uilli U-fl)lc swiininin;; ]iii\vfr.s and (k-licale coiislituliim can be transported only with the greatest 

 ditik-nlty. and even with extreme care all or a large part of a consignment usually succumbs to long- 

 distance travel. Hence some ol' the most interesting varieties have not yet become known outside of 

 their oriental en\ironment. 



Prior to shipment goldfish, whether young or old. should be transferred to tubs, tanks, or small 

 cement ponds wn'th pure water and kept there without food for several days. This is to ensure the 

 tin owing oft" of all ingested matter throughout the alimentary canal. If fish are shipped with food 

 in them, they are likely to die either because the\- will pollute the limited amount of water in which 

 they are preferably carried or because the food will undergo decomposition in the intestines as a result 

 of lowered metabolism. 



The Japanese have learned liy experience to use only a limited (|uaniitv of water in moving gold- 

 fish. It is a very important and suggestive fact that during either long or short shipments goldfish 

 ref|uire only a \-ery small amount of water, and the best results are obtained with the minimum 

 (|uantity necessary to keep the skin and gills constantly moist. The writer has seen more than a 

 thousand year-old lish carried by a man in two wooden tubs suspended from a shoulder bar, and this 

 too in summer and for half a mile under a broiling sun. Not withstanding there was not enough 

 water to cover the tish, the\- were delivered without any loss whatever. I'nder the same conditions 

 there would have been large mortality had an attempt been made to jjroviik- enough water to isolate 

 each fish. The explanation is simple: The shallow tubs permitted the absorption of much oxygen 

 from the air. and the absor]jtion was increased by the squirming movements of the fish induced by 

 the lack of water, the result being a plentiful snp])ly of oxygen available for respiration while their 

 gills and b( idles were llioroughl)^ moist — twn rei|uisites for e.xistence. 



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