndorf, in Styria ; and the other 

 by Mr. C. Wagner, in the neighbourhood of Oldenburg, 

 and 67, Leipzig Street, Berlin. At Oldenburg there 

 are 120 ponds, covering some 7| acres of wet peat land, 

 bordering on the river Hunte. Some of the water is 

 obtained from a hemp- spinning factory. The tempera- 

 ture is sometimes very high, as high as 100° Farenheit. 

 The temperature is kept up by means of steam-pipes 

 from the factory. I commend this idea to many gentle- 

 men who have ponds connected with factories, into 

 which waste steam may be carried. The temperatm^e can 

 be kept up to a high degree by means of an inexpensive 

 arrangement of escape pipes from the engine. The first 

 brood of fish is obtained in March or April, and the 

 second, or even third, between July' and September. 

 The stock consists of about 3,000 head. It is much im- 

 proved by the introduction of Italian and Portuguese 



* See also Tench. 



