Small annelid worms (Titbifcx. Liiiiiiodriliis, and others) that live in the bottom of ditches 

 and streams, antl often occur in immense numbeis. are frequently fed to the larger fish, and in 

 Tokyo are parlicularh- used for the hroml ranchu during the week immediately preceding spawning. 



Small fresh-water moUusks, especially gastropods of the genus I'iviparns, are crushed and fed 

 to the \oung during the summer following hatching when there is a scarcity of crustacean food. 

 Another animal food that is sometimes employed is the silkworm, which is cultivated on a most 

 extensive scale all o\er the southern part of the Japanese empire. The silkworms in the chrysalis 

 stage are dried, ])ul\erized, ;ind mi.xed with some starchy material, and given to the fish in the 

 first 2 or 3 miuiths of their existence. 



As food for very young fish the hard-boiled yolks of hen's eggs are rather commonly em- 

 ployed; and some breeders appear to prefer this to any other substance for the newdy-hatched fry 

 of certain \-arieties, as, for instance, the ranchu. The pulverized \-olk is mixed with a small 

 quantity uf water, strained through fine gauze, and distributed o\-er the ponds by means of a 

 watering p(.)t. 



Various kinds of cereal foods are used, either alone or in cimihinatii >n "with the animal foods 

 mentioned: among these are boiled cracked wheat and a mush made of wheat tlour or corn meal. 

 The smaller algae, particularly the unicellular forms, are o.ften eaten by goldfish, but not from 

 choice and not when other food is a\ailable. They grow luxuriantly in the mud ponds, gi\'e the 

 water a distincth' greenish color, and are indis]5ensable in t^he* cultixalion of water fleas. Man}' are 

 necessarily eaten incidently, but they are not an efficient .food and when taken to the exclusion of 

 <ither things fail to promote a healthy growth. 



66 



