"WlXn NOTES ON THEIE FISH. 127 



them were alive. His reply set the matter satisfactorily at rest 

 — "If you please, sir, they've all got ' hoysters ' in them." I 

 have never ventured to taste the oysters referred to. 



It will be noticed by those who are conversant with the fish of 

 other rivers that I have been compelled to omit two rather impor- 

 tant species from the catalogue I have just given. 



The grayling, supposing that he possesses an ordinary sense of 

 propriety, ought surely to delight in frequenting the higher reaches 

 of the Gade. Along the charming valley, through which it flows, 

 the population is extremely limited, no drainage can pollute the 

 purity of the stream, it is carefully protected from the ravages of 

 the poacher, its current is sufficiently rapid to satisfy the most 

 fastidious of fish, and its clean gravelly bottom is not unfrequently 

 noticeable. ITotwithstanding the force of all these attractions, I 

 have never heard of grayling being taken either in the Bulborne 

 or Gade. I wish that it were possible to introduce them into these 

 waters, and I am inclined to think that the experiment, if properly 

 and carefully made, might be found to be successful. 



The other species I have to refer to, is the barbel. This fish 

 is abundant in the Thames, where it grows to a great size ; but 

 it loves to frequent deep holes along the banks of large rivers, 

 and it need not surprise any one that it declines to patronise our 

 shallow sparkling Gade. 



The art and practice of pisciculture has been ably treated by 

 our President, and I willingly leave the svibject in his hands ; 

 but I think that there are other phases connected with the Natural 

 History of fishes which have not as yet been brought before our 

 notice. I hope that some of these may claim the attention of our 

 members, and that on a future occasion they may be explained and 

 illustrated in this room by an abler pen than mine. 



The scales of our fresh-water fishes, diflering as they do so 

 widely in form, in colour, and in texture, and affording distinct 

 characteristics of each individual species, are objects of infinite 

 interest, and I especially commend them to the notice of our 

 numerous microscopists. The periodical migration of fishes, their 

 varying colour, and the manner in which they assimilate to the 

 prevailing tint that surrounds them, are also subjects that would 

 well repay our careful consideration and study. 



It has been commonly asserted that fish, of all living creatures, 

 are the most devoid of instinct. I do not, for one moment, believe 

 that they can compete in instinct with either birds or mammals, 

 but I hope that I have been able to adduce on their behalf a few 

 instances of undeniable intelligence. I must remind my hearers 

 that the fish exists in a medium altogether foreign to ourselves, 

 and it is extremely probable that we may fail, on this account, 

 fully to appreciate the finer susceptibilities of its nature. 



When first I determined to collect the necessary information for 

 the paper I have now read to you, I little thought how strongly 

 I should be led onward by an almost resistless continuity of interest 



