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 FRESHWATER ORNAMENTAL FISH
The Book “Breeding and Culture of Freshwater Ornamental Fish” deals
with recent scenario and technology of freshwater ornamental fish. The
BREEDING
AND

BREEDING AND CULTURE OF

book contains 15 chapters including FAQ and suggested readings. The
book covers in depth subjects such as status, breeding techniques, food
and health management and marke ng of freshwater ornamental
fishes. There is a separate chapter on breeding of indigenous freshwater CULTURE
OF

ornamental fishes. Emphasis is given on na onal and interna onal
legisla on related to ornamental fish export and import. The book
contains a useful chapteron the importance and role of ornamental
FRESHWATER

plants and accessories. Aquarium making and decora on is well
explained for a hobbyist. Water quality management and maintenance
of aquarium have been dealt in great detail by the author as those are the
ORNAMENTAL
FISH
important components of aquarium keeping. Packaging and transport of
these fishes are dealt with proper explana on with view to promote Author
proper trade of the ornamental fishes. Author has highlighted the
behaviour and biology of important fishes and tried to link these aspects Archana Sinha
with cap ve management prac ces. FAQ and Suggested readings add Editor
values to the book, as they address many curiosi es of the readers.
Pramod Kumar Pandey
The way chapters are presented in the book, it makes it quite interes ng
and relevant to the present scenario. Photographs are very a rac ve.
Students, scien sts, academicians, hobbyists and entrepreneurs will
certainly enjoy and would be greatly benefited and enriched by reading
this interes ng and well wri en book as it addresses the concerns of
each of them.

Author
Archana Sinha: Principal Scien st, Division of Reservoir and Wetland

editor
Fisheries, ICAR-Central Inland Fisheries Research Ins tute, Barrackpore

author
Kolkata 700 120, West Bengal

Pramod Kumar Pandey

Archana Sinha
Editor
Pramod Kumar Pandey: Dean, College of Fisheries (Central Agricultural
University) Lembuchera, Agartala, Tripura

® ISBN 939051223-9
ISBN:978-93-90512-23-2

789390 512232 ®
 Breeding and Culture of
Freshwater Ornamental Fish
About the Author

Dr. Archana Sinha, Principal Scientist, ICAR-Central Inland Fisheries Research Institute
(ICAR-CIFRI), Barrackpore, Kolkata has working experience of more
than 30 Years in the field of Fisheries and aquaculture research,
education and extension. She completed several research projects and
developed technology for fisheries and aquaculture, especially in
ornamental fish breeding and culture. She was a course teacher for
M.F.Sc., Ph.D. and Diploma course on Ornamental fish. Guided student’s
for their Ph.D. thesis. She published more than 50 research papers on
ornamental fish breeding and culture. She developed course module on ornamental fish
breeding and culture for ICAR-CIFE (Deemed University), Mumbai; Skill Development
Programme of ASCI, New Delhi. She is recognized as an expert for Ornamental fish
breeding and culture by ICAR, New Delhi; NFDB, Hyderabad; MPEDA, Kochi;
NABARD, Mumbai. She organized more than 100 short term training programmes on
ornamental fish breeding and culture for unemployed, women, farmers and entrepreneurs
for the development of ornamental fish culture. She has been conferred with several
fellowships and Institutional awards such as of Best Scientist award by Heeralal
Chaudhuri Fisheries Foundation, Mumbai; NATCON Environmental Conservation Award
by Nature Conservator, Muzaffarnagar; Gold Medal for outstanding research & academic
contribution in the field of fisheries (ornamental fishes) by Zoological Society of India,
Bodh Gaya.
About the Editor
Dr. Pramod Kumar Pandey has served for more than 32 years under
National Agricultural Research System of India. Presently, he is serving
as Dean, College of Fisheries, Central Agricultural University, Imphal.
He has already served as Scientist, Senior Scientist and Principal
Scientist in Indian Council of Agricultural Research before joining CAU,
Imphal. He has more than 120 peer-reviewed international and national
research papers, 3 books and several book chapters. Apart from that,
he has delivered several invited talks and keynote addresses in numerous national and
international meetings. He has been the Team Leader of the mega research project
“Centre of Excellence in Fisheries and Aquaculture Biotechnology” funded by the
Department of Biotechnology, Govt. of India. Since 2015, he is serving as President of
the North East Society for Fisheries and Aquaculture, Agartala. Before that, he has
served as General Secretary of Indian Fisheries Association for 5 years based at ICAR-
CIFE, Mumbai, India. He has been conferred with several fellowships i.e. Zoological
Society of India, Gaya; Society of Biological Sciences & Rural Development, Allahabad
and national awards such as Best Teacher Award by HeeralalChaudhuri Fisheries
Foundation, Mumbai; Paryayvaran Sanrakshak Award 2020 by Bharat TarunSangh,
Alwar.
 Breeding and Culture
of Freshwater Ornamental Fish

Author
Dr. Archana Sinha
Principal Scientist
ICAR-CIFRI, Barrackpore, Kolkatta (W.B)

Editor
Dr. Pramod Kumar Pandey
Dean, College of Fisheries
Central Agricultural University
Lembuchera, Agartala (Tripura)

®
NEW INDIA PUBLISHING AGENCY
New Delhi 110 034
 ®
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ISBN : 978-93-90512-23-2 EISBN: 978-93-90591-26-8

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 Central Agricultural University
Lamphelpat, Imphal-795004 Manipur

Prof. S. Ayyappan
Chancellor 5 May, 2020

Foreword

Ornamental fish attracts human beings of all ages alike including children. Fish
keeping has emerged as the second most popular hobby in recent years, next to
photography. The sector’s contribution is a very small but unique and vital part of
an international fish trade. Considering great demand in the international market
for indigenous fish of India and the large ornamental fish diversity in the country,
it can be said that the sector has huge potential to earn foreign exchange and to
create jobs for unemployed rural youth, especially women folk. The demand of
individual hobbyists for such beautiful fishes has developed a global trade of
ornamental fish involving the US $ 348 million and more than 60% of the production
comes from the household of developing countries. The entire industry, including
accessories and fish feed, is estimated to be worth more than the US $ 14 billion.
However, the success of trade depends on the technology and human resource
development (HRD) in the subject. As a hobby, people have developed a keen
interest to know more and more about these fishes, their varieties, behaviour, and
life span, breeding technology and rearing of the young ones. Therefore, the science
behind the successful breeding and culture of ornamental fishes need to be explored.
I am delighted to note that the book entitled ‘Breeding and culture of freshwater
ornamental fish’ is written by Dr (Ms) Archana Sinha, an author having a vast
experience of teaching and research in the sector. I am sure that the readers will
make use of the book for their skill development and to quench their curiosity. In
addition to breeding and rearing technology of a number of important ornamental
fishes, it also explains in detail the status of ornamental fish trade in the global
market, diversity of ornamental fishes, their food and feeding habits, environmental
issues, biosecurity, quarantine protocol, transportation and different Governmental
schemes for the development of entrepreneurship among the rural youth and women
folk. The illustrations and photographs add value to the book.
I am sure the book will be useful to the students and entrepreneurs alike, as also
for planners to generate foreign exchange, human resource development and
employment.

(S. Ayyappan)
Preface

It is well known that aquaculture is one of the fastest growing sectors in India.
Even as growth in agriculture sector remains a challenge due to fluctuating growth
in sectors like crop, livestock and forestry from 2014-15 to 2017-18, fisheries
sector has grown rapidly from 4.9 per cent in 2012-13 to 11.9 per cent in
2017-18. Considering the fast growth of the sector, the target of fish production in
India is fixed to be 20.00 million ton by 2022-23. Fish and fish product exports
emerged as the largest group in agricultural exports and in value terms accounted
for Rs. 47,620 crore in 2018-19. For economy of the country to grow to US$ 5.0
trillion by 2025, the fisheries sector has to play a very important role. In aquaculture,
apart from food fishes, a substantial contribution has to come from ornamental
fisheries, which has a great potential to increase the income of the farmers as well
as in terms of earning foreign exchange.
The world trade of ornamental fish industry is of the tune of US$ million 348 but
the contribution of India is only 1%, which is very meager, considering large
number of ornamental fish species available in the country, having very attractive
coloration, bands, pattern of color and demand in national as well as in international
market. There are several indigenous fish species where an individual fish fetches
several lakh rupees in the international market. That speaks volumes about the
potentiality, scope and role of the sector. It can play as a growth engine of the
economy. The bulk of the ornamental fish, involved in the trade, are collected
from wild, raising the concerns about their sustainability and conservation in the
nature. At the same time, small countries like Singapore have developed the breeding
and rearing technology for many ornamental fishes and therefore, exporting it
successfully to many countries of the world and capturing a lion share of the
trade.
Keeping above points in the mind, this book has been written based on over three
decades of experience of the author in the field of fisheries and aquaculture, especially
in the field of ornamental fisheries. The book emphasizes on breeding, rearing,
health management, water quality management and marketing strategy for
ornamental fish. Apart from these it also addresses the issues of fish conservation,
genetic improvements and related ancillary activities of the sector. The book is
expected to help the small, marginal and large farmers alike in the development of
ornamental fisheries. It will be also useful to the students’ community, breeders,
growers, traders and researchers as well.
Author
Contents

Foreword ........................................................................................................ v
Preface ......................................................................................................... vii

1. Status and Prospect of Ornamental Fish Culture .................................. 1

2. Ornamental Fish Diversity....................................................................11
3. Ornamental Fish Keeping Systems ..................................................... 25
4. Ornamental Plants ............................................................................... 49
5. Feed Management .............................................................................. 63
6. Water Quality Management ................................................................ 87
7. Breeding and Seed Production of Exotic Ornamental Fish ............... 103
8. Breeding and Seed Production of Indigenous Ornamental Fish ........ 133
9. Genetic Improvement of Ornamental Fish ........................................ 159
10. Fish Health Management .................................................................. 167
11. Handling, Packaging and Transportation ........................................... 185
12. Biosafety and Hygiene ...................................................................... 197
13. Marketing and Trade .......................................................................... 211
14. Frequently Asked Questions .............................................................. 227
15. Suggested Readings .......................................................................... 239
1
Status and Prospect of Ornamental
Fish Culture

The culture of colored and attractive fish in glass aquariums for aesthetic use is
called ornamental fish culture. The beautiful, tiny fishes or ornamental fishes
are peaceful in nature and suitable for keeping in captivity. These lovely fishes
are usually kept in a glass made aquarium and decorated with toys, plants,
ceramic structures etc. for beautification. It displays the attractive fish that live
in a natural environment decorated with accessories while maintaining
environmental parameters in tanks/aquariums by using aerators, heaters, filters,
lights to control water movement, temperature, suspended organic matter,
illumination etc. besides feeding. Keeping ornamental fish in a glass tank is a
very old and popular hobby. More and more people are getting attracted to this
hobby and due to growing interest in aquarium keeping; it has resulted in a
steady expansion in its trade in more than 125 countries. Household aquariums
are more popular; therefore, less than 1% of the global market for ornamental
fishes belongs to the public aquaria sector. Most of the ornamental fish is
available from developing countries in the tropical and sub-tropical regions.
The international trade in ornamental fish breeding and culture provides
employment opportunities for thousands of rural people in developing countries.
Ornamental fish is becoming an important component in Indian fisheries too,
along with food fishes, for both income and employment generation. As a result
of advancements in breeding, transport and rearing technology, more and more
fish species are being recognized as ornamental fish almost every year. The
ornamental fishery is recognized by many developing countries for employment
generation and livelihoods. Ecologically suitable culture systems must be
developed by evolving micro, small and medium enterprises for sustainable
growth.

Evolution of ornamental fisheries

Archeological evidences of fish-keeping dates back to the Sumerians (2500
BC) and the Babylonians (500 BC). Egyptians considered fish sacred, worshiping
the Nile Perch among others. Romans also kept fish in tanks but perhaps not
for as decorative purposes as the Chinese; keeping them fresh for the dinner
2 Breeding and Culture of Freshwater Ornamental Fish

table. The Chinese kept carps and started breeding them selectively during the
Sung Dynasty (960-1279). Records show that these fish were kept for purely
decorative purposes; people were forbidden to eat them. Ornamental goldfish
made its way into Europe by 1691. According to Tullock, the 17thcentury diarist,
Samuel Pepys, referred to seeing fish being kept in a bowl and referred to the
set up as “exceedingly fine”.

First Sustainable Fish Tanks

While excited about the prospects of keeping fish indoors, fish enthusiasts did
not understand how the water needed to be “cycled” in order for fish to stay
alive for long indoors. In 1805, Robert Warrington is credited with studying the
tank’s requirement to be cycled to keep fish alive for longer.

Victorian England
With the opening of the public aquaria at the London Zoological Gardens at
Regents Park in 1853, fish keeping as a hobby reached a new level of interest.
In 1856, German Emil Robmaber wrote an essay, “Sea in a Glass,” introducing
fish keeping as a hobby to the public.This hobby required specialized equipment
and attention at this point, reserving it for the wealthy. Fish tanks for tropical
fish required heating via flames underneath (gas burning lamps underneath
slate bottoms). When electricity was introduced into the home, fish enthusiasts
began experimenting with electrical immersion heaters in glass tubes.

Commercial Fish Breeding

Until the 1920s, except for highly developed goldfish and carp keeping in Asia,
most fish kept in tanks were captured from wild. In Florida in the 1920s,
entrepreneurs began the first commercial fish breeding businesses.

America - Flying Fish

Until 1950s, most commercial fish breeders needed to situate themselves close
to their demands. After World War-II, commercial fish breeders began to use
ex-combat pilots to transport their fish around the world.

Better Tanks
In the 1960s, fish keeping as a hobby improved as the industry went from glass
framed tanks to glass sealed tanks, allowing for better waterproofing of the
tank. Further innovations include the advent of the acrylic tank, which is more
lightweight, more crack resistant and lends itself to different shapes besides the
basic rectangle glass tank.
Status and Prospect of Ornamental Fish Culture 3

Marine Tanks and Reef Keeping

The 1960s through the 1980s saw many developments in maintaining saltwater
aquariums for the (albeit very serious) hobbyist as opposed to a more publicly
funded zoo setting for saltwater tanks. Breakthroughs include understanding
the role live rock plays in maintaining tank balances as well as advancements in
filtration systems, including the use of protein skimmers and the wet-dry or
trickle filtration methods. Understandings filtration systems, salinity need, and
live rock requirements all helped to propel forward the saltwater tank for the
home hobbyist.

History of ornamental fish keeping in India

Most of the freshwater ornamental fish belong to the family Cyprinidae,
Balitoridae and Cobitidae under the order Cypriniformes. There are two hotspots
of freshwater ornamental fish biodiversity in India, among which, the North-
east India harbour about 250 species and the Western Ghats harbour about 155
species of indigenous ornamental origin. Two hundred and sixty one egg layers
and 27 live-bearing exotic fish are very popular among the hobbyists in India.
India offers a number of high priced freshwater ornamental fish like Barca
snakehead, Channa barca, Kerala queen, Puntius denisoni etc.
According to Sane (1982), it was at Bombay in the first or second decade of
the twentieth century that aquarium keeping commenced as a hobby on a small
scale which led to the formation of societies in Madras and Bombay and
especially the Taraporewala aquarium in 1951. The export started on an
experimental basis in 1969 with foreign exchange earnings to the tune of US $
0.04 million. Several aspects of ornamental fishes have been taken up of late.
Premkumar and Balasubramanian (1984) studied the breeding biology of the
Scarlet banded barb, Puntius amphibius from Chackai canal. Some researchers
worked on the sexual dimorphism of freshwater puffer fish Tetraodon
travancoricus (Hora and Nair), from Trichur District. Sunil et al. (1999) studied
the length weight relationship in the Catfish Horabagrus brachysoma
(Gunther). Sunil (2000) studied the length weight relationship in Rasbora
daniconius (Ham) from Achenkoil River. Mercy et al. (2002) studied the length
weight relationship of Puntius denisonii.

World Scenario
According to FAO (2017), export earnings from ornamental fish trade was US
$ 348 million and more than 60% of the production came from the household of
developing countries. The wholesale value of the global ornamental fish trade
is estimated to be US $ 1 billion while the retail value is US $ 6 billion. The
4 Breeding and Culture of Freshwater Ornamental Fish

entire industry, including accessories and fish feed, is estimated to be worth

more than the US $14 billion.The top exporting country (with percentage
contribution to global trade) is Singapore (19.8%), followed by Czech Republic
(7.8%), Japan (7.4%), Malaysia (7.3%), Indonesia (5.3%), Israel (4.3%),
Thailand (3.9%), Sri Lanka (2.9%) and India (0.008%). The largest importer of
ornamental fish is the USA, followed by Europe and Japan. The emerging
markets are China and South Africa.

Sri Lanka Singapore

Netherlands (4.3) USA (3.4) (11.2)
(4.3)
Malaysia
(4.5) Spain (10.8)

Thailand
(4.5)

Czech
Japan (9.5)
Republic
(5.8)

Indonesia
(7.9)
Myanmar (8.8)

Fig. 1: Global ornamental fish export (2017)

Source : U.N. data

More than 2,500 fish species are traded and some 30-35 species of freshwater
fish dominate the market. The trade with an annual growth rate of 8 per cent
offers a lot of scope for development. Individual hobbyists (home aquaria) control
an overwhelming 99% of the market for ornamental fishes while only 1% of
the market is controlled by public aquaria and research institutes. Global market
demand is likely to grow to the tune of US $ 7 billion from the present level of
US $ 5.26 billion. Singapore, being the largest producer of farm-bred ornamental
fish handling (about 50% of the available species and varieties), is aptly called
the “Ornamental Capital of the World’’. There are about 64 ornamental fish
farms in Singapore that are registered – ten of these for the breeding of Dragon
fish – occupying a total area of 133 ha. The Dragon fish or “Royal” fish that
has a lifespan of 100 years is a protected species and can be traded only by
permit; each fish could be fetching up to $ 50,000 in the retail market. Though
Malaysia entered the field only 30 years ago, Penang is already famous for
Discuss, Perak for Koi, Goldfish and Dwarf Gourami and Johore for live bearers
like Guppy, Platy, Molly and Swordtail. Ornamental fish and aquatic plants have
been assigned a priority in the Third National Agricultural Policy (1998-2010)
Status and Prospect of Ornamental Fish Culture 5

of Malaysia with plans to produce 800 million ornamentals by 2010. In recent

years, a mass propagation technique has been developed in Thailand to conserve
the wild types of aquatic plants and is becoming an important industry. To promote
the ornamental fish industry, the Thai government has set up an Ornamental
Fish Research and Development Institute to provide training and technical
knowledge to the local breeders to promote the export.

Indian scenario
India is lagging behind in ornamental fish trade and its overall domestic ornamental
fish trade is worth about Rs. 555 crore and contribution to global export remain
only 0.32%. Indian waters are considered as “JEWEL MINE” for domestic
traders, exporters and hobbyists of ornamental fish. In India, the potential of
ornamental fish is very high. As per an estimate of MPEDA, India has the
potential to earn about US $ 5 billion as a foreign exchange by the export of
ornamental fishes. Ornamental fish trade started in India in 1969 with export
earnings of US $ 0.04 million. Indian ornamental fish sector is small and dominated
by wild-caught species only. Ornamental fish activities are concentrated in 5
states i.e. West Bengal, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala. Indian
exports mainly target South East Asia, China, Middle East, EU, USA and Japan.
The major part of the export trade is based on wild collection from NEH. Out
of 250 indigenous ornamental fish species, 155 fish species are being regularly
exported and many fish species are also having very high potential.

An Overview of Indian Trade

Share of India to global ornamental fish export (Source: U.N. Data)

2.5
US $ (In millions)

1.5

0.5

0
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017
Year

Fig. 2: Share of India in global trade

6 Breeding and Culture of Freshwater Ornamental Fish

Kolkata dominates with respect to ornamental fish export trade, followed by

Mumbai and Chennai. Registration as an exporter is granted under section 9(2)
(h) of Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA) Act 1972
read with rules 40-42 of MPEDA Rules, 1972. Registration is done for the
following categories viz. Manufacturer, Exporter, Merchant, Route through
Merchant & Ornamental Fish Exporter and also for entities such as Fishing
Vessels, Processing Plants, Storage Premises, Conveyance, Pre-Processing
Centers, Live Fish Handling Centre, Chilled Fish Handling Centre, Dried Fish
Handling Centre, Independent Cold Storages and ice plants. There are total 25
registered exporters for ornamental fish, out of which the highest no. of 15 are
from Kolkata and Chennai each, 11 from Kochi, 6 from Mumbai, 4 from
Mangalore and 2 from Quilon (July 2014).
In addition to the export of ornamental fish for its wild-caught ornamental fish,
the domestic market is also having very good demand, which is mainly based on
captive-bred exotic species. About 80% of ornamental fishes are exported to
the international market via Kolkata airport, of which major share comes from
the North Eastern States of India. Other leading states in the trade are Kerala
and Tamil Nadu. However, there is a vast unexplored potential for production
of indigenous ornamental fishes and promoting ornamental fish culture in India.
The scientific and systematic exploration of these potentials of ornamental fish
will be a source of employment to women, Self Help Groups, entrepreneurs
and unemployed youths to generate income, improve their livelihoods and earn
considerable foreign exchange.The world’s ornamental fish trade consists of
about 80% freshwater species and 20% marine species whose contribution is
increasing by establishing their breeding and rearing facility. Presently, 95% of
marine fishes are collected from the wild and only 5% of fish are being bred in
the farm. The overall contribution of the cultured species is 90%, only 10% of
the traded fishes are collected from the wild because most of the freshwater
species can be bred and cultured. A total of over 500 species of ornamental
fishes are available in India, having the contribution of about 300 from marine
and over 200 from freshwater sectors. Among freshwater species, around 100
species each are known from the Western Ghats and northeastern India, while,
amongst the marine ornamentals, 165 species belonging to 20 families have
been intensively studied and found to hold a great promise for export. Of the
freshwater ones, 53 species from northeastern India have been designated to
have a great potential for domestic and international trade that would help in
the development of the rural economy with special opportunities for the gender-
sensitive region with the matriarchal system.
Status and Prospect of Ornamental Fish Culture 7

Opportunities for women/unemployed youths

Women and youths have shown enthusiasm and expertise in different aspects
of ornamental fish trade in India. They can be employed and gain in the following
areas:
 Capture of fishes from the wild
 Culture of fishes
 Breeding of fishes
 Export of fishes
 Marketing of fishes and
 Marketing of accessories

The capture of fishes from wild

Wild ornamental fishes are abundant in those rivers and streams, which are
flowing through dense forests and mountain terrains in India. These species
such as devil catfish have good export potential and are ruling the foreign market
of aquarium fish and are reaping a value of about US $ 1 to 2 per piece. In
addition to these rivers and streams, the long coast line and several islands,
which are stretching around with lagoons and coral reefs of India, abound in
varieties of colourful marine fishes. These sources are presently exploited
minimally but offer scope to enterprising persons to earn a livelihood. It is
essential to create awareness among people, for them to take up the capture of
these fishes and market them to earn maximum. Some of the indigenous fishes,
which are often called trash fish, have been identified in the recent period as
ornamental/aquarium fishes. The tiny colisa, loaches, danio, gourami of Indian
origin are dominating in the market. However, no project has been undertaken
by State Fisheries Departments on identification, survey, conservation, proper
exploitation and mass production of ornamental fishes.

Culture of Ornamental fishes

For the culture of ornamental fish, the required infrastructure facilities have to
be set up, supported by the application of relevant technical knowhow. Rearing
of commercial ornamental species can be undertaken in re-circulation and flow-
through water systems designed and established to maintain good water quality
and to stimulate natural running water conditions. Different types of live feeds
and artificial feeds are available in the market to rear ornamental fishes. Several
workers pursue research work on the production of indigenous feed for these
fishes. While in every major metropolitan city there are aquarists who own a
few small ponds/cement tanks where they breed many freshwater ornamental
8 Breeding and Culture of Freshwater Ornamental Fish

fishes exclusively for domestic markets, this industry needs to be adequately

popularized. Women aquarists are more caring for the small babies of tiny
fishes. It is required to encourage them by providing technical know-how in
local languages. Colourful handbooks on ornamental fish keeping and
maintenance of aquariums are available for the hobbyists but the poor women
entrepreneurs cannot afford that.

Breeding of ornamental fishes

The demand for ornamental fishes in domestic as well as international market
is increasing rapidly. As such, sustainable exploitation of wild stocks of these
fishes will not be able to meet the increasing demand. It is therefore essential to
evolve appropriate breeding and rearing technology to produce both marine and
freshwater ornamental fishes under controlled conditions in land-based
infrastructural facilities. The technologies for breeding different varieties of
ornamental fishes have now been established to such an extent that most of the
aquarium fishes can not be bred as a household activity, both in rural and urban
areas. Most of the aquarists breed only the common varieties of aquarium
fishes like goldfish, guppies, platys, mollies, swordtails, gouramis, tetras, barbs
etc., which are easy to breed. In order to enable householders to upgrade their
capabilities, the State Government should come forward to encourage aquarists
and interested entrepreneurs to take up farming of these highly-priced fishes.
Simultaneously, technologies on the production of live fish food and nutritionally
balanced dry feed in various forms such as pellets, powder, flakes, microcapsules
etc., should be developed by technologists so that they can be extended to the
hobbyists and entrepreneurs.

Export of ornamental fishes

In spite of having immense natural ornamental fish resources and technology
for breeding and rearing them, not much of headway has been made in the
country in the matter of export of ornamental fishes to foreign countries. So as
to move ahead in these endeavours, MPEDA, Kochi has prepared a directory
of ornamental fish exporters in which they have identified 25 ornamental fish
exporters in India, especially, in Kolkata, Mumbai, Chennai and Kochi. The
farmers and exporters have to be brought together, for the purpose of integrating
the production and export activities in a manner that would be mutually beneficial.
The establishment of such a relationship would push up the level of exports of
ornamental fishes from the country, particularly to the USA, Europe and Japan.
It has been reported that 8% of the estimated 86 million houses in the USA
keep aquaria in their homes, 14% of the estimated 21 million houses in Great
Britain, 4% of homes in Belgium and Holland and 5% of German and 20% of
Another random document with
no related content on Scribd:
 Note IV. Page 23. Fossil Nautili.
The beauty, elegant form, and remarkable internal structure of
the shell of the Nautilus, have rendered it in all ages an object of
curiosity and admiration: yet an accurate knowledge of the
organization of the animal to which it belongs, has but recently been
obtained. The Nautili may be regarded as Cuttle-fish or Sepiæ,
inhabiting shells furnished with an apparatus to impart buoyancy,
and enable the animals to swim on the surface, or sink to the
profound depths of the ocean. A few explanatory remarks on the
nature of the recent Sepia may be necessary to render the subject
intelligible to the unscientific reader.
The Sepia or Cuttle-fish of our seas is of an oblong RECENT
NAUTILUS.
form, and composed of a soft substance covered with
a tough integument or skin: it varies from a few inches to a foot or
more in length. The mouth is placed in the centre of one extremity
of the body, and has a pair of powerful, curved, horny mandibles,
much resembling the beaks of a parrot: it is surrounded by eight
long arms like the rays of a star-fish, and these are beset with rows
of little cups which act as suckers, and enable the animal to secure
its prey, and attach itself with great firmness to any object.[AC] It
has a distinct head, with two eyes as perfect as in the vertebrated
animals, and complicated organs of hearing: and below the head
there is a tube or funnel which acts as a locomotive instrument, and
propels the animal backwards by the forcible ejection of the water
which has served the purpose of respiration, and can be thrown out
with considerable force by the contraction of the body. The soft parts
are supported by a large internal bone or osselet of a very curious
structure, which, when dried and reduced to powder, forms the
substance used by scriveners, termed pounce. These naked mollusca
also possess a membranous bag or sac, containing a dark-coloured
fluid resembling ink in appearance, which they eject into the
surrounding water upon the approach of danger, and by the
obscurity thus induced foil the pursuit of their enemies. This fluid,
when inspissated, forms the base of the colour termed sepia by
artists.
[AC] From this arrangement of the organs of prehension
around the head, this order of mollusca is termed the
Cephalopoda; i. e., the feet around the head.

The body of the Nautilus resembles in its essential characters

that of the Cuttle-fish, and occupies the large outer receptacle of the
shell; maintaining a connection with the inner compartments by
means of the membranous siphunculus or tube, which is only
partially invested with shell. The internal chambers are air-cells, and
the animal can fill the siphunculus with fluid, or exhaust it at will; the
difference thus effected in its specific gravity enables it to rise to the
surface or sink to the bottom with facility. Now if' we imagine a
Cuttle-fish placed in the outer chamber of a Nautilus-shell, and
provided with a siphuncule, but having neither ink-bag nor osselet—
these organs being unnecessary to an animal possessing a
chambered shell—we shall have a general idea of the nature of the
recent species.
The Nautilus is essentially an inhabitant of deep water: it creeps
along the ground at the bottom of the sea, with its shell upwards
like the snail; and by means of its arms can proceed with
considerable speed.[AD]
[AD] See 'Conchologia Systematica,' vol. ii. p. 302, and
'Elements of Conchology,' p. 22, by Mr. Lovell Reeve, F.L.S., for an
admirable description of the recent Nautilus, with illustrations.

A large and splendid species of fossil Nautilus is not uncommon

in the London Clay of the Isle of Sheppey, Sussex, and Hampshire.
The chambers are often lined with spar or other brilliant mineral
matter; and polished sections, like those of the Ammonites,
admirably display the internal structure.[AE]
 [AE] See Dr. Buckland's 'Bridgewater Treatise' for numerous
figures of Ammonites and Nautili; plates 31 to 34. Consult also
'Medals of Creation,' vol. ii. p. 457.
 Note V. Page 27. Brighton Cliffs.
The stranger who approaches Brighton by the BRIGHTON
CLIFFS.
railroads through deep tunnels and cuttings in the
chalk, and perceives the town spread over the plain and on the sides
of a valley of the South Downs, will naturally expect to find the sea-
shore bounded by chalk-cliffs. But a wall of admirable construction,
extends from the Steyne to beyond Kemptown, and effectually
conceals from view the materials that compose the site of that part
of Brighton; a ramble along the shore to Rottingdean is therefore
necessary to reveal to the inquiring observer, the nature of the strata
that flank the southern border of the Downs.
The sketch given in page 27, represents the appearance of part
of the coast to the east of Kemptown. The base of the cliff to the
height of a few feet, is seen to consist of the white chalk with its
usual layers of flint nodules, forming a low wall or terrace, which
slopes seaward, and extends far into the British channel—probably
to the opposite coast of France: at low-water a considerable expanse
of modern shingle and sand is spread over, and in a great measure
conceals, the chalk, at a few yards distance from the cliff. Upon the
terrace of chalk, at the height of from ten to fifteen feet above the
modern beach, there is a bed of pebbles and sand, containing also a
considerable number of boulders of granite, porphyry, and other
crystalline rocks foreign to the south-east of England: in fact, a sea-
beach, which must have been formed at some remote period, in the
same manner as the modern shingle. Upon this ancient beach are
strata of loam, and chalk-rubble, with flints partially water-worn, and
boulders of sandstone, breccia, granite, &c., constituting the upper
sixty or eighty feet of the cliff. In these beds, and also in the ancient
shingle, many teeth and bones of mammoths (extinct species of
elephant), horse, deer, oxen, and other ruminants, and bones of
whales, have been discovered.[AF]
[AF] See 'Medals of Creation,' p. 914.

A few hundred yards beyond Kemptown the THECOAST. SUSSEX

inroads of the sea have destroyed all vestiges of the

strata above described, and the cliffs consist of a perpendicular wall
of chalk; if we extend our walk to Rottingdean, we shall perceive
here and there isolated patches of the ancient shingle, and of the
calcareous strata containing elephants' bones.
The appearances described demonstrate the following changes in
this part of the Sussex coast. Firstly, the chalk terrace (Lign. 9, c; p.
27) on which the ancient shingle (b) rests, was on a level with the
sea for a long period; for this beach must have been accumulated,
like the modern, by the action of the waves on the then existing
chalk cliffs. But there must also have been some cause not now in
operation, by which pebbles, and boulders of granite and other rocks
foreign to this coast, with bones of extinct mammalia, &c., were
thrown up on the strand, and imbedded in the beach then in
progress of formation. These materials were probably brought from
some distant part of the then continental shores by floating ice: an
agency by which delicate bones and shells may be transported and
deposited without injury amidst pebbles and boulders.
Secondly. The whole line of coast with the ancient shingle must
have subsided to such a depth as to admit of the deposition of the
calcareous materials forming the "Elephant bed;" and from the
absence of beach and shingle in these strata, it may be inferred that
this deposition took place in tranquil water: possibly at that period
this part of the Sussex coast formed a sheltered bay.
Lastly. The land was elevated to its present level, and the
formation of the modern sea-beach and cliffs commenced.[AG]
[AG] See 'Medals of Creation,' "On the Geological structure of
Brighton Cliffs," p. 913.
 Note VI. Page 38. Rotaliæ in Chalk
and Flint.
The shells called Rotaliæ (see Lign. 5 and 6, p. 14 FOSSIL
FORAMINIFERA.
and 16) belong to a group of marine animals of very
simple organization, and which present great variety in the form and
markings of their testaceous coverings; but they all agree in having
the sides of the shell pierced by numerous holes or foramina;
whence the scientific term of the Order, Foraminifera, is derived:
these openings are for the egress of delicate filaments, which appear
to be organs of progression and respiration.
The Foraminifera are, with but few exceptions, exceedingly
minute; in an ounce of sea-sand, between three and four millions
have been detected. The body of these animalcules consists of
uniform granules enclosed in a skin or integument, having one or
more digestive sacs or cavities; these creatures appear, in fact, to be
mere polypes, protected by testaceous coverings. Some have but a
single cell; others have many, disposed in a conical or cylindrical
form; many kinds, of which the Rotaliæ are examples, are discoidal
involutes, and divided internally by septa into distinct chambers:[AH]
they resemble in this respect the shell of the Nautilus, but are readily
distinguished by the perforations.
[AH] See 'Wonders of Geology,' 6th Edit. p. 322.

All the various kinds of Foraminifera swarm in the present seas,

and were not less numerous in the ancient ocean. We have seen
that the white chalk almost wholly consists of a few genera of these
animalcules; and in many strata of sand they are so abundant, that
a cubic inch of the mass contains upwards of sixty thousand. In the
Rotalia, the body is entirely enclosed within the shell, and occupies
all the cells; and long, soft, tentacula are sent off through the
foramina. The shell, therefore, though resembling in form that of the
Nautilus, is essentially different; for in the latter, the outer chamber
only is occupied by the body of the animal, the internal ones being
successively quitted empty dwellings; whereas, in the Rotaliæ and
analogous Polythalamia,[AI] all the cells are contemporaneously filled
by the soft parts of the animalcule.
[AI] Polythalamia, many-chambered, is a general term applied
to these shells.
RECENT
When the shell is removed, which is readily FORAMINIFERA.
effected by immersion in diluted hydrochloric acid, the
body is exposed, and found to consist of a series of lobes or sacs,
united by a tube corresponding somewhat in its position with the
siphuncle of the Nautilus, but which is the digestive canal. The body
of a recent animalcule of this kind, deprived of the shell, is figured in
Lign. 23.

Lign. 23:—The body of a

recent animalcule allied to
the Rotalia, deprived of its
shell; highly magnified.
 Not only the characters of fossil shells of such infinite minuteness
can be revealed by the microscope, but even the soft parts of the
animalcules which inhabited them; for these are occasionally
preserved, and may be demonstrated with as much distinctness as
the recent examples.[AJ] In flint the soft parts of Rotaliæ, Textulariæ,
&c., are abundant, and may be seen, with but little preparation, like
insects in amber: the specimen figured in Lign. 12, p. 39, shews the
body of a Rotalia well defined; the only preparation this atom of flint
has undergone, is immersion in Canada balsam. To detect such
delicate structures in chalk requires, however, some experience in
microscopic manipulation, as the calcareous matter must be
dissolved in hydrochloric acid, and the animal substance separated
from the residuum.[AK]
[AJ] See 'Wonders of Geology,' 6th Edit., p. 322.
[AK] See my 'Memoir on the fossil remains of the soft parts of
Foraminifera in Chalk, &c.' Philosophical Transactions, 1846, p.
465.
 Note VII. Page 43. Isle of Wight
Pebbles.
The nodules and veins of flint that are so abundant ISLE OF WIGHT
PEBBLES.
in the upper chalk, have probably been produced by
the agency of heated waters and vapours; the perfect fluidity of the
siliceous matter before its consolidation is proved, not only by the
sharp moulds and impressions of shells and other organisms
retained by the flints, but also by the presence of numerous remains
in the substance of the nodules, and the silicified condition of the
sponges and other zoophytes which abound in the cretaceous strata.
Now although silex, or the earth of flint, is but sparingly soluble
in water of the ordinary temperature, its solution readily takes places
in vapour heated a little above that of fused cast iron, as has been
proved by direct experiment;[AL] and similar effects are being
produced at the present moment by natural causes. The siliceous
deposits thrown down by the intermittent boiling fountains, called
the Geysers, in Iceland, are well known;[AM] and in New Zealand this
phenomenon is exhibited on a still grander scale. From the crater of
the volcanic mountain of Tongariro,[AN] which is several thousand
feet above the level of the sea, jets of vapour and streams of boiling
water highly charged with silex, are continually issuing forth, and
dashing down the flanks of the volcano in cascades and torrents,
empty themselves into the lakes at its base. As the water cools,
siliceous sinter is deposited in vast sheets, and incrustations of flint
form around the extraneous substances lying in the course of the
thermal streams. Silex is also precipitated by the boiling waters in
stalagmitic concretions, and in nodules resembling in colour and
solidity the flints of the English chalk. The complete impregnation
and silicification of organized bodies is attributable to an agency of
this kind; and although the origin of the siliceous waters that
deposited the nodules and veins of flint in the chalk is still involved
in obscurity, the mode in which the latter were formed is
satisfactorily elucidated.
[AL] See 'Wonders of Geology,' p. 100.
[AM] Ibid., p. 95.
[AN] Ibid., p. 98.

Lign. 24:—Zoophytes in Chalk and Flint.

1. A minute coral from chalk and flint; the
lower figure is of the natural size. 2. Branch of
a sponge in flint. 3. Pebble enclosing a
zoophyte.

Of the perfect transmutation into flint of the most delicate

organic structures, the pebbles strewn along the sea-shore of the
south coast of England, afford a beautiful illustration; those from the
Isle of Wight are especially celebrated for their rich and varied
colours. The most common and interesting are those which exhibit
sections of Choanites, as in the specimen which suggested the
reflections embodied in these pages. Other allied forms are scarcely
less beautiful; the petrified zoophytes called Siphonia, which, when
living, consisted of a soft mass traversed by tubes, for the free
ingress and egress of the water, often display the internal structure
of the original: as in the polished transverse section figured above,
Lign. 24, fig. 3. Other bodies of this class occur in the flint, and
present interesting examples of the zoophytes of the chalk ocean.
But many of the Isle of Wight pebbles exhibit no traces of animal
structure, yet are valuable and instructive as mineralogical
specimens: such are the clear and transparent pebbles with bands
and veins of quartz and chalcedony. Some specimens are as pellucid
as rock-crystal; others are of a bright yellow, amber, dark-brown,
and bluish-black colour, and are often mottled with dendritical or
arborescent manganese. (Plate IV.) The moss agates, as they are
called by the lapidaries, are silicified sponges. Small pebbles of pure
transparent rock-crystal are often found among the shingle in
Compton and Sandown bays, and have probably been washed out of
the wealden strata; for similar stones occur in the Tilgate grit, and at
Tunbridge Wells: in the latter place, they are cut and polished for
rings, brooches, &c.
Plate IV.
 Polished sections of Pebbles.
Page 86.

On the shores of the Isle of Wight, pebbles of ZOOPHYTES OF

THE CHALK.
jasper, resembling those from Egypt, and of banded
quartz, with arborescent markings, or with zones of rich brown, are
also met with; these do not appear to have originated from the chalk
strata.
 Pebbles of silicified wood have been collected in Sandown bay by
Mr. Fowlstone; and water-worn boulders and pebbles of petrified
wood, bones, &c., are common in Brook bay; rolled masses of the
fresh-water shelly limestones (Sussex and Purbeck marbles) are also
abundant in the same localities.[AO]
[AO] All these varieties may be obtained of Mr. Fowlstone, 4,
Victoria Arcade, Ryde.
 Note VIII. Page 45. Zoophytes of
the Chalk.
Zoophytes, especially sponges, occur in such prodigious numbers
in some of the chalk strata, that the nucleus of almost every flint
nodule is an organic body. In many instances the silex has
completely permeated the animal substance, as in the pebbles
before described; but sometimes the sponge is a white calcareous
mass, occupying a hollow in the flint: a branched specimen of this
kind, exposed on breaking a small nodule, is represented at Lign. 24,
fig. 2.
In describing sponge as an animal substance, it may be
necessary to explain that the sponge in ordinary use is the flexible
skeleton of a living zoophyte, and was originally invested with a
gelatinous or slimy matter, which lined all the pores and channels.
When alive in the water, currents constantly enter the outer pores,
traverse all the internal inosculating canals, and issue from the larger
orifices which often project above the surface in perforated papillæ.
By the circulation of the sea-water through the porous structure, the
nutrition of the animated mass is effected; and the modifications
observable in the number, size, form, and arrangement of the pores,
canals, and apertures, in the different kinds of this type of
organization, are subservient to this especial function.
But associated with the true Poriferæ or sponges, are numerous
zoophytes which resemble them in form, but are of an entirely
distinct nature; for they are the fossilized remains of Polyparia, that
is, of the frame-work of an aggregation of polypes, each individual
of which had an independent existence, although the whole were
united by one common living integument, like the Alcyonium, or
dead-men's fingers, of our coasts.[AP]
 [AP] See 'Medals of Creation,' p. 251.

Lign. 25:—Flints deriving their forms

from the zoophytes they enclose.

Among the flints whose forms depend on the FUNGIFORM

FLINTS.
organic bodies they enclose, are some which bear so
close a resemblance in shape to Fungi, that they are provincially
called in Sussex "petrified mushrooms;" several of them are figured
above (Lign. 25). In these fossils there are openings at the base,
and a groove on the margin of the upper part, in which the structure
of the enclosed body is generally more or less distinctly seen; and
upon breaking one of these bodies, a section of a funnel-shaped
zoophyte is obtained. The origin of these flints will be understood by
reference to the four interesting specimens here delineated, one-
sixth of the natural size in linear dimensions.
 Lign. 26:—Ventriculites from the
Chalk, Lewes.
A perfect specimen in Chalk,
1. shewing the external net-like
surface.
An expanded specimen,
2. displaying the inner surface
studded with cells.
A Ventriculite with the lower part
3.
enveloped in Flint.
Part of a Ventriculite; the base
4. invested with Flint: the root-like
fibres are seen at a.

This zoophyte, to which the name of Ventriculite VENTRICULITES.

has been given to denote its usual shape, was a hollow inverted
cone, terminating at the base in a point, whence radicles or root-like
processes were sent off, by which the animal was firmly attached to
the rock. The outer integument was disposed in meshes like a net
(see Lign. 26, fig. 1), and the inner surface was beset with regular
circular openings, the orifices of tubular cells (fig. 2); each of which
was probably occupied by a polype. The substance of the
Polyparium, or general support of this family of animalcules, which
alone occurs in a fossil state, appears to have been analogous to
that of the soft Alcyonia, and to have possessed a common
irritability; the entire mass contracting and expanding, as is the case
in many recent zoophytes.[AQ]
[AQ] See 'Wonders of Geology,' 6th Ed., p. 610; 'Medals of
Creation,' p. 273-276; and 'Geological Excursions round the Isle of
Wight,' pp. 179-184, for an account of the silicification of these
and other Zoophytes.

The flints, figs. 3, 7, 8, 9, Lign. 25, were evidently formed in the

manner exemplified in fig. 3, Lign. 26; figs. 2, 4, 6, are illustrated by
fig. 4, Lign. 26; for the chalk specimens, Lign. 26, shew that all
these flints have been moulded around Ventriculites, and that their
diversity of figure has arisen from the quantity of silex that
happened to permeate the substance of the zoophyte; if but a small
portion, flint like figs. 2 and 4, were the result; if the quantity were
considerable, the larger fungiform examples were produced.
 Note IX. Page 50. Minute Corals
from Chalk.
Some layers of chalk are composed of an aggregation of many
kinds of delicate corals, the interstices being filled up with Rotaliæ
and other foraminiferous shells. In the cliffs near Dover there are
several beds of this nature, well known to collectors for the
profusion of exquisite specimens they yield to the experienced
investigator. Lign. 17, p. 50, represents several varieties from
different localities; the small figures shew the natural size, and the
enlarged ones their appearance when magnified. Attached to the
surface of shells, and sometimes standing erect in crannies of flint
nodules, beautiful corals may often be detected by the aid of a lens
of moderate power. By brushing chalk in water, and examining the
deposit, delicate fossils of this kind may also be obtained.[AR]
 [AR] Refer to 'Medals of Creation,' p. 284, and to 'Wonders of
Geology,' Lecture VI. p. 588, for a comprehensive view of Recent
and Fossil Corals.

From the close analogy of the fossil corals to NATURE OF

CORALS.
existing forms, it would not be difficult to give restored
figures of the originals. Every little branch might be represented
fraught with living polypes: in some cells the agile inmates might be
shown with the mouth expanded, and the tentacula in rapid motion;
in others withdrawn into their stony recesses, and devouring the
infinitesimal atoms that constitute their food: even their varied hues
might be introduced, and thus a vivid picture be presented of the
microscopic beings which peopled the waters of the ancient chalk
ocean.
That the Corals, which from their elegance and beauty are
preserved in almost every cabinet, have been fabricated—or, in other
words, built up—by polypes, in the same manner as the honey-comb
of the bee and wasp, is so prevalent yet erroneous an opinion, that I
am induced to point out its fallacy, by giving a brief account of the
formation of these substances. The three recent specimens
represented in Lign. 27 will serve to illustrate my remarks.

Lign. 27:—Recent Corals.

1. Oculina ramea.
2. Madrepora muricata.
 3. Isis hippuris.
The coral, fig. 1, was an internal axis or skeleton, deposited by
the soft fleshy integument with which, when living, it was wholly
invested; in the same manner as are the bones of animals, by the
special membrane (periosteum) that secretes them. This integument
lined every cell, and the polypes were permanently united to it.
When the live coral is taken out of the water, the animalcules shrink
up and quickly perish; their soft parts and the external investing
substance putrefy, and the stony axis beset with the radiated cells
alone remains.
In the example of Oculina ramea, or May-blossom RECENT CORALS.
Coral, fig. 1, from the Mediterranean, the cells are large and distinct;
in the Madrepore from the West Indies, fig. 2, they are small and
very closely aggregated.
The specimen of Isis (fig. 3) belongs to a group of coral-
zoophytes in which the polype-cells consist of a substance that is
durable, but not so hard as coral, and invests an axis composed of a
tough flexible material, which is exposed at the base of fig 3, by the
removal of the external or cortical part in which the polypes were
situated. The Gorgonia, or Venus's fan, has a similar structure and
composition.[AS]
[AS] See 'Wonders of Geology,' vol. ii. p. 616.

In the Red Coral, so largely employed in the manufacture of

beads, brooches, and other ornaments, not only the animalcules, but
also their receptacles, are composed of a soft perishable substance.
When alive, the polypes, as well as the investing fleshy integument,
are of a delicate bluish tint; the internal calcareous axis alone
possesses the peculiar red colour. Upon being taken out of the sea,
vitality quickly ceases, the soft parts decompose, and the beautiful
crimson stone commonly known as the true coral, is obtained free
from all traces of the soft mass by which it was secreted. Although
an actual investigation of the facts described can only be instituted
near the seas of warm climates, yet our coasts abound in certain
coral-zoophytes in which similar phenomena may readily be
observed. Most persons in their rambles by the sea-side must have
noticed on the fuci, algæ, shells, pebbles, &c., patches of a white
earthy substance, which when closely examined resemble delicate
lace-work. These apparently calcareous incrustations are clusters of
the zoophytes termed the Flustra, or sea-mat.[AT] When removed
from the water, this aggregation of polypes seems coated over with
a glossy film or varnish; and with a lens of moderate power the
surface is seen to be full of pores, disposed with much regularity. If
viewed under the microscope while immersed in sea-water, a very
different appearance is presented. Every pore is found to be the
opening of a cell whence issues a tube fringed with several long
feelers or arms; these expand, then suddenly contract and withdraw
into the cell, and again issue forth; the whole surface of the Flustra
being covered with these hydra-like animalcules. The Flustra,
therefore, like the corals, constitutes an assemblage of polypes, each
individual being permanently fixed in a durable cell, and the whole
attached to a common integument by which the calcareous frame-
work was secreted and maintained.[AU]
[AT] See 'Wonders of Geology,' Plate 5.
[AU] See Dr. Johnson's beautiful work on 'British Zoophytes,' in
which are numerous figures of various species of Flustra.
 Note X. Page 53. Infusorial earth
from Richmond in Virginia.
The greatest natural operations are produced by INFUSORIAL
EARTHS.
the most simple and apparently inadequate agents: for
as the illustrious Galileo emphatically remarked, "La nature fait
beaucoup avec peu, et ses opérations sont toutes également
merveilleuses." The profound thinker Hobbes, in the same spirit
observes, "The majesty of God appeareth no less in small things
than in great, and as it exceedeth human sense in the immensity of
the universe, so also doth it in the smallness of the parts thereof."
This sublime truth is strongly impressed on the mind of the
geological inquirer, who perceives that whole countries and mountain
ranges of great elevation and extent, are wholly composed of the
aggregated remains of beings of such infinite minuteness that but
for the powerful optical instruments of modern times, their presence
would never have been suspected.
A few years only have elapsed since the sagacious Ehrenberg
first drew attention to this subject, and pointed out the proper
method of investigation;[AV] and so rapid has been the progress of
discovery in this department of science, that infusorial deposits, as
these beds of fossil animalcules are designated, have been detected
in every quarter of the globe. A fact equally unexpected and
remarkable has also been established, namely, that at the present
moment similar minute living agents are largely contributing to the
increase of the solid materials of the crust of our planet.
[AV] See 'Medals of Creation,' p. 244, for instructions for the
microscopical examination of earths, chalk, &c.
RICHMOND
The infusorial earth of Virginia, alluded to in the
EARTH.
text, is a yellowish siliceous clay, forming a deposit
from twelve to fifteen feet in thickness, upon which the towns of
Richmond and Petersburgh are built. The surface of the country over
which it extends is characterized by a scanty vegetation, owing to
the siliceous nature of the soil dependent on the minute organisms
of which it almost entirely consists. When a few grains of this earth
are properly prepared for microscopic examination, immense
numbers of the shields or cases of animalcules are visible under a
magnifying power of 300 diameters; in fact, the merest stain left by
the evaporation of water in which some of the marl has been mixed,
teems with these fossil remains.[AW]
[AW] Specimens of Infusorial earths, prepared for the
microscope, may be obtained of Mr. Topping, 4, New Winchester
Street, Pentonville Hill, New Road, London.

These organisms are of exquisite structure, and comprise many

species and genera. The most beautiful and abundant are the
circular shields, termed Coscinodisci (sieve-like disks), which are
elegant saucer-shaped cases, elaborately ornamented with
hexagonal apertures disposed in curves, somewhat resembling the
engine-turned sculpturing of a watch; these shells are from 1/1000
to 1/100 of an inch in diameter. A segment of one of these disks,
highly magnified, is represented in Lign. 18, fig. 2. The body of the
living animalcule was protected and enclosed by a pair of these
concave shells, the perforations admitting of the exsertion of
filaments or tentacula. This species of Coscinodiscus abounds in the
present seas, and constitutes no inconsiderable proportion of the
food of Pectens and other testaceous mollusca.[AX]
[AX] See 'Thoughts on Animalcules,' p. 103.

All the animalcules found in the Richmond earth are marine, and
most of them belong to genera, and many to existing species;
although the position of the American strata proves that they are
referable to a period of immense antiquity.
 In Germany, beds of a white infusorial earth, resembling
magnesia in appearance, and termed Bergh-mehl, or fossil farina,
occur at Bilin, and several other places: at San Fiora in Tuscany, near
Egra in Bohemia, in the Bermudas, Barbadoes, &c., similar deposits
have been discovered; all being composed of the shields of various
kinds of animalcules. But I must not extend these remarks, and will
only add a few observations on the infusorial earth of Barbadoes,
which has but recently been brought under the notice of geologists
by Sir Robert Schomburgk, and is especially interesting for the
exquisite beauty and variety of its organisms, and the circumstances
under which the deposit occurs.
Barbadoes, an island of the West Indies, is about FOSSIL
INFUSORIA OF
twelve miles in length from north to south, and BARBADOES.
consists of coral reefs, capped in one district by
tertiary sandstones and limestones, which attain a height of 1200
feet above the sea. Over the rest of the island, coral reefs form the
entire surface, which is divided by vertical walls of coral, some of
them nearly 200 feet high, into six terraces, indicating as many
periods of upheaval. In the lowest reef, Indian hatchets have been
found twenty feet above high water mark; shewing that the last
movement, at least, took place within the human period. The tertiary
strata are more or less inclined, and in many places vertical, and
contorted. Strata of marl, several hundred feet thick, predominate;
and there are beds of bituminous coal, sandstone, clays, and
ferruginous sands. Arenaceous limestone containing teeth of sharks,
spines of echini, and shells, forms the summit of a hill nearly 1,000
feet high. The white marls abound in 300 species of the most
beautiful siliceous infusoria; many are peculiar, others the same as
occur in the Richmond earth, and some belong to recent species.[AY]
[AY] Sir R. H. Schomburgk: Brit. Assoc. 1847.

THE END.
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