The Caucasian. (Shreveport, La.) 1900-192?, 1903-03-26

PREPARING MEAL FOR GOLDFISH.
constructed with a view to meeting the
| requirements of the fish in the various
stages Of their development. Hatched
in one pond, they remain there until
they have attained a certain growth
and then pass gradually from one pond
to another until when between three
and four months old they emerge into
what may be termed the harvest field
In this they sojOurn until they are
ripe and are then scooped out and
taken to market. When they reach this
pond, they are usually two or three
inches il length, but they average
foot long before being placed on sale
This necessitates their remaining III
the harvest field over three years, as it
takes them that long to attain their
full growth and color.
The value Of a fish depends on it's
shape, color and weight. and one that
is imperfect in these respects is imme-
diately thrown out as worthless. All
sorts Of goldfish are grown here. AS
even the cheapest kinds sell for from
5 TO 10 cents apiece at wholesale, it
viii be seen that there is money in the
business for one who knows how to
conduct it properly. Some species sell
for from 40 to so cents each at whole
sale.
The requirements for making a sue
cess of goldfish breeding are SO exact
ing, however. that it would be mad
visable for any one with small CAP
ital to embark in this industry. 1t
cost the owners of this farm almost as
much to stock it as though they were
going to raise fancy cattle. for the
fish they imported for breeding III
cluded the finest specimens raised in
China and Japan. In some instances
they were compelled to pay over 500
each for telescope fish, which is the
most aristocratic of all goldfish. The
telescope has very large eyes, standing
out from its head in sockets like tele-
scope cases IN color it is of a reddish
gold tint, a hue considered perfect by
fish breeders and dealers
Other fine species of fish found at
this farm are the comet and the fam
tail. These are noted more for their
tails than for their color. The comet
possesses tail nearly as long as it's
body and as delicate as lace, while the
fantail has two or three tails, which
open and shut like a fan. 1t cost the
importers over $4,000 for two can
fuls of these three varieties that they
brought from China, for so many fish
died i'll transit that others had to be
bought to take their place.
When you have bought yous fish,
your expenses as breeder might be
said to have only begun. At the farm
we are describing twenty men are en-
ployed, and there is work for the TWEEN
ty from morning until night The
ponds, for instance, have to be care
fully watched to prevent hawks and
kingfshers from harvesting the crop
=Crawfsh and muskrats are also dead
" enemies OF the goldfish, and the
banks OF the ponds have to be pa
trolled continually by men armed with
spades and shoye1s to stop the holes
made by these burrowing creatures
Sometimes the rats in a single night
will bore to such an extent that the
ponds would be drained in a few hours
were not constant watch kept, and
drained pond means death, to the
goldfish it contains. -
Then, again, millions of eggs as we'll
as young fish are annually stung to
death by beetles, water wasps and
devils darning needles or eaten by
turtles or older fish. for goldfish are
notorious cannibals, hence the neces-
sity of transferring them from pond to
pond in order to keep together fish of
equal growth and strength. Three
weeks after fish is Matched it will be-
gin to make meals of the eggs on the
grass and leaves around the edges of
the spawning pond. ..-,. ...s.
At this farm some of the ripening
ponds contain as many as 10000 in
habitants, and no pond has less than
100000 as a rule. The ponds also hold
tadpoles and frogs, which aid in the
development Of the fish by keeping the
water clean and by devouring insects
and vegetable growth incidentally
frog raising is a sort of side line with
these breeders, who annually send to
market many thousand pafrssof legs.
HENRY W. MILLER.