THE GOLDFISH AND ITS CULTURE. 7 



same relish and delight that one takes in making a new and valuable 

 addition to his conservatory. 



The most choice and beautiful varieties are obtained from a lake 

 in the province of Che-Kyang. 



The first introduction of the goldfish into Europe is variously 

 dated, the years 1611, 1691 and 1728, A. D., each having claims for 

 that honor ; it may be said also that the variety introduced was the 

 poorest and cheapest the Chinese had. 



The first seen in France, however, were those imported for the 

 famous Madame de Pompadour. Soon afterwards they became quite 

 common, as it was found that they throve well in the waters of South- 

 ern Europe, especially in Portugal, where they sprang from a few 

 small fish, said to have escaped from a vessel newly arrived from 

 China. In that country they are now considered a delicacy for the 

 table. It wa^ not long until several streams in the neighborhood of 

 Lisbon absolutely swarmed with them, and it is from this source that 

 all Europe became stocked with them. From Europe the fish were 

 brought to America, and quickly won their way into favor. For the last 

 forty years, perhaps, these fish have become wild in the United States. 

 Some having accidentally escaped into open waters, they soon made 

 themselves at home, became thoroughly acclimated, and in conse- 

 quence the goldfish has been quoted by several authors as a native 

 American fish. It is true that, having been born here, they are in 

 one sense native, but are not native in the sense, origin, as having 

 originated here. Living thus in a wild state, the fish has greatly 

 degenerated from the original standard. Through the efforts of 



Admiral , U. S. N., the cultivation of the goldfish in the 



United States has received a new impulse. 



This gentleman, but a few years ago, brought from Japan a num- 

 ber of specimens of the choicest varieties which have since been 

 reproduced with marked success. 



