20 Modern Fishculture in Fresh and Salt Water. 



may a century from this begin to show changes in favor 

 of early maturity, hardihood, and freedom from early 

 death by the continued breeding from the strongest, if 

 our breeders will not resort to the practice of introduc- 

 ing wild stock into their ponds, thereby neutralizing 

 all their efforts in this direction. Mr. Stone talks of 

 "Domesticated Trout," and why not ? The carp intro- 

 duced from Germany shows what can be done in this 

 line. It is a great improvement over the English carp. 

 The Germans produced a quick-growing fish, and by 

 selection bred the scales off from it. 



The carp is not the only fish which shows signs of im- 

 provement under domestication. The Chinese and Ja- 

 panese have for centuries bred the gold fish for orna- 

 mental purposes, and have produced results that are 

 singular in their "telescope fish," that have projecting 

 eyes which seem almost to be placed on stalks; some 

 of these which were in the writer's possession had eyes 

 fully a quarter of an inch out from the head, a position 

 in which they would be so liable to injury in a state of 

 nature that the fish could not live. Another form is 

 with the long, drooping, soft tail of the kingio, which 

 was loaned by Mr. Gill, of Baltimore, to the old New 

 York Aquarium, and for which he was said to have re- 

 fused $2,000. 



Such abnormal fishes are produced by continued se- 

 lection, in the same manner as our improved breeds of 

 cattle are ; but American fishculturists have never paid 

 any attention to the ornamental part of their business, 

 being engaged in trying to produce food fishes, or those 

 which may be called "angler's fishes," all of which are 

 of more or less value for the table. 



In a private way there are a few who have made trout 

 culture for market moderately profitable, and these have 



