54 MALACOP. ABDOM. CARP FAMILY. 



uses of these gold and silver fishes in their natural 

 or acquired haunts, so much as from their domes- 

 tication in this and in almost every other country, 

 and from the interest they excite as beautiful pets 

 and play-things, that they have attracted so much 

 admiration and attention. In its native country no 

 pains are spared, especially by the ladies, in its cul- 

 tivation. These fair and feeble-footed damsels are 

 assiduous in their attentions to a creature so beau- 

 tiful in itself, so pleasing in the perpetual liveliness 

 of its movements, and so interesting for the ease with 

 which it may be rendered susceptible of a certain de- 

 gree of familiarity and attachment. Large glass, and 

 peculiar vessels of the richest kind, are prepared for 

 their reception in their apartments, and small orna- 

 mented ponds and basins in their gardens. It ap- 

 pears that they were first introduced into these 

 islands in the 17th century; they have steadily be- 

 come more and more diffused, and we should say 

 are now more common than ever. "When they are 

 young, they are of a dark and sombre hue, and only 

 gradually acquire the splendid colours by which 

 they are afterwards characterized. Their dorsal and 

 anal fins are denticulated like those of the Common 

 Carp ; but the usual effects of domestication are 

 pre-eminently conspicuous upon them. Some indi- 

 viduals have no dorsal fin at all, and in others it is 

 very minute ; some have the caudal extremely large, 

 or, it may be, divided into three or four lobes. The 

 Telescope Carp, again, has the eye enormously en- 

 larged and protuberant, and all these and other 



