FISH-BREEDING. 485 



it falls and rises with the tide, are filled with them, and pro- 

 duce a great variety. 



I have tried with satisfactory results many of the plants 

 recommended by Mr. Edwards, some of them merely as 

 ornaments, others to supply oxygen to the water, and 

 those that require no root, and float on the water, to 

 give shade to the fish. I have used the little plant known 

 by the common name of " duck- weed" or " duck-meat" for this 

 latter purpose. The only objection to it, though, is that fish 

 that live on vegetable food, as Carp and Eoach, eat it. This 

 they will also do with many of the plants beneath the water, 

 and are much given to nibbling at them. I have had two or 

 three Goldfish to destroy a large bunch of the JSudora cana- 

 densis in a day or two. This plant is remarkably crisp and 

 mucillaginous, with a pleasant flavor. It is said by persons 

 who profess to know, that it is the " water celery," on which 

 the far-famed canvas-back feeds, in the waters of the Chesa- 

 peake Bay. It is well, therefore, to avoid plants that fish 

 nibble at ; for the gravel is frequently strewed with it, and 

 the small pieces floating about decay and tend to make the 

 water impure. 



In Mr. Edwards's list of plants, he specifies those intended 

 for ornament and those for aerators ; of the former the com- 

 mon arrowhead (Sagittaria sagittifolia) and two or three kinds 

 of water-lilies. Of those used for the rockwork where it 

 comes above the surface of the water, the forget-me-not, the 

 sundew, &c. Those used for aerating, and wholly or partly 

 submerged; Valisneria spiralis, hornwort, water starwort, 

 Anacharis canadensis, Udora canadensis, marestail, water 

 molit, &c. 



In setting out any of these plants, except the water-lilies, 

 flags, and forget-me-nots, it is not necessary for them to have 

 roots ; these they soon throw out, whether floating or planted 



