166 NEW YORK STATE MUSEiUM 



in glass vases as an ornament to the parlor and drawing-room. 

 They are said to display an attachment to their owners, and 

 a limited obedience to their commands. 



They are introduced into lakes, ponds, fountains and reser- 

 , voirs generally. An individual was kept in a fountain at 42d 

 street and 5th avenue, New York, by Patrick Walsh nine years, 

 and was then presented to the aquarium. 



At the Cold Spring Harbor hatchery, L. I., several varieties 

 were hatched from the same lot of eggs. These included the 

 normal form, the typical fantail, and one which was so' deep- 

 bodied that it could scarcely balance itself in swimming. 



The goldfish in the New York aquarium were never troubled 

 by fungus or parasites. 



In many of our streams and ponds, the goldfish has run 

 wild, and hundreds of the olivaceous type will be secured to one 

 of a red color. In the fauna of the moraine ponds and in quarry 

 holes, the goldfish stands first. It will breed in foul water 

 where only catfish and dogfish [Umbra] can be found. 

 Eugene Smith 



The goldfish is extremely variable in color and form. It is 

 usually orange, or mottled with black and orange, yet in some 

 streams, and even in pond culture, silvery individuals are often 

 more common than any of the mottled varieties. The species 

 grows to the length of 12 inches. It spawns early in the spring 

 and is subject to many dangers and is attacked by numerous 

 enemies. The fish, however, is extremely hardy, prolific, and 

 tenacious of life. 



Genus cyprinus Linnaeus 



Body robust, compressed, resembling that of the buffalo fish; 

 mouth moderate, anterior, with four long barbels; snout blunt, 

 rounded; teeth molar, broad and truncate, 1, 1, 3-3, 1, 1; scales 

 large; lateral line continuous; dorsal fin very long, with a stout 

 spine, serrated behind; anal fin short, also with a spine. Large 

 fishes of the fresh waters of Asia; introduced into Europe and 

 America as food fishes. It has been generally introduced into 

 private ponds in nearly all parts of the United States; from 

 these it has escaped into the streams and lakes, and is now an 



