Herrick, Zerminal Buds of Fishes. 127 
I may say at once that the fishes known to lack terminal 
buds and the corresponding cutaneous branches of the commu- 
nis system of nerves in all cases failed to give any response to 
any kind of gustatory stimulus applied to the outer skin, in 
marked contrast to the other types experimented upon. 
The methods of experimentation upon the siluroid and 
gadoid fishes in all cases were exceedingly simple, the attempt 
being to approach as nearly to the normal feeding habits of the 
species in question as possible. In particular, care was taken 
to select only such gustatory stimuli as the fishes were already 
familiar with and for which there were ready formed well de- 
fined reflex paths. 
The type of reaction to gustatory stimulation of the ter- 
minal buds was found to be practically constant whether the 
organs stimulated were situated on the dorsal fin (Urophycis), 
on the ventral fin (Urophycis and Microgadus), on the barblets 
(Microgadus and Ameiurus) or on the general body surface 
(Ameiurus). The participation of visual sensations in the reflex 
act evoked by the stimulus was excluded in certain of the cases 
by the conditions of the experiment; e. g. in Ameiurus the 
stimulus could be presented to the terminal buds of the body 
or a barblet when the head was concealed under leaves or 
debris on the bottom of the tank. I did not think it necessary 
to blind any of my fishes because the experiments were suffh- 
ciently clear without it, and besides BATESON (’90) has already 
tried that experiment on certain European gadoid fishes, show- 
ing that the reactions now under consideration are not affected 
by that operation. The participation of the sense of smell was 
excluded in the case of the tom cod by the destruction of the 
olfactory organ, with no noticeable resultant modification in the 
reflexes in question. 
The problem is then narrowed down to the differentiation 
between the senses of taste and touch in my experiments, and 
this I think can easily be accomplished. My most common 
mode of procedure was to touch the parts of the body where 
terminal buds are known to be abundant with sapid substances 
such as bits of meat, clam, etc., on the end of along slender _ 
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