of natural food within the pond is facilitated by the use of fertilizer, as hereinafter noted. 

 When the temperature of the pond has risen to 60°F., as usually happens about the first of April 

 or earlier, the water is renewed and the material for the spawning beds is inserted. As many as 

 400 to 500 pairs of fish three years old are allowed to spawn in one pond, the proper space for 

 each 100 pairs being about 400 square feet. 



In the breeding operations at Koriyama, the parent fish are generally kept in large mud ponds 

 and deposit their spawn there, and as the eggs are laid they are transferred to concrete ponds for 

 hatching. 



When it is the desire to produce orandas of the largest size, parent fish six years old in sound 

 physical condition and with good form are put into a special roomy pond, allowing about four 

 square feet per pair, and are given an abundance of suitable food ; and to carry the cultivation 

 for size still further, brood fish seven vears old are selected and are allowed ten to twelve square 

 feet per pair. 



The Eggs, their Care and Development 



As is the case with the vast majority of fishes, the eggs of the goldfish are fertilized after 

 deposition. While artificial propagation is doubtless feasible, it is entirely unnecessary and is not 

 practiced in Japan or elsewhere because under natural conditions fertilization is ordinarily most 

 perfect. 



When the eggs have become mature within the ovaries and the female is fully ripe, the extrusion 

 of the eggs is accomplished by a series of spasmodic muscular efforts. At the same time or imme- 

 diately thereafter, the attendant male emits the milt that contains the fertilizing cells, which are 

 disseminated throughout the adjacent water and come in contact with the eggs. 



57 



