344 THE CANADIAN NATURALIST. 



fresh water continually flowing down beneath the ice would 

 afford oxygen enough to support the comparatively few fishes 

 that inhabit it. 



C — I should think a life under water must be a dull 

 kind of existence, confined to a very limited sphere ; for I 

 suppose their senses can give them very little, if any, inform- 

 ation respecting the world above them. 



JF'. — I am not so sure of that ; as we can distinguish ob- 

 jects clearly in pure water, when the rays from them strike 

 our eyes in a direction perpendicular to the surface, or nearly 

 so, it is not improbable that fishes may be able to see with 

 some distinctness those objects in the air, which are immedi- 

 ately above them ; such as the trees on the bank, the insects 

 and birds that fly over the water, the blue sky, clouds, sun 

 and stars : though of the green face of the earth they must 

 of course be as completely ignorant as we are of the caves of 

 ocean. Here, however, they have variety enough, and I 

 should not think their life dull for lack of objects, though it is 

 doubtless a very different world from ours. I have some- 

 times tried to picture to myself the scenery of the water, but 

 can form very little idea of it : the bottom is probably as plen- 

 tifully clothed with vegetation as many parts of the land, 

 and contains hills and dales, rocks, and caverns, and bright 

 sands, in profusion. There is an interesting fact, which is 

 familiar enough to the fishes, but of which you are probably 

 not aware. It is, that the surface of air which touches the 

 water possesses the power of reflection as perfectly as that 

 of water ; but of course in the opposite direction : so that 

 could we stand under water and look obliquely towards 

 the surface, we should see every object beneath reflected 

 from it ; the diversified bottom, fish swimming, floating 

 weeds, &c. would be as truly imaged, if the top were smooth 

 and unruffled, as the skies and trees are on the surface of 

 the still pond. Any one may prove this, by filling a glass 



