518 fishes. 



and delicate powder, and sometimes snails : the slime which these 

 insects leave at the bottom of the vessel is a great delicacy to them, 

 and they eagerly hasten to feed on it. In winter they are removed 

 from the court to a warm chamber., where they are kept generally 

 shut up in a porcelain vessel. During that season they receive no 

 nourishment ; however, in spring, when they are carried back to 

 their former bason, they sport and play with the same strength and 

 liveliness as they did the preceding year. 



In warm countries these fish multiply fast, provided care is 

 taken to collect their spawn, which floats on the water, and which 

 they almost entirely devour. This spawn is put into a particular 

 vessel, exposed to the sun, and preserved until vivified by the 

 heat. Gold-fish, however, seldom multiply when they are kept in 

 close vases, because they are then too much confined. In order to 

 render them fruitful, they must be put into reservoirs of consider- 

 able depth in some places at least, and which are constantly sup- 

 plied with fresh water. At a certain time of the year, a prodigious 

 number of barks may be seen iu the great river Yangtsekiang, 

 which go thither to purchase the spawn of these fish. Towards 

 the month of May, the neighbouring inhabitants shut up the river 

 in several places with mats and hurdles, which occupy an extent of 

 almost nine or ten leagues ; and they leave only a space in the 

 middle sufficient for the passage of barks. The spawn of the fish, 

 which the Chinese can distinguish at first sight, although a stran- 

 ger could perceive no traces of it in the water, is stopped by 

 these hurdles. The water mixed with spawn is then drawn up, 

 and after it has been put into large vessels, it is sold to merchants, 

 who transport it afterwards to every part of the empire. This 

 water is sold by measure, and purchased by those who are desirous 

 of stocking their ponds and reservoirs with fish. 



Notwithstanding the tenderness of these fish even in their native 

 climates, they are now naturalized in Britain, where they even 

 breed. They were first introduced into England about the year 

 1691 ; but were not generally known till 1728, when a great 

 number were brought over, and presented first to Sir Matthew 

 Dekker, and by him circulated round the neighbourhood of 

 London, whence they have been distributed to most parts of the 

 country. 



Nothing can be more amusing than a glass bowl, containing 



