GILL — ON THE GOURAMI. 717 



that with which the common silk- worm avails itself of the branch which 

 is presented for it to make its nest on. When the nest is completed, the 

 female deposits her eggs, which in a moderate-sized individnal amount 

 to about 800 to 1,000. After the eggs have been deposited and fecun- 

 dated, and while they are hatching, the parents remain near, jealously 

 guarding them, and rushing with vehement fnry at any ordinary 

 intruder near tbeir domains, and thus they continue to guard the young 

 for a time after they are hatched. 



YOUNG. 



The eggs are soon hatched, (within a fortnight, according to Mr. 

 Clark,) and in the nest the young find (1) a refuge where they are free 

 from a thousand dangers by which they would be otherwise threatened 

 during the first days of their life ; and (2) in the macerated vegetable 

 matter of which their nest is partly composed, they obtain their earliest 

 food, and that which is most suitable to them in their most delicate con- 

 dition. Soon, however, they make short excursions from the nest, but 

 under the guidance of the parent-fish, who is prepared to give them 

 aid in case of need. They do not soon disperse, but keep together in 

 shoals. The young, it is said, for some time retain the yelk-bag, and 

 the ventral fins are very conspicuous, much exceeding in length the fish ; 

 and as they grow only to a limited extent pari passu with the fish, they 

 gradually lose their relative length, and the difference between even 

 the adolescent fish and those of a more advanced age is considerable, as 

 will be perceived by reference to the illustrations. 



FLESH. 



The gourami has always been held in high esteem for the excellence 

 of its flesh, at least among the Europeans and colonists. Commerson, 

 to whom we are indebted for our first acquaintance with the fish, in rap- 

 ture declared that he had never tasted among either salt or fresh-water 

 fishes any more delicious, (" niJill inter pisces turn marinos turn Jfuviatiles 

 exquisitius unquam degustavi") and subsequent gourmands have re- 

 echoed the sentiment. Its flesh is, according to several authors, of a 

 light-yellow straw-color, firm, and easy of digestion. They vary in value 

 according to the nature of the waters inhabited ; those taken from a 

 rocky river being much superior to those from muddy ponds, but those 

 dwelling at the mouths of rivers, where the water is to some extent 

 brackish, are the best of all. Again, they vary with age, and the large 

 overgrown fishes are much less esteemed than the small ones ; they are 

 in their prime when three years old. Dr. Vinson says the flavor is some- 

 what like that of the carp, and, if this is so, we may entertain some 

 skepticism as to its superiority ; but the unanimous testimony in favor 

 of its excellence naturally leads to the belief that the comparison is 

 unfair to the gourami. 



