GOLDFISH BREEDS 



Hybridization. Hybridization is easy with the goldfish, as its evi- 

 dent by the many singular crosses produced by breeders. Fig. 32 is an 

 accurate drawing of a goldfish, known in Philadelphia as Agard's Wonder, 



the product of crossing a 

 transparently scaled Comet 

 and a similarly scaled Teles- 

 cope, which resulted in the 

 production of this singular 

 hybrid. It has the short 

 hunchbacked body, the de- 

 pressed snout and the paired 

 fins and protruding eyes of 

 the Telescope, together with 

 the dorsal fin and long verte- 

 bral column of the Comet; to 

 which is attached a very long 

 deeply bifurcated double tail. 

 Another peculiarity is the en- 

 tire absence of the anal fin. 

 This singular fish is so out of 

 balance, due to the long spine 

 and the great mass of tail, 

 that it rests upon the water plants balanced on the tail, and the elongated 

 spine is so mobile that when it is curved under the body, the head of the 

 fish is sometimes wrapped into the folds of the tail. 



Another abnormality 

 is shown in Figs. 33 and 

 34. This white fish has 

 the body shaped like an 

 egg,and when viewed from 

 above, has very much the 

 appearance of a white rat. 

 Many other singu- 

 larities could be cited, 

 and when it is remember- 

 ed what faithful copyists 

 both the Chinese and 

 Japanese are, there can 

 be no doubt that the 

 goldfishes depicted on 



their ceramics and fig. 33— Lawson's The white Rat 



Laleral view Two-thirds life size 



FIG. 32 — Agard's Wonder 

 Two-thirds life size 



64 



