THE SENSE-ORGANS AND PERCEPTION OF FISHES. 253 



In any attempt to prepare such a substance it is of the first im- 

 portance to ascertain the mode by which fishes find and distinguish 

 their food. As has been here set forth, satisfactory evidence was 

 obtained that conger and the Raiidse seek their food by smell. 

 While I was at Plymouth no opportunity occurred of watching the 

 habits of the cod, for only one injured specimen was obtained. It 

 was quite clear that this fish saw exceedingly well, but whether or 

 not the barbel or olfactory organs may not be used also in seeking 

 food on the bottom or at night I am unable to say, but from ex- 

 perience of other fishes it is a i^riori unlikely that they are of 

 great value as organs of search. The halibut is of course not 

 found on the south coast, and has not come under my observa- 

 tion in the live state ; but the structure of the fish, which closely 

 resembles the plaice, suggests that it feeds by sight. This sugges- 

 tion is strongly supported by the statement of Pennant quoted in 

 Day^s British Fishes (ii, p. 7) that on two occasions halibut had 

 been known to take a sounding-lead. The fishes, then, which are 

 sought by the North Sea fishermen and others differ from those upon 

 which the Plymouth men most depend, for the former feed by sight 

 and the latter by scent. As might be expected, therefore, the same 

 bait is of different value in the two cases. For while in the North 

 Sea the herring is thought to be the best bait, Plymouth fishermen 

 scarcely think it worth their while to go to sea with it. At Ply- 

 mouth, for catching conger fresh squid is thought to be the best 

 bait, and fresh pilchard is by some considered as good as regards 

 attractiveness, but as it has not the toughness of squid it does not 

 stay on the hook so long. My own experience with conger in the 

 tanks leads me to think that squid is also more attractive as a scent 

 than pilchard is. In the absence of pilchard and squid, mackerel 

 is used when abundant, but usually this fish is too dear to be in use 

 as bait, and it certainly does not attract conger as much as squid. 



The facts already given point to the conclusion that for the pur- 

 poses of the conger and skate fishery the bait question may be 

 solved in one of three ways : either — 



(1) By extracting the flavour of squid or pilchard, and com- 

 pounding it with some tough substance which will not wash off the 

 hook ; or — 



(2) By finely dividing squid or pilchard and mixing it with some 

 cheap substance, so as to make a little of it go further ; or — 



(3) By preserving squid or pilchard when abundant in such a 

 manner as not to destroy its flavour and scent : of course this last 

 method would only help the fishermen to tide over periods of scarcity 

 of bait. 



I have made some experiments in each of these directions, and 



NEW SERIES. VOL. I, NO. Ill, 19 



