FISHES AND FISHING. 95 



Music heard by human ears across a considerable 

 expanse of water, sounds beautifully soft and melodi 

 ous ; the reason is, that the vibrations of air produced 

 by musical sounds not being able to penetrate the 

 water, are reflected back into the air, and uniting 

 with the direct undulatory vibrations, tempers them 

 into a kind of echo in the air, rendering the sounds 

 far more harmonious and sweet than they would have 

 been without this reflection. Fishes are not sensible 

 of music, for this very obvious reason, it does not pe 

 netrate and agitate the water, therefore can make 

 no impression on the organs of sense in aqueous 

 animals. 



ZOOPHITES, a most numerous tribe, are living sub 

 stances, which partake of the nature of both animal 

 and vegetable life, forming the link which unites the 

 vegetable kingdom, to the immense world of animated 

 beings, fully illustrates my position as to the undula 

 tion of the water as affecting animals that live in it, 

 and proves how extremely susceptible they are of the 

 slightest motions in their native element ; for intro 

 duce your hand, however gently and cautiously you 

 may into water in which these flower-like sub 

 stances are found, they instantly close, and shrink 

 into the hollow of the rock, reappearing in all their 

 beauty, very slowly and cautiously, after the water is 

 again quiet. 



