PLYilfft FfSTTES AND TTTKTR TTABTtS. 501 



than an olghth of a mile, raivly risino- niorc than 3 or 4 foot. * * * 

 Wlion the fish begins to fall, the tail touches the Avator. when its 

 motion again begins, and whh il the apparent motion of the pectorals. 

 It is thus enabled to resume its flight, which it finishes with a splash. 

 When in the air it resembles a large dragon fly. The motion is very 

 swift, at first in a straight line, but later deflected into a curve. The 

 motion has no relation to the diivction of the wing. "When a vessel 

 is passing through a school of these fishes, they spring up before it 

 as grasshoppers in a meadow." 



When a flying fish falls on the deck of a vessel it may spasmod- 

 ically and very rapidly move its pe(;torals upward and downward, 

 nnd such a movement may be made while the fish is " on the wnng " 

 and give the appearance of '' vibration,*' so often claimed to be 

 observed. This action doubtless adds something to the force of the 

 leap from the water, but it is by no means actual flight. 



It has been claimed that flying fishes are not often to be seen in 

 periods of calm and a smooth sea; it is. when the winds blow strong 

 and the waves roll high that most of them make their appearance. 

 " It is easy to understand how the action of the wind combines favor- 

 ably or otherwise with their flight." "As any air in strong motion, 

 when it impinges against obstacles (a ship's side or Avaves) rises, it 

 raises also the fish, so that this flies over the wave or may come on 

 board the ship. In short, as Professor Mobius proves in detail, all 

 the phenomena observed may be fully explained by the combined 

 action of the oblique projection forward and the wind." " Directly 

 against the wind they commonly fly farther than with the wind, or 

 when their course and the direction of the wind form an angle 

 together. Most Exocmti wdiich fly against the wind or with the wind 

 continue, during their whole course of flight, in the direction in which 

 they come out of the water. Winds coming laterally upon the orig- 

 inal course of the Exocmti deflect these into their direction." 



Fin. 2.-Showing how the flight of tho flsh is influenced hy wind current. 



The qualification that the fishes are '" not often to be seen in periods 

 of calm " of course implies that they may be sometimes. Kneoland 

 (1870) specifically assorts that he saw them rise "out of a perfectly 

 smooth sea." hitman (1880), a much more reliable observer, also 

 had " often seen great numbers of these fish when tho air was almost 

 motionless— so still that not a ripple could be discovered on the glossy 

 surface of the w^ater ''—and it even seemed to him " that they were 



