276 NATURE STUDY REVIEW [9:9— Dec, 1913 



fish in the ponds escape into the streams, by some helpful magic, 

 they soon regain their safe, diill brownish-green color. Numbers 

 of these fish are found in our rivers and the only way we know that 

 they are goldfish is by their form, for we should never suspect it 

 from their color. 



While the Chinese originated the goldfish and developed it into 

 many grotesque forms, it remained for the Japanese to develop 

 from it fish of the most graceful form and the most delicate colors. 

 There are ten well-marked varieties of Japanese goldfish, each with 

 graceful flowing fins and colors that range from black and gold and 

 silver to pale blue and green. Americans are always surprised to 

 discover how large a part goldfish play in the lives of the Japanese 

 people, especially of the children. It is estimated that in Japan, 

 twenty million goldfish are sold each year at a value of half a 

 million dollars. Even the humblest homes have their goldfish in 

 little aquaria, while the wealthy have these brilliant little creatures 

 in the ponds and fountains of their wonderful gardens. 



Goldfish belong to the carp family, and are called by some 

 "green carp." They may attain a length of eighteen inches. It 

 is said that they may live to be a hundred years old, but probably 

 this is an exaggeration. There are instances on record where 

 specimens have been kept in an aquarium and in good condition 

 from ten to sixteen years. The annual sale of goldfish in this 

 country is estimated at two millions. 



These ornamental fish, so easily kept in the school room, should 

 be a link of interest, holding the child's mind to Oriental lands and 

 streams. Moreover, no other fish so readily lends itself to the 

 study of fish form as adapted to life in the water. 



The first study of the fish should be its shape. Looked at from 

 above, the broader part of the body is near the front end which is 

 rounded or pointed so as to cut the water readily. The long, 

 narrow, hind portion of the body with the tail acts as a propeller. 

 Seen from the side, the body is a smooth, graceful oval and this 

 form is especially adapted to move through the water swiftly. 



Fishes need to push through water, which is more difficult than 

 moving through air, so they need to have the body well protected. 

 This protection is, in most fishes, in the form of an armor of scales 

 which are smooth and allow the body to pass through the water 

 with little friction. These scales overlap like shingles on a roof 

 and are all directed backward. The study of the fishscale shows 



