INTELLIGENCE AND SPECIAL SENSES. 177 



animals, one on each side of the head. In those which 

 stay more constantly in the lower depth of waters, the eyes 

 are placed on top of the head, as in the star-gazers; while 

 in the flat fishes, which recline or swim on one side near the 

 bottom, both eyes are placed on the same side of the head, 

 enabling them to obtain the benefit, of both eyes while in 

 that position. In the Pike-perch, which is nocturnal in its 

 habits, the eyes are unusually large, as is the case with 

 other animals who seek their food mostly at night. 



It is a popular idea that fish are necessarily near-sighted 

 on account of the conformation of the eye, which is large, 

 round and prominent; and the main argument adduced to 

 support this theory, is the readiness with which they will 

 take an artificial fly, trolling spoon or other artificial bait, 

 which resemble in but slight degree the natural objects 

 of food that they are intended to represent, if, indeed, 

 they are intended to represent any thing. 



It is very often the case that those anglers who are most 

 strenuous in their theory that fish are near-sighted, stultify 

 themselves by carrying a large and most varied assort- 

 ment of artificial flies, of all shapes and colors, in order 

 to meet the " fastidious taste" of the fish, that often refuse 

 one pattern or color, and rise eagerly to another, which 

 could not be the fact were they so near-sighted as many 

 believe. The consistency of these anglers would be more 

 apparent, if they would adopt Mr. Cholmondely Pennell's 

 theory of artificial flies, and confine themselves exclu- 

 sively to his three typical flics — brown, yellow, and green 

 hackles. 



Now, I am not of those who believe that our brave 

 game fishes possess such extreme gullibility, as to mistake 

 an artificial lure fi)r the genuine article, upon the hypo- 



