82 best's art of angling 



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GOLD ASD SILVER FISHES. 



Tlie^* fish are quite naturalized in Europe, and 

 breed as freely in the open waters as the common 

 carp. They were first introduced into Engkuid 



^ about the year 1 69 1, but were not generally 

 known till 17-S, when a great number were 

 brought over, and presented first to Sir Matthew 

 Dekker, and by him circulated round the neigh- 

 bourhood of London, whence they have been 

 distributed to most parts of the country. la 

 China the most beautiful kinds are taken in a 

 small lakein theprovinceof Che-thyang. Every 

 person of fashion keeps them for amusement, 

 either in porcelain vessels, or in the small basons 

 that decorate the courts of the Chinese houses. 

 The beauty of their colors, and their lively mo- 



• tions, give great entertainmeni, especially to the 

 ladies^ whose pleasures, by reason of the cruel 

 policy of that country, are extremely limited. 

 In form of the bodv, they bear a a^reat resemb- 

 lance to a Carp. The}' have been known in 

 Europe to arrive at the length of eight inches; 

 in their native place they are said to grow to the 

 size of our largest herring. Their nostrils are 

 tubular, and form a sort of appendages above 

 the nose; the dorsal fin and the tail vary greatly 

 in shape; the tail is naturally bifid, but in many 

 is trifid, and in some even quadrifid ; the anal 

 fins are the strongest characters of this species, 

 being placed not behind one another as in other 

 fish, but opposite each other, like the ventral 

 fins. Their colors vary greatly; some are marked 

 Avith a fine blue; with brown, and WTth bright 

 silver; biit the general predominant colour is 

 gold^ of a moit amazing splendor ; but their 



