74 How, Win a, mi, 1 Whereto Mshfor Mahseer. Ciiait. vi. 



of a pool; and in another part of the selfsame pool any number 

 of the very fish that prey upon them ; and those fish are on the 

 feed too, though not noticing the little ones, for directly you spin 

 one of those same little ones near them as a bait, it is taken ; 

 whereas if the big fish had seen the little ones, I cannot conceive 

 why they should let them alone, and immediately take your bait. 

 These little fish, it should be remembered, have no thick coverts 

 in which to hide, like deer from the tigers that prey upon them ; 

 nor have they greater fleetness by which to escape in the open. 

 The substitute for their protection seems to be the density of the 

 element in which they live, which makes it difficult for even a 

 fish to see any great distance through it laterally, and without a 

 back-ground of light. Fish can dart exceedingly quickly for a 

 short distance, so that a small fish that gets a start before the 

 larger fish is in motion ran be very quickly out of sight. 

 Probably only the unwary are taken by surprise, the others 

 relying on the density of the element to save them. "Whether 

 by surprise or pursuit the sick could not avail themselves of 

 this means of escape, and would therefore be especially affected 

 by the predatory fish. If there were no such means of escape it 

 would be difficult to understand how small fish could live and 

 feed with any pleasure in the presence of their habitual devourera. 

 With such a retreat close at hand, however, they feed with a 

 senne of security in full sight of their enemies, just as a rat dors, 

 enjoying his meal and eyeing you the while, well knowing that 

 his hole is close by, and thai he can be; into it in a second. It is 

 the hypothesis of short-sightedness only that makes it intelligible 

 to me why a fish which suspects your bait, follows so very close 

 behind it, within a lew inches instead of feet or yards, examining 

 it before it makes up its mind, and requires to follow it for 

 some time too, scrutinizing at those close quarters, before it can 

 satisfy itself about it. This theorj of short-sightedness laterally 

 in the water lias special application to running water, in which 

 the line of vision is much broken by the disturbances in the 

 stream, not necessarily violent disturbances as in a run or stickle, 

 but as in a gentle eddy, as in any pari of a river in which some 

 water is passing other water, and thus breaking the line of 

 vision. This must be constant in all rivers, for there is always 

 friction between particles of water in the How of the stream, 



