THE GOLDFISH 31 



fish, made by its owner. A few words regarding this, probably the 

 best-known individual fish that has ever been owned in this country, 

 might be of interest. The Japanese Imperial Government sent a col- 

 lection of its best goldfishes to the World's Fair at Chicago in 1893. 

 Only a few of them survived the journey and still fewer lived through 

 the Exposition. These had fallen into a diseased condition and were 

 given to Mr. William P. Seal. He cured them and later sold this one, 

 now known as "The World's Fair Fish," to Mr. Barrett, for a com- 

 paratively small consideration. At that time the fish had not devel- 

 oped the wonderful qualities which have made it famous. It was one 

 of those cases where "blood will tell." 



Regarding this fish as a type of perfection that could not be 

 improved upon, the Aquarium Society of Philadelphia had a drawing 

 of it made from a sketch and used as a society emblem. The society 

 later had the fish struck on its medal. It lived to an age of about 

 fifteen years, and was the father of many fine specimens. 



The characteristic points of the Japanese Fringetail are brought 

 out in the illustration. The body is short, rounded and chunky, with 

 short head and flat eyes. The lower fins are long, pendant and deli- 

 cately lace-like, and are all paired. The dorsal fin is as high as the 

 body is deep. It should be carried erect, producing the effect of a sail 

 as the fish moves through the water. As in most other varieties, the 

 deeper colors, both in scaled and scaleless specimens, are the more 

 highly prized. Scaleless Fringetails, an American production obtained 

 by crossing Japanese Fringetails with Chinese Scaleless Telescopes, 

 are exceedingly refined in appearance. 



The illustration shows the tubercles on the gill plate and pectoral 

 fins, indicative of the male sex. 



THE JAPANESE BARNACLED GOLDFISH 



Barnacled goldfishes are so rare that the majority of leading 

 fanciers have never seen them. They were first imported from Japan 

 in 1897, soon disappearing from view. Although no new stock is 

 known to have been imported, the peculiar characteristic has recently 

 made its appearance again. Whether these fishes are inheriting from 

 the original imported stock, or whether they represent an independent 

 "break," such as the Japanese breeders utilized in starting the breed, 

 it is impossible even to surmise. The scales are raised sharply in the 

 center, presenting regular lines of dots along the sides of the fish. 

 These' should not be confounded with fishes suffering from dropsy. 

 In the latter case the scales stand from the body at the outer edge. 

 Otherwise the fish has the characteristics of the Telescope fish. 



