Vou. 1k 
OCTOBER, 1892. 
CopyriIGHT 1892. ALi RIGHTS RESERVED. 
THE GOLDORFE, AND HOW TO 
BREED IT. 
(With illustrations.) 
The Goldorfe (Cyprinus orphus 
Idus melanotus auratus), also called 
Golden ide, is a member of the Carp 
family and a native of Southern Ger- 
many. Body slender, much com- 
pressed on the sides, and covered with 
uniformly sized scales; back and 
sides orange red, more or less speckled 
with small, irregular intensely black 
spots ; abdomen silvery white; head 
small; mouth without barbles; eyes 
large and of a golden hue; dorsal fin 
short and far back; caudal fin deeply 
forked ; abdominal fins small ; all fins 
rounded at the ends, pinkish at the 
roots and tinted vermilion in centre. 
Young specimens, excepting the color, 
resemble very much our American 
shiner. : 
There is scarcely a fish which, as an 
ornamental fish, so satisfactorily meets 
all the demands made of it as the 
Goldorfe. In summer and winter it is 
constantly seen near the surface of the 
water where it seeks its food, which 
consists of insects, tadpoles and small 
water plants. It does not feed on the 
bottom and, consequently, it does not 
muddy the water, which is such an ob- 
jection to Carp. 
It attains a length of 24 inches anda 
weight of about 4 pounds. 
The raising of the Goldorfe as an 
ornamental fish has a peculiar advan- 
tage over that of the goldfish, the young 
swimming about in large schools, short- 
ly after leaving the eggs, present a re- 
markably beautiful appearance. Having 
at that stage a thickness of about two 
lines and a length of about a quarter of 
an inch, their color being bright orange 
with a black head, the easily fright- 
ened school swim with lightning-like 
rapidity from one place to another. 
In the year 1558 Gessner wrote in his 
Natural History that the orfe enjoyed a 
high reputation as an article of food, 
especially when fried, particularly in 
the months of April or May. _—_‘ Permis- 
sion to sell the orfe was only given 
when it had reached a certain size, as 
they were considered an excellent food 
for the sick, and consequently it was 
desirable not to let the species die out. 
From the habit of those days to bring 
them to women in confinement, this 
fish was called the Ladies’ fish. 
