Smell and Taste 313 



arose from the surface contact of the stone with 

 the water to alarm the fish. Since this experi- 

 ence, I have been very cautious in wading a trout 

 stream, always sliding, as it were, instead of walk- 

 ing on the bottom of it ; stepping and splashing 

 the water, hither and yon, creates a concussion 

 whenever you lift your feet above the surface for 

 another step forward. From the above facts it is 

 evident to me that the hearing of fishes is devel- 

 oped only by concussion, except, perhaps, when 

 they are feeding on the surface of the water, or 

 leaping from it. 



The angler cannot resist the belief that the 

 senses of smell and taste are well developed in 

 trout. They eject the artificial fly, if the hook is 

 not fast in the flesh at the instant they note its 

 non-edible nature, or when they feel the gritty 

 impact of the hook. They will not eat impure 

 food, and they have the faculty of perceiving 

 odors, and various scents attract or repel them. 

 This has been verified from the earliest days of 

 our art, when ancient rodsmen used diverse and 

 curious pastes and oils, which were seductive to 

 fish ; in Walton's day and long after this practice 

 was followed and the records tell us of its success. 

 When I was a boy and the Schuylkill River was 



