THE SENSES AND LEARNING IN FISHES* 



By Jacoe Reighard. 



I. Introduction. 



I have often been asked whether fishes can smell or 

 taste or hear, whether they distinguish colors and wheth- 

 er they learn to keep out of nets or to avoid the hook. 

 What workers in science have learned about these mat- 

 ters has been publishd in many languages and in various 

 technical journals and books so that much of it is not 

 easily accessible. In view of the widespread interest it 

 has seemed to me worth while to bring together what is 

 known to put it in non-technical form and to let it be 

 printed, so that all may have access to it. I shall not 

 try to point out all the uses that may be made of this 

 accumulated knowledge — but those who have to do with 

 fish will, I trust, see that they may at any time have need 

 of it. 



I shall speak of the senses and of learning in fish. 

 But there are many kinds of fish, more than 12,000 in 

 North America alone. They differ much in the structure 

 of their sense organs, and probably much in capacity to 

 use them and to learn. Very few kinds have been in- 

 vestigated by scientific men. When, then, I say that fish 

 do thus or so, it should be remembered that the state- 

 ment is usually based on studies of one or two kinds 

 only. That other kinds have the same capacity as those 

 investigated is an assumption, more or less warranted. 

 Those who wish to know what kinds of fish have been 

 studied should consult the literature list (p. 166), re- 

 ferred to throughout this paper by means of date num- 

 erals following the names of authors. 



*Address of the President of the American Fisheries Society at the 

 New Orleans' meeting, October 18, 1916. 



