CHAPTER XV 



CONCERNING GOLDFISH AND THEIR 

 KINDRED 



IT is not generally known that goldfish are but 

 a variety of the carp, and owe their existence 

 to the Chinese and Japanese people who, since 

 the early part of the sixteenth century, have kept 

 them in a domesticated state and, by selective 

 breeding, have succeeded in eliminating the sombre 

 colouration of the ancestral stock and thereby 

 produced the beautiful forms which are nowadays 

 famihar to every one. The fish, which were first 

 imported into Europe during the seventeenth 

 century, vary in colour according to their age. 

 During the first year of their life they are brown, 

 after which they assume a silvery tint, and then as 

 they grow older they gradually change to the 

 wonderful golden hue which renders them such 

 pleasing objects to look upon. Variegated forms, 

 however, are by no means uncommon ; while 

 black specimens, although rare, are occasionally 

 to be met with. 



Goldfish are very suitable creatures for keeping 

 as pets because of their hardy constitution ; for 



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