B K s T 's A K T O K ANGLING 



GOLD sfND SILfKR FISHES. 



These fish are quite naturalized in Europe, and 

 breed as freely in the open waters as the coin mori 

 carp, They were first introduced into England 

 about the year jfiQi, but were not generally 

 known till 1/C8, when a great number were 

 brought over, and presented first to Sir Matthew 

 Dekker, and by him circulated round the neigh- 

 bour hood of London, whence they have been 

 distributed to most parts of the country. In 

 China the most beautiful kinds are taken in a 

 small lake in the province of Che-thyang. Every 

 person of fashion keeps them for amusement, 

 either in porcelain vessels, or in the small basons 

 that decorate the courts of the Chinese houses. 

 The beauty of their colours, and their lively mo- 

 tions, give great entertainrnent, especially to the 

 ladies, whose pleasures, by reason of the cruel 

 policy of that country, are extremely limited. 

 In form of the body, they bear a great resemb- 

 lance to a Carp. They have been known in 

 Europe to arrive at the length of eight inches ; 

 in their native place they are said to grow to the 

 size of our largest herring. Their nostrils are 

 tubular, and form a sort of appendages above 

 the nose; the dorsal fin and the tail vary greatly 

 In shape ; the tail is naturally bifid, but in many 

 is trifid, and in some even quadrifid ; the anal 

 fins are the strongest characters of this species, 

 being placed not behind one another as in other 

 fish, but opposite each other, like the ventral 

 fins. Theircolours vary greatly; some are marked 

 \vith a fine blue; with brown, and with bright 

 silver ; but the general predominant colour is 

 gold, of a most amazing splendor j but theic 



