Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1936-03-04
THIS AND THAT
BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL.

down through the Ice at the goldfish
swimming below.
These specimens can be frozen, It is
said, and be all right, 50 long as their
hearts are not injured. Whether this
great muscle suffers depends upon OBJ
Scure factors.
The claims and counter-claims of en-
thusiasts as to whether goldfish can
stand freezing or not depend upon other
factors, too, such as the condition of
the water, the physical condition of the
specimens, the length Of time to which
they are subjected to solidification, and
SO on.
The goldfish in snowballs, instanced
above, found enough moisture in the
snow to keep them alive. just how long
they had been in this state was not
known, nor how long they might have
survived.
It has been often stated that the COM
mon goldfish can be carried for miles,
and for hours, simply wrapped in a wet
handkerchief. Whether any individual
would depend mostly upon its individual
strength in fishy ways.
The first thought of the pool owner,
In Winter, is to give his charges 'air."
To do this, some owners crack the ice
with hammer, while others assert that
the shock, transmitted to the fish
through the water, will injure them.
Hence such careful owners go to the
trouble of-Securing an ice saw and care
fully making hole in the sheet through
which the fishes can breathe"
Most of this is bother for nothing,
since the cold water contains vastly more
oxygen than the warmer water of Spring
and Summer. The colder the water, the
more oxygen it holds.
Hence every outdoor pool, except the
very smallest, will afford the fishes vastly
more oxygen than the fishes could use
up, unless the sheet of ice over them
continues for days, or they are frozen
Solid of course.
No doubt during such a severe Winter
as just ended let us hope) it was well
to cut holes in the ice, but exceptionally
difficult to keep them open. And per-
haps it doesn't make as much difference,
after all, as many thought. Goldfish
are tough, except in the handling Of
their foodstuffs. Then they are weak
lings.
\ X
Our idea-and the goldfish'S-of
perfect goldfish food is something you
could put in handful of, and let the
boys eat all day, as the brides do.
Small floating plants, such as SAL
vinia, probably come as near to this
ideal as possible, but the fish grow tired
of this and refuse to annoy the roots
any longer. They are said to eat tiny
mollusca which live in these roots, but
it would take much careful work with
microscope to verify this.
What the goldfish want, We are con-
WINGED, is a large-sized manufactured
food, of which they might partake cease
lessly, with breathing spells, of course,
without injury.
This is what the goldfish world is
waiting for, and he who produces 1t, In
the fullness of time, is going to cash in
royally, via the fish enthusiasts who, to-
gether, in these United States, as well
as the world over, make up a mighty
band.
Give the little fellows something they
can eat by the tablespoonful, the hand
full, the teacupful. How they do love
to eat Tropical specimens know when
to cry quit, but not the goldfish. He
Is q true gourmond. A fish that can
live in a river, pool, aquarium, hand
kerchief or SNOWFALL ought to be ca
tered to.