Zb FISHES. 



dence and cleanliness in tlie little Sunny, and 

 observed that at this period it will not seize on 

 any kind of bait, I took it into my head one 

 fair afternoon, to make a few experiments for 

 the purpose of judging how its instinct or rea- 

 son might induce it to act when disturbed or 

 harassed. 



" Provided with a fine fishing-line, and such 

 insects as I knew were relished by this fish, I 

 reached a sand-bar, covered by about one foot of 

 water, where I had previously seen many deposits. 

 Approaching the nearest to the shore with great 

 care, I baited my hook with a living ground- 

 worm, the greater part of which was left at liberty 

 to writhe as it pleased, and throwing the line up 

 the stream, managed it so that at last it passed 

 over the border of the nest, where I allowed it to 

 remain on the bottom. The fish, I perceived, 

 had marked me, and as the worm intruded on his 

 premises, he swam to the farther side, there 

 poised himself for a few moments, then ap- 

 proached the worm and carried it in his mouth 

 over the next side to me, with a care and gentle- 

 ness so very remarkable, as to afford me much 

 surprise. I repeated the experiment six or seven 

 times, and always with the same result. Then, 

 changing the bait, I employed a young Grass- 

 hopper, which I floated into the egg-bed. The 

 insect was removed, as the worm had been, and 

 two attempts to hook the fish were unsuccessful. 

 I now threw my line with the hook bare, and 

 managed as before. The Sunny appeared quite 

 alarmed. It swam to one side, then to another, 

 in rapid succession, and seemed to entertain a 

 fear that the removal of the suspicious object 



