THE GOLDFISH AND ITS CULTURE. 



15 



ture; the anal fin mostly absent; the caudal fin is double, very large 

 and deeply divided. The eyes are large and project forward, having 

 the appearance of a small telescope adjusted to the eye (see illustra- 

 tion), from this the fish received the name it bears. To make the 



The Telescope. . 



eyes more prominent the Japanese culturist resorts to an ingenious 

 device. He places the young fish in small dark-glass vessels shaped 

 for the purpose, and which obliges the fish to look constantly in but 

 one direction. 



The color of the fish may be either vermillion, white or part of 

 both, the markings in that case being very beautiful. The body of 

 the fish is all out of proportion to the size of the fins, and in conse- 

 quence propulsion is a difficult matter. 



In spawning, the male rolls the female about among the stones in 

 a most pitiful manner, sometimes for days together; this is an effort 

 of the male to assist in the extrusion of the eggs. When spawned 

 the eggs attach themselves to the stones and other substantial objects 

 rather than to water-plants, probably because it is amongst the 

 stones that the extrusion takes place. 



When the young are first hatched, they appear exactly like the 

 common goldfish. They rest upon the water-plants or other sup- 

 ports for a couple of days, at the end of which time the yolk-bag is 

 absorbed ; then commences the struggle for existence. The double 



