712 REPORT OP COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 



twelve spiues and uineteeu to twenty-oue braaclied rays ; the caudal fiu 

 is rounded behind ; the veutrals have five rays, (besides the spine,) and 

 the one next to the spine is much prolonged, especially in the young. 

 The opercular bones are unarmed, having neither spines nor serratures. 

 The color is brownish, with faint oblique bands in the young, but uuicolor 

 in the adult, with a blackish spot at the base of the pectoral fin. 



GEOGRAPHICAL RANGE. 



The gourami has been an inhabitant from time immemorial of the 

 fresh waters of .Cochin China, on the mainland of Farther India, as 

 well as the islands of Java, Madura, Sumatra, and Borneo, and may, 

 therefore, be presumed to be indigenous to all tliose localities. It is also 

 found in Malacca and the adjoining small island Penang, or Prince of 

 Wales Island, but is said to have beeu introduced into those places from 

 Cochin China. The history of its successful introduction into the islands 

 of Mauritius and Bourbon (or Eeunion) is a matter of record and well 

 known. Attempts have likewise been made to introduce it into the 

 West Indian island Martinique, the French South-American colony 

 Cayenne, the Cape of Good Hope, Australia, Egypt, and France, but 

 hitherto without satisfactory results. Details respecting these attempts 

 will hereafter be given. 



SIZE. 



The gourami is potentially almost one of the largest fresh-water fishes 

 found in any part of the world, if we may credit the statements of cer- 

 tain authors; for it has been reported (by Baron de Roujoux) that in 

 their original habitat they sometimes attain the length of 5 or 6 feet and 

 a weight of 50 kilograms, that is, somewhat more than 110 pounds. It 

 must be remembered, too, (and will be recognized by reference to the 

 illustrations,) that they have bodies deep and stout in proportion to 

 their length. While it is barely possible that they may occasionally, 

 under exceptional conditions, attain such a size, they generally fall far 

 short of it; and at the islands of Bourbon and Mauritius, they have 

 never been found even approximating that size ; according to Dr. Vin- 

 son, at Bourbon they rarely exceed 8 to 10 kilograms, (i. e., 17.63 to 

 22.04 pounds,) although they occasionally attain a weight of 10 kilo- 

 grams, (i. e.j 35.27 pounds.) The largest that Dr. Vinson had seen 

 measured 92 centimeters [i. e., about three feet) long, and 38 centime- 

 ters (i e., 15 inches) in depth. They are even considered very large if 

 they weigh 12 to 14 pounds and measure about 2 feet in length. They 

 probably continue to grow indefinitely to some extent under favorable 

 conditions, and hence, if they have really beeu seen of the size claimed, 

 they may have been of great age. 



GROWTH AND AGE. 



The fry, or newly-hatched, is, of course, very small, and proportioned 



