The Goldfish and Its Systematic Culture with a View to Profit; A Practical Treatise on the Fish, Its Propagation, Enemies, Diseases, and Care of the F (Paperback)

This historic book may have numerous typos, missing text or index. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. 1883. Not illustrated. Excerpt: ... Chapter IX. "Nature my school, the water my field.' THE ANATOMY OF THE GOLDFISH. Before we enter into the details of the propagation of the fish, it is necessary to learn something about its anatomy. A study of the accompanying cut (which is merely diagramatic) will greatly assist the reader in getting a clear understanding of the internal arrangement of the several parts with which it is most necessary to be familiar. We will consider first the scales, as they are almost the first thing to strike the eye. These scales are so arranged upon the surface of the body that they overlap each other just in the manner that a carpenter lays shingles on a roof, being disposed in such a way that the friction incident upon the movement of the fish in the water is reduced to the smallest proprotion. As the fish grows older and larger the scales increase in size. Near the middle of the body and running along eacn side of the fish, there is a line or row of scales that possess peculiarities distinguishing them from other scales. These scales are pierced with a tubular aperture, and the tubes of which they are the exit are quite distinct, and form the so-called "lateral line." Through these tubes a slimy substance or rancous is exuded, which covers the entire body, seemingly for the purpose of making the fish waterproof and of further reducing the 'friction in the water. These tubes always point from the m Scale Prom Lateral Line. {Enlarged.) trix, or root of the scale, towards the tail of the fish. It is scales of this description that naturalists refer to when seeking to learn the species to which the fish belongs, because the peculiarities of their structure differ in them. (See illustration.) The next thing most noticeable are the fins, these being named according to their ...