338 THE REASON WHY: 



Their scaly armour's Tyrian hue, 

 Through richest purple to the view, 

 Betray'd a golden gleam." GRAY. 



the bottom, where it takes up its residence on a rock or stone, 

 from which it rarely wanders far, and beneath which it seeks 

 shelter from ravenous fishes and birds. 



1084. When the tide is receding, many of these fishes hide beneath the stones, or 

 in pools, but the larger individuals quit the water, and, by the use of the ventra* 

 fins, creep into convenient holes, rarely more than one in each, and there, with the 

 head downward, they wait for a few hours, until the return of the water restores 

 them to liberty. If discovered or alarmed in these chambers, they return by a 

 backward motion to the bottom of the cavity. 



1085. How do gold and silver fish kept in globe* subsist 

 upon what appears to us to be water only ? 



Because the water abounds in animalcules, which, although 

 invisible to the human eye, are visible to the eyes of fish, 

 and consumed by them as food. 



1086. The necessity for frequently changing the water in which gold and silver 

 fish are confined is thus made obvious enough ; for if this precaution is neglected, 

 the fish being deprived of their- food must eventually die. 



1087. Why do gold fishes kept in vases so frequently come to 

 \tie surface of the water? 



When the water becomes vitiated, the fishes come to the surface 

 to swallow air; after the air has been changed, they may be 

 observed to reject it again by a kind of eviction, and seek the 

 surface once more for a fresh supply ; so that in this way they are 

 enabled to alleviate the evil consequences which result from the 

 unhealthy state of their surrounding medium. 



Sub-order II. Anacanthina. 



1088. Why are the fishes of the sub-order anacanthina so 

 called f 



Because they are without the sharp spines which support the fins 

 *f other fishes ; these organs in the anacanthina being arranged 



