43 
Dytiscus), into my aquarium several times, but I found that they were 
given to roam by night ; rising to the surface they would unfold the 
gauzy wings encased under the horny covering and take flight from the 
water, and would be found next morning somewhere about the room if 
there was no outlet, or attention would be called to their escape, from 
their flying about the room like a small bat. I may state here that it is 
not unusual to find these insects on our sidewalks at the foot of an 
electric light pole, to which they seem attracted by the glare. There is 
another Beetle (a species of Acilius) with a bronze casing, which is an 
interesting object, from its rapid motion and apparent game of hide and 
seek from stone to stone. 
A few years ago, a specimen of Menobranchus, that curious batrachian 
with gills and breathing tubes protruding therefrom, was offered to me 
by a boy who had caught it whilst fishing in our Rideau Canal. Repul- 
sive looking as these creatures are, I would have liked to have studied 
his habits, but the reptile had been so bruised that it was too far gone 
to make use of, and I have never since had an opportunity of obtaining 
one. These animals are numerous in the waters of the Ottawa, and are 
not unfrequently taken by persons bait-fishing. I have seen specimens in 
one or two windows in town here, but the pent up waters of an aquarium 
seem scarcely healthy enough for them, as I noticed their place was 
very soon empty. 
I believe that it remains an open question as to what senses are 
possessed by Fish, apart from that of sight. There is every reason to 
believe that they possess the faculty of smell, for it is no uncommon 
thing when fishing to notice their manner of swimming round and about 
the bait that is used, bringing their heads in contact with it, even 
pushing it, which to my mind is evidence of their using their olfactory 
organs to help them thereby to ascertain the quality of the bait. Again, 
many fishermen use oil of aniseed and other essences on their bait, which 
they affirm have the property of attracting fish, and I myself have many a 
time noticed a fish after dallying with the apparently tempting looking 
bait and moving it with its snout, finally turn away as if in disgust. Sir 
Humphry Davy says he thinks the principal use of nostrils in fish is to 
assist the propulsion of water through their gills, but he thinks also there 
are some nerves in these organs which give a sense of the qualities of 
