How can 
these facts be 
simply ex- 
plained? 
Difficulties of 
explanations 
often arise 
from a want 
of mutual 
understand- 
ing about the 
sense in 
which words 
are used, 
2 ON THE PLACE OF FISH TN 
connection, astonishment might be followed by a 
desire for information on the subject. 
The intention of this part of the book is to set 
out information for those in whom such a desire arises, 
and to do so inasimple way. But at the outset there 
is felt this difficulty:—What may be considered a 
simple way ? 
The saying has been often repeated, that if there is 
anything you have to explain, and fail in trying to 
explain it to the first man you come across in the 
street, you must regard yourself as not a clear or 
good exponent. This does not, however, point out 
that, unless you know beforehand something about 
the stock of knowledge possessed by the man you 
meet, there may be some time taken up in finding out 
whether he understands what you mean by the words 
you are using. Many difficulties in explanations 
arise from a want of mutual understanding about 
words used. 
For example, a man may be able to explain in a 
way that would be quite intelligible to most of his 
companions the series of events that led to his book 
on the Derby coming out so differently from what he 
had confidently expected. But if he endeavoured to 
relate his disappointments to the first man he met in 
the street he might find it requisite to give him an 
explanation of terms he was using, though they are 
often to be seen in columns of sporting news in the 
daily press. He might by degrees even find that 
he would have to go so far as to point out that the 
meaning of horses starting at 5 to 2, 3 to 2, or 7 to 
2, has nothing to do with the meaning railway porters 
would expect passengers to understand by the same 
