1931 TROPICAL FISH magazine article, color art, home aquariums, breeds etc - $9 - (Halifax, NS)

Selling is a 1931 magazine article about: Tropical fishes Title: Tropical Toy Fishes Author: Ida Mellen Subtitled “More Than 600 Varieties of Aquarium Pygmies Afford a Fascinating Field for Zoological Study in the Home” Quoting the first page “It would be interesting to know in what country little fishes were first placed in glass receptacles for purposes of esthetic enjoyment. Rumor names Egypt; but, although the fresh waters of Egypt are replete with curious and beautiful dwarf fishes and the Egyptians developed the art of glass-blowing during the Ptolemaic and Roman periods, after 300 B. C., there is no evidence that vessels of glass were used for aquaria. The question cannot be resolved with certainty, but it is well known that the lure of breeding fishes in captivity took possession of the Chinese several hundred years ago, spreading to Japan, and thence over the Western World, with the goldfish as its original object of interest. During the past 75 years experimentation with the balanced aquarium has passed through various salt and fresh-water phases until, with tropical toy fishes, it has reached the peak of enthusiasm and success in Europe and America. Not that the goldfish has suffered a loss of popularity. Seventeen million still are reared annually in the United States, largely for martyrdom in the quart globe, and there is little diminution in the demand for bizarre and costly varieties. Among cold-water species it has no rivals. Nevertheless, tropical fishes have superseded goldfishes in many of the smaller hatcheries, and some of the larger goldfish farms have built conservatories for rearing them. Many shops in the larger cities are devoted exclusively to their sale, and a pet show without a display of these colorful midgets would be noticeably incomplete. But it is true, also, that, while most American and European homes have been ornamented at some time by the presence of a few goldfishes, the majority have not as yet succumbed to the allur…

Posted in Halifax, NS, Animals and Pets
From ebay.com - 1 month ago