NATURAL HISTORY STUDIES 



fishes. He is very inconspicuous as he lies squat 

 on the sand in shallow water, and he is sometimes 

 half covered with sand. Three elastic rods, one of 

 them very strong, rise from the middle line of his 

 back, and at the end of each there dangles a shred 

 of skin like bait at the end of a fishing-line. These 

 living fishing-rods are hinged at the base, so that 

 they can be lowered or raised, and they are obviously 

 transformed fin-rays. It is supposed by many that 

 the shreds of skin, dangling loosely in the water, 

 suggest worms to curious little fishes ; it is supposed, 

 at least, that they serve to attract attention. What 

 is certain is that many small fishes are engulfed in 

 the angler's wide gape, and gripped firmly by back- 

 ward-bending hinged teeth which make entrance 

 easy but exit difficult. 



The tales of the fishing exploits of animals, like 

 stories of fishing at a higher level, are often a little 

 difficult to believe. One of the deep-sea fishes 

 with a huge gape has been known to swallow a 

 fish larger than itself ; a big spider has been known 

 to land a small fish ; the archer fish makes its 

 living by shooting drops of water on passing insects. 

 But perhaps more instructive than such oddities 

 is the habit pelicans have of fishing in company, 

 and wading shorewards in a deadly crescent, pro- 

 phetic of the seine-net. In his book on " Mutual 

 Aid " Prince Kropotkin described their co-operative 

 industry : " They always go fishing in numerous 

 bands, and after having chosen an appropriate bay, 

 they form a wide half -circle in face of the shore, 

 and narrow it by paddling towards the shore, 



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