TROUT FLY-FISHING IN AMERICA 



the human ear can hear much better out of the water than 

 it can when in or under it. 



The reason being that both ears, so differently con- 

 structed, were so constructed for a well-defined purpose; 

 namely, one for hearing sound in the water and the other 

 for hearing sound in the air ; but the capacity for hearing 

 possessed by the trout must not be judged entirely by the 

 hearing possessed by mankind, for to do so would be mani- 

 festly wrong. 



That trout can hear sound produced in the air within 

 such distances of the water as the air will transmit the 

 sound waves to the water and the water will in turn take 

 up and carry them to the trout, is undoubtedly true, pro- 

 vided always the trout is within the zone affected by the 

 sound waves or vibrations produced in the water. 



The degree of sound transmitted, however, is another 

 question which is necessarily governed by distance and the 

 quality and quantity of sound produced in the first in- 

 stance. 



From the practical standpoint of the angler it is a safe 

 statement to make, that trout are not frightened or dis- 

 turbed by, and do not hear, people talking when in a boat 

 or walking along the bank of a stream, because the sound 

 of the voice cannot possibly reach them, even if they are 

 but a few feet from the water. 



This is due to the fact that the vibrations of the air, in 

 the form of sound waves, are not so directed as to strike 

 the surface of the water at such an angle as effectively to 



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