284 
NATURAL HISTORY 
LETTER LIY/ 
TO THE HONOURABLE DAINES BARRINGTON. 
HEN I Happen to visit a family where gold 
and silver fishes arc kept in a glass bowl, I 
am always pleased with the occurrence, 
because it ofiers me an opportunity of 
observing the actions and propensities of . 
those beings with whom we can be little acquainted in 
their natural state. Not long since I spent a fortnight 
at the house of a friend where there was such a vivary, to 
which I paid no small attention, taking every occasion to 
remark what passed within its narrow limits. It was here 
that I first observed the manner in which fishes die. As 
soon as the creature sickens, the head sinks lower and lower, 
and it stands, as it were, on its head, till, getting weaker, 
and losing all poise, the tail turns over, and at last it floats 
on the surface of the water with its belly uppermost. The 
reason why fishes, when dead, swim in that manner is very 
obvious, because, when the body is no longer balanced by 
the fins of the belly, the broad muscular back preponderates 
by its own gravity, and turns the belly uppermost, as lighter 
from its being a cavity, and because it contains the swim- 
ming-bladders, which contribute to render it buoyant. 
Some that delight in gold and silver fishes have adopted a 
notion that they need no aliment. True it is that they will 
subsist for a long time without any apparent food but what 
they can collect from pure water frequently changed ; yet 
they must draw some support from animalcula and other 
nourishment supplied by the water, because, though they 
seem to eat nothing, yet the consequences of eating often 
^ This letter was first published in the "Gentleman's Magazine" for 
1786 (vol. Ivi. p. 488), with the date of June 12th, and under the signa- 
ture of V. — Ed. 
