THE COMPLETE ANGLER 123 



And, lest you may think him singular in his opinion, 

 I will tell you, this seems to be believed by our learned 

 Doctor Hakewill, who, in his apology of God's power 

 and providence (fol. 360), quotes Pliny to report, that 

 one of the emperors had particular fish-ponds, and in 

 them several fish that appeared and came when they 

 were called by their particular names : and St. James 

 tells us (chap, iii., 7) that all things in the sea have been 

 tamed by mankind. And Pliny tells us (lib. ix., 35) that 

 Antonia, the wife of Drusus, had a lamprey, at whose 

 gills she hung jewels or ear-rings ; and that others have 

 been so tender-hearted as to shed tears at the death of 

 fishes which they have kept and loved. And these 

 observations, which will to most hearers seem wonderful, 



of brain, from which the former proceed, is considerable. There 

 exists, however, this important difference between the organ of 

 hearing of terrestrial animals and fishes, viz., that the ear in the 

 former is organised for the reception of the more delicate vibrations 

 of the atmosphere, while in the latter it is adapted to the rude 

 oscillations of a denser element. We may make this difference 

 apparent by the following simple illustration. The impulse occa- 

 sioned to the air by the ticking of a watch is so weak, as to be indis- 

 tinctly heard when the watch is brought close to the ear ; but if we 

 convey the watch to a greater distance from the ear and press it 

 against the teeth, we hear the ticking with remarkable distinctness. 

 In the language of science, solid and dense bodies vibrate with 

 greater intensity than lighter media, such as the atmosphere. When 

 the watch is held nigh to the ear, the atmosphere is the conductor ; 

 when the watch is connected with the ear by the intervention of a 

 rod of wood, or the solid parts of the head, these are the conductors. 

 Now the apparatus of hearing of the fish presents conductors of the 

 latter kind ; water, a denser body than air, is the conducting 

 medium ; and the solid mass of the head, and, in fact, of the entire 

 body, complete the conduction to the vital apparatus. Hence, in 

 fishes, an humble contrivance is capable of effecting the same 

 end as the higher-toned instruments of terrestrial animals. As fishes 

 thus evidently possess the organ of hearing in a moderate degree 

 of perfection, they must therefore hear with moderate acuteness, 

 particularly such sounds as occasion a vibration of the element 

 in which they reside ; for example, an approaching footstep ; while 

 the sounds which proceed from musical instruments, being less easily 

 conveyed, are probably unknown to them : certainly this is the case 

 with regard to tone." We constantly hear of fish coming to be fed 

 at the sound of the bell. They rather come to the sound of the 

 bell-ringer's feet, that is to the vibration caused by his footfall, 

 and so indicating his presence. E. 



